In an interview with Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren for NBC's online Meet the Press: Press Pass, which is also aired by some NBC-owned stations following Meet the Press on Sundays, moderator David Gregory wondered about President Obama's upcoming trip to Israel: "...the last Democratic president who had significant ties to Israel, President Clinton, was really a rock star in Israel. What are the chances that Barack Obama becomes similarly a rock star in Israel?" [Listen to the audio [1]]
Oren gave the answer Gregory wanted to hear: "I think it's excellent....[Obama will have] a lot of opportunities to interact with Israelis, particularly Israeli young people....And by the time he takes off from Israel on Friday, I think he's going to be a very, very popular man in the state of Israel."
Here is a transcript of the brief exchange aired on March 17:
11:44AM ET
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DAVID GREGORY: There – to end on this point – the last Democratic president who had significant ties to Israel, President Clinton, was really a rock star in Israel. What are the chances that Barack Obama becomes similarly a rock star in Israel?
MICHAEL OREN: I think it's excellent. I think that the Israeli people have never really encountered President Obama up close. He's going to have a lot of chance – a lot of opportunities to interact with Israelis, particularly Israeli young people. He'll be meeting up to a thousand Israeli college students in one particular gathering, and they're going to see him in a completely, I think, a different light. And by the time he takes off from Israel on Friday, I think he's going to be a very, very popular man in the state of Israel.
GREGORY: We look forward to the trip. Ambassador, thanks.
OREN: Thank you very much, David.
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