Campaign '08

Obama's Backtracking Could Hurt His Israel Visit

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has found himself in the middle of a political firestorm on the contentious issue of dividing Jerusalem. The Illinois senator is backtracking on remarks he made in June that Jerusalem should be Israel's "undivided" capital.

His retraction comes as he announced plans to visit Israel and the West Bank next week.

There's a lot riding on Obama's visit now as Jews and Palestinians are both wary of him.

"People will be watching very carefully to see how he conducts himself," said Gary Rosenblatt, Editor of The Jewish Week.

Obama's so-called Middle East problem began last month at a meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He was trying to send a message that he is four-square behind Israel: "Jerusalem must remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided," he said.

The Palestinians didn't like that very much, and now, poised to meet with both Israelis and Palestinians, he is trying to backtrack, saying: "The truth is that this was an example where we had some poor phrasing in the speech. And we immediately tried to correct the interpretation that was given."

Experts say he may have just fueled his own fire with that comment.

"That kind of statement will not make him a lot of friends in the pro-Israel community. They're worried about dividing Jerusalem. They're worried about the fact that they had to capture it back 40 years ago," said political analyst Hank Sheinkoph.

So Obama will be treading a tightrope next week, first meeting with the Israelis and then the Palestinians. His visit is expected to be scrutinized intently – not only in the Middle East, but also in the United States. Some think Republican candidate John McCain may do better in the Jewish community this year because of the backing of Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

"There's a strong sense that Republican John McCain will probably do better than Republicans have done since Ronald Reagan," said Rosenblatt.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians say all they want is even-handedness.

"Palestinians look forward to having a president, or America treat the Middle Eastern question with equity to all sides that are involved," said Zead Ramadan of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Obama is trying to be so careful that when he is in Israel, he will meet leaders from both the ruling coalition and the opposition. And of course, he will meet with the Palestinians.

When McCain was in the Middle East in March he met only with the Israelis.

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