Livni Speaks To Obama As Bush Team Visits Israel

"Obama to Livni: Israel has every right to defend itself" from the Jerusalem Post reports that Senator Barack Obama has spoken with Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni - who is speaking to all three of the 2008 presidential candidates.  It would seem mutually important for both with Obama leading the Democrat field and in a statistical tie with Senator John McCain in some polls.  It also helps Obama who has been portrayed as a Muslim by some Clinton operatives despite being a Christian.

Livni herself has been cited as a potential prime minister of Israel at some point - and thus is a key figure in Israel's future going forward.

This also comes as members of the Bush administration are in the region on a lame duck trip to try to salvage something of a Israel-Palestinian peace effort.

On Tuesday and late Monday, Livni met with US Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and congressional leaders.