Look at him. I mean, really look at him. Today, I felt bad for him. I know. I know. You are skeptical: you think that I often mock him and that I can't really feel sorry for him. Well, I really did. Just think about it. There he was in Congress: he must have been there if you count the time before the speech and after the speech for several hours. Do you realize that? Several hours away from his PlayStation III. Do you know how painful that was for the man? Well, I know that he carries a portable PlayStation but it is not the same experience. It is much less pleasurable for the poor king. I watched the speech on C-Span. It was quite, well, hilarious. I loved how the members of Congress clapped like penguins for all the elements of the speech until he said a few token words about Palestinian suffering (he went out of his way to equate the suffering of the Palestinians with the "suffering" of the Israelis), and then the members of congress sat silent. Suddenly, the place went quiet...until he made some loving references to Israel and of course the US. At one point he said that it is possible to achieve an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. I remember thinking: It is far more likely to see and end to his regime, than to see an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. In fact, the former will facilitate the latter. The King, by the way, comes always around this time to the US: he then drives his motorcycle (I am quite serious) along the 49 miles drive in SF, and then drives on Highway One south of SF. I mean, he deserves a vacation. Give the man a break. He is on his PlayStation III non-stop, all day long around the clock. So does he not deserve a small vacation where he can just relax and play...with his PlayStation?
PS Did you notice that he prefaced his speech by "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate"? Now I dislike all forms of piety, but I dislike them most from Arab leaders.