Seth Gitell catches Wonkette in mid shark-jump:

It’s encouraging to read the kind of thoughtful, intelligent discussion of foreign affairs, I discovered on Wonkette today. Over the years, I have found that Wonkette has done an admirable job of dishing up a tasty mix of political gossip and Washington-based insight. Today, I visit the site to see what it has to say on John Edwards jaw-droppingly appalling remarks labeling Israel, in effect, the greatest threat to world peace. (In case you missed it, Peter Bart of Variety wrote the initial story here.)

Wonkette suggests, in response to critiques on NRO and elsewhere, that Edwards’ act of “stating the obvious” is impossible in today’s world and “requires taking your lips off Israel’s ass for a few seconds, and that’s fatal for any American politician with presidential ambitions. This isn’t because Jews get upset or Israel’s feelings will get hurt or anything. It’s because of batshit insane evangelical American Jesus Freaks who have to love and protect Israel so Jesus will come back and destroy it.”

Update: Dean Barnett adds:

John Edwards is now saying that he didn’t label Israel the greatest threat to world peace while speaking to an audience full of Jews. I’m willing to split the difference and agree that he misspoke. Even if he did in fact think that Israel is the world’s greatest threat to world peace, he never would say so out loud, especially since he pretty much has to run the table on the Jews after his choice in bloggers terminally alienated America’s Christians.

Jonah Goldberg thinks Edwards may have actually said that thing about Israel because “Edwards isn't very thoughtful about foreign policy.” I’ve gone to great lengths to make the John Edwards campaign my personal dominion in the right half of the blogosphere, so I must confess that I’m outraged by Jonah’s simplistic summation of Edwards’ thoughtfulness or lack thereof.

Edwards is a man who in his own mind and rhetoric has boiled a 21st century economy down to starving chimney sweeps and shivering street urchins. Not thoughtful on foreign policy? Compared to his positions on domestic policy, Edwards’ foreign policy thoughtfulness qualifies him as a latter day Kissinger!