The Peace Process: Why Can't We Just Be Friends?
In Bill Clinton's initial 90-minute Oval Office meeting last Tuesday
with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the President
chided his visitor for meeting with the Rev. Jerry Fallwell and
evangelical Christian groups at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington the day
before coming to the White House. "Look, Bibi," said Clinton firmly. "You
meet with Falwell [because] you think I am snubbing you. I could make the
argument that you are gigging me." The television evangelist, who is
anathema to Clinton, has distributed political videotapes that
conspiratorially -- and unconvincingly -- hint, among other things, at the
former governor's complicity in an Arkansas killing. Moreover, Netanyahu
asked Falwell and his conservative supporters to use their influence in
Congress to lobby against administration pressure on Israel to hand over
West Bank land to the Palestinians. But the President was in a magnanimous
mood, telling Netanyahu, "Let's forget about it. We've got a lot of work to
do." Netanyahu agreed readily. The President's initiative in defusing the
issue improved the atmosphere of the talks. Says a White House adviser:
"Given the distractions around here, the extent to which [the President&93; bent
his shoulder to the wheel was stunning."