Ettinger, said to have strong contacts with the Republican minority and
conservative Democrats, said Israel must study the decline in American
support for the Obama administration, Middle East Newsline reported. He said the Democratic Party defeat in
the latest national elections could turn Obama into a "lame duck president
faster than his predecessors at the White House."
"The outcome of the November election is, also, relevant to U.S.-Israel
relations and should cause reassessment in Jerusalem," Ettinger said in an
analysis titled "Warning Signs to Democrats and Obama."
The report was released on the eve of a meeting by visiting Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Obama at the White House. The two men were
said to have met for 90 minutes and neither discussed the session in public.
On Nov. 10, the White House termed the meeting as good.
In 2009, Ettinger, with close ties to senior members of the Netanyahu
government, was virtually alone among prominent Israeli analysts who urged
Jerusalem not to capitulate to Obama's demands for a freeze in Jewish
construction in the West Bank. Unlike his colleagues, Ettinger said Israeli
supporters in Congress would block Obama's intentions to spark a crisis in
U.S.-Israeli relations.
The biggest change in wake of the latest national elections could come
from Democratic members of the House and Senate. Ettinger said despite
victories in such states as New York, the Democrats were increasingly
concerned over the prospect of a Republican Party sweep of Congress in 2010.
"They are concerned about the burst of Obama's invincibility bubble and
about Obama's potential transformation from a political asset to an
electoral liability," the report said.
