Al Gore Invented the Internet \ Ehud Olmert Invented Pretty Woman

(JTA) "Ehud Olmert reportedly came up with the title for the Hollywood hit "Pretty Woman". Israel´s prime minister-elect was a Knesset lawmaker when he helped his friend, film producer Arnon Milchan, choose golden oldie "Pretty Woman" as the title song for the 1990 romantic comedy, Yediot Aharonot reported Thursday. The daily did not cite sources but its reporter, Yair Lapid, is a former Milchan protege."

Since Olmert's military experience consisted of working on a newspaper and his main accomplishment is being indicted without being convicted of a financial coverup (something that doesn't play as well as it used to), his lackeys have to find something to his credit. Al Gore claimed he invented the internet, Ehud Olmert can claim he invented the title of an 80's movie about a prostitute. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

The only reason Sharon is still on life support is that Olmert knows he has no crediblity of his own and must lug around Sharon's body like a macabre political Israeli remake of 'Weekend at Bernie's' trying to convince the public that retreat and surrender were Sharon's real legacies. 'Pretty Woman' is indeed an appropriate product for the leader of a party of prostitutes, professional politicians who abandoned their parties and causes in exchange for money and power. The politicians who have led Israel down this road have sold it all away, now they can only hope for a wealthy bachelor nation to take them in off the streets.

But ultimately the Pretty Woman incident is a testament to something darker, to the belief of politicians and spimeisters that the Israeli public will be seduced by the promise of American dazzle and Hollywood celebrity into overlooking the very real threats to their survival. Shimon Peres' New Middle East always held the implicit promise that the ongoing conflict, the struggle for survival and isolation would be gone replaced by a middle-eastern version of Monaco, a playground for the rich buisnessmen and with some leavings for the rest. Citing Pretty Woman is the bottom of the barrel attempt to capitalize on the last vestiges of that fading glamour.