It's tangential, but it amazes me how little Netanyahu seems to care about the Obama Administration's opinion on settlement's etc. I could see a scenario where the US would like a Palestinian Spring, just to get some more leverage on Netanyahu. Or more accurately, cover for pushing back against him.
Heh...Israel basically has dictated our foreign policy, at least as far as the Middle East. Even though Obama has barely deviated from this, it must come as a bit of a shock.
I wonder if any US Presidential candidate could win while taking a hard line with Israel. The Jewish/Israeli lobby and influence in the US is very strong. However, I think that US popular opinion is that the US does too much for Israel. It seems that the Dems are trying to move in that direction, with their attempt to drop Jerusalem as the capital of Israel from their platform. IMO it's a stance that is only going to grow in support in the US. The upcoming generation has a different impression of Mideast politics.