Cheney to AIPAC activists: If you're here and want out of Iraq you have no brains

What a difference a year can make. And what a difference a subject matter can make.

Last year, when U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney addressed the AIPAC policy conference he was received as a hero, he was cheered and admired. This year, he got nothing more than a polite reception. Going through the motions, clapping hands once in a while, one standing ovation. No big laughs, no loud cheers, no enthusiasm for his message.

It's time and substance that make a huge difference. Time - that's easy: Cheney is even less popular today than he was last year. Substance - that's his choice of the subject on which he is going to talk. What "earned him a long round of stormy applause" last year was his strong words on Iran. First, there was the usual formula for hinting at the possibility of a military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities: "The United States is keeping all options on the table." Second: "We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

But look at the most important Iran-related message he had today: "My friends, it is simply not consistent for anyone to demand aggressive action against the menace posed by the Iranian regime while at the same time acquiescing in a retreat from Iraq that would leave our worst enemies dramatically emboldened, and Israel's best friend, the United States, dangerously weakened."

Meaning what? That if you want the troops out of Iraq (as many Americans do) you can't call yourself pro-Israel in good conscience? That if you want the troops out of Iraq you discourage Cheney from working against Iran? That if you're a good-hearted liberal Jewish Democrat - and also an AIPAC supporter - calling for the troops to pull out of Iraq, you have no brains?

The answer to all of these questions is basically, well, yes. That's what Cheney thinks - "it is simply not consistent." According to Cheney, it is as simple as this: if you're here you support the AIPAC agenda; the AIPAC agenda is to put more pressure on Iran; if you want pressure on Iran you can't possibly oppose the administration's plan for Iraq. No wonder that the many Democrats in the crowed weren't ecstatic about this speech. No wonder he wasn't received warmly.

And you know what? I don't think the AIPAC leadership was very happy, but what can they do. He is the representative the administration wanted to send. You can't complain that he is not senior enough. And he is, after all, the vice president, and is entitled to choose his own subjects.

AIPAC might want to be bipartisan, but this does not obligate Cheney in any way.