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Talk cable provocateur Alan Dershowitz told me clearly while discussing his new book, Preemption, that he will not support Hillary Clinton unless and only if she supports preventive war aganst Iran when the time comes.

Dershowitz is adamant. He does not fudge this one. I heard a fury and impatience with the Democratic machinery that will not vanish in the fog of war. I speak routinely with Dems who have similar short, bilious tempers.

Significance to me is that the Clintons have no room to maneuver on the right. If the Clintons aim to veer leftish for early '08 primary season in Iowa and NH and New York, then the Dershowitz Dems will holler on air and damage the trust factor for the general campaign.

Underneath this game is the profound fact on the ground that Israel is in trouble, and that any signal from a Dem candidate that Iran and its pet Syria can be dealt with, or contained, or ignored, will put Israel on a last regimen of dialysis. The Clintons cannot both please their Netrooters and maintain a coherent war fighting policy. Are there enough Dem votes left in Michigan or Iowa or New Mexico or New Hampshire or Wisconsin or Minnesota to permit the Clintons to jettison Netroots as appeasers and still hold or win the states?

And Ohio is gone if the Clintons go left and abandon the Dershowitz Dems. Not even limitless face time for Clark will save the Ohio dream ship.

topics:
Hillary Clinton, Iran, Israel