AIPAC: Obama Takes The Stage

Barack Obama just took the podium at AIPAC.

He received a hearty standing ovation from most of the crowd, though many remained seating.

He opened his remarks by praising Hillary Clinton.

“After my speech, you are going to have the great pleasure of hearing from an extraordinary candidate and an extraordinary public servant,” he said. “She is true friend of Israel, a great senator from New York and an extraordinary leader of the Democratic party. And she has made history alongside me for the past 16 months.”

He briefly addressed the e-mails circulating that have portrayed Obama, a Christian, as a radical Muslim.

“If anybody has been confused by these e-mails, I want you to know today I am speaking from my heart and as a true friend of Israel,” he said.

Obama then tried to connect his well-traveled past to Israel’s.

He noted that his father was from Kenya, his mom was from Kansas and that he has lived in Hawaii, Indonesia and elsewhere.

Obama said that he understood that “You can sustain a spiritual, emotional and cultural identity. I understood the Zionist idea, that there is always a homeland at the center of our story.”