Don't be so quick to criticize
Reader comment on item: Israel's Wayward Prime Ministers

Submitted by Enid D. Horowitz (United States), Jun 29, 2004 at 11:32

As the proverb goes, don't criticize me until you have walked a mile in my shoes. I think it is applicable to this situation. Anyone who becomes Prime Minister of Israel takes on a mountainous problem. The problem morphs with time, and any leader must change his approach. Look at GW Bush. He ran on a "less government" platform. It's pretty clear that today, we have Big Government because of the attacks of 9/11 and the Iraq war. We had no deficit when Bush took office; today we are billions of dollars in the hole, and the future looks bleak.

Yesterday, I spoke to visiting Israelis, and I asked them what they thought of Ariel Sharon. While they did not belong to Sharon's party, they thought he was doing the best he could under the circumstances. They said that they know of no other politician today, who could rise to the task as Sharon has. They agreed that he has changed his mind since becoming prime minister; however, they believed it showed his ability to assess and reassess the situation as it changes.

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