Obama gets out-smarted [again] by the Prime Minister of Israel.

Ben Feller, for the AP,  has given us this summary of the meeting today,  between Israel's Netanyahu and our novice president.  What I get out of this excerpt is the demand that Netanyahu,  always the consummate  politician, stands firm in the fact that Israel will hold its ground,  will continue to demand respect for its own sense of sovereignty,  and will refuse to let go of its own future.  We all know that Obama has scheduled this meeting because it is an election year and he is losing the battle over this particular point.  Netanyahu took charge of a statement in Obama's speech,  yesterday,  in which he affirmed  Israel's sovereignty.  The Israeli Prime Minister made that statement sound like Obama was giving Israel the green light to do whatever it thought necessary in its effort to resolve the growing problem of a nuclear Iran. In doing so,  it is clear that Obama has met his matched in the art of diplomacy with Netanyahu's gotcha moment,   a rather humorous fait accompli, if you will  --  blog editor.    .

WASHINGTON (AP) - Taking sharply different stands, President Barack Obama urged pressure and diplomacy to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized his nation's right to a pre-emptive attack. Even in proclaiming unity on Monday, the leaders showed no give on competing ways to resolve the crisis.

Seated together in the Oval Office, Obama and Netanyahu at times tried to speak for each other and sometimes spoke past one another. The two leaders are linked by the history and necessity of their nations' deep alliance, if not much personal warmth, and they both used their moment to try to steer the agenda on their terms.

"I know that both the prime minister and I prefer to resolve this diplomatically," Obama said. "We understand the costs of any military action."

If he agreed, Netanyahu said nothing about sanctions or talks with Iran, or Obama's position that there still is time to try to deter Iran peacefully.

Instead, Netanyahu drew attention back to Obama's acknowledgement that Israel is a sovereign land that can protect itself how it sees fit.

"I believe that's why you appreciate, Mr. President, that Israel must reserve the right to defend itself," Netanyahu said. "And, after all, that's the very purpose of the Jewish state, to restore to the Jewish people control over our destiny," he said.

Israel, he added, must remain "the master of its fate."  READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.