Barack Obama, today:

“He accused me and other Democrats of wanting to negotiate with terrorists, and said we were appeasers no different from people who appeased Adolf Hitler,” said Obama. “That is what George Bush said in front of the Israeli parliament. Now that is exactly the kind of appalling attack that has divided our country and alienates us from the world. And that is why we need change in Washington, that is part of the reason I am running for president of the United States of America.”

Let’s go back and review the section of Bush’s speech that triggered this apoplectic response:

That is why the founding charter of Hamas calls for the “elimination” of Israel. That is why the followers of Hezbollah chant “Death to Israel, Death to America!” That is why Osama bin Laden teaches that “the killing of Jews and Americans is one of the biggest duties.” And that is why the president of Iran dreams of returning the Middle East to the Middle Ages and calls for Israel to be wiped off the map.There are good and decent people who cannot fathom the darkness in these men and try to explain their words away. This is natural. But it is deadly wrong. As witnesses to evil in the past, we carry a solemn responsibility to take these words seriously. Jews and Americans have seen the consequences of disregarding the words of leaders who espouse hatred. And that is a mistake the world must not repeat in the 21st century.Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is – the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.Some people suggest that if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of our enemies, and America rejects it utterly. Israel’s population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because America stands with you.

The whole prepared text can be found here.

That first sentence of Obama’s response is flat out false. Bush offered no such accusation of Obama and other Democrats, unless they are using mental telepathy to identify those Bush refers to as “some.”

Interesting contrast: Notice that you don’t see, say, the Ron Paul fans jumping up and saying, “hey, Bush just insulted us on foreign soil.” (I’m presuming that a portion of the fans of Paul’s non-interventionist policies like the concept of “breaking ties” with Israel.) Perhaps those folks looked at this speech and didn’t feel it was worth a response. Or perhaps they know better than to jump up and down and say “how dare you criticize me!” when the president denounces appeasement.