At AIPAC, Clinton shows no signs of quitting

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This morning, attendees at AIPAC’s policy conference in Washington heard remarks by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner and — the main event — Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

As one might imagine, the speakers’ remarks focused heavily on the relationship between Israel and the United States and security threats from Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah. Reid, for instance, reaffirmed his party’s commitment to Israel, calling such a commitment “an American value.” The majority leader also said that “America will never allow Israel’s existence to be threatened.”

Following a raucous standing ovation, Senator Obama — whose pro-Israel credentials have come under scrutiny throughout the campaign — strove to leave few doubts in his remarks:

I will never compromise when it comes to Israel’s security. Not when there are still voices that deny the Holocaust. Not when there are terrorist groups and political leaders committed to Israel’s destruction. Not when there are maps across the Middle East that don’t even acknowledge Israel’s existence, and government-funded textbooks filled with hatred toward Jews.”

In addition, Obama said that as president, he would do everything in his power to “eliminate” the Iranian threat, an apparent rebuttal to Senator John McCain’s speech at the same podium Monday night that charged Obama as soft on Iran.

If you thought that Hillary Clinton might begin her exit from the race after Obama virtually clinched the Democratic nomination last night, think again. Clinton, while praising Obama as “a good friend to Israel,” doesn’t seem to be going anywhere just yet. Speaking as if she still might have a shot at being commander in chief, the New York senator reiterated how she “has always been very specific” about how her foreign policy toward Israel and the Middle East would be constructed. She was adamant that a Democrat be elected in November, but she still seems to think, or hope, that it will be her.