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[SlaveNoMore]

Atticus Grinch
Oooh, oooh, I know how this turns out. In a poorly-lit German restaurant, Josh secretly meets with a representative of the Palestinian PM who says a new era has arrived requiring secret, direct peace talks and an end run around the Chairman, who is corrupt and now lacks legitimacy to lead the PA. It's a back channel overture! So Josh --- who's a fish out of water, this being a foreign policy matter, it's real funny, trust me --- conveys this to a particularly sour Leo, who advises the President it's all a waste of time; there's no one at the PA worth talking to; and an end run around the Chairman will close the wrong doors. (He wants airstrikes on some militants instead; he's pissed because Hamas blew up a bus or something. Anyhoo, it's personal.) Meanwhile, Kate (NSC aide) tells the President it's worth a shot. The President sides with Kate and shuts Leo down. But it turns out --- and here's the kicker --- the PM stabs the US in the back by publicly announcing the talks with the Chairman even before the US has agreed to them, putting the US on shaky ground with Israel. We've been played! But the President doesn't know this yet because he was walking down a noisy corridor at Camden Yards when the call came in to Leo.

Say what you will about television news; it's surprisingly detailed. It's also true what they say --- nobody gets anything done in D.C. during the summer.

But did the President throw out a curveball or a change-up?