STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE, MITT ROMNEY; HIT THE FASTBALL OUT OF THE PARK!

By Schmoel Yitzhak

Mitt Romney's visit to Israel bears watching. 

His words must immediately be matched against those of Barack Obama and his horde of lackeys whose presence -- and future visits -- seem primarily intended to dilute the effect of the Republican candidate's expedition to Jerusalem.

While it's impossible to gauge the effect America's "Jewish vote" will have on the November election, there's no doubt that in a closely fought campaign every edge can be decisive. Obama's conspicuous inaction during his first time has given his challenger a reasonable chance to win -- provided that American Jews see the light.

So far all the president has done is bolster the confidence of Israel's enemies. Viz and to wit:

* IRAN: Obama continues to insist that sanctions will intimidate the ayotollahs; that Iran will not only bend but break over Uncle Sam's threats. Nothing of the kind has happened since Obama became president. His feints have been figured by Tehran. During the present administration Iran has emerged as the most dangerous threat to peace; not only in the Middle East but throughout the world.

* HEZBOLLAH: When Israel was forced to accept a truce in the last Lebanon war, it was expected that United Nations peacekeepers would neutralize Hezbollah and eliminate the terror group from amassing another rocket stockpile. Just the opposite has taken place with not a whimper of protest from the White House which forced Israel into an armistice it neither needed or wanted. While Obama has led America, Hezbollah has successfully turned into Iran's most practical proxy to wage war against the Jewish State.

* EGYPT: With Obama leading the way, Hosni Mubarak -- a lukewarm friend but at least a friend of Israel -- was given the hook without any clear preparation for succession. During the past year the Muslim Brotherhood's ascent has been deceptively frightening. More and more, the anti-Israel decibel count has been rising in and around Cairo. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Avenue administration blithely sends billions to Egypt as if the country is as stable and friendly to Jews as Canada.

With that egregiously unimpressive Obama-Israel scorecard, it would be difficult for Romney not to hit a grand slam after his meetings with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Knesset and other leaders in Jerusalem. 

The problem is that we have no idea what the Republican's game plan will be although his arrival could not come at a more critical and propitious time. 

If Mitt has a realistic game plan vis-a-vis the aforementioned threat-states, Bibi wants to hear it. 

So do I and so should you if you care about Israel's fate.

From the Democrats we've endured four years of fallible policies, humiliation of Netanyahu by the American president, and cheap promises from Secretary of State Clinton. 

Enough already. America needs an action figure not an appeasing president. 

Israel requires someone who does more than proclaim that he has Israel's back while stabbing it simultaneously. 

It's your turn at bat, Mitt. Go for it!