Senator John McCain, the Republican standardbearer in 2008, was highly critical of the exchange between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama in which Sarkozy called Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a liar. Most of the media concentrated on Sarkozy’s remark.

However, the conversation, picked up by a hot microphone, had Obama responding to the French president’s  slur: “You are sick of him, but I have to work with him every day.”

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Obama’s remarks reflected the Obama administration’s attitude towards Israel.

In an interview with Fox news, the ranking Republican Senator on the Foreign Relations Committee continued “I happen to be a great admirer of Prime Minister Netanyahu,”.

“I’ve known him for years, and Israel is under more pressure and probably in more danger than they’ve been since the ’67 war and that kind of comment is not only not helpful, but indicative of some of the policies towards Israel that this administration has been part of.”

These attitudes and policies, McCain believes, are responsible for the total failure of the Israel-Palestinian peace talks.

The Obama administration has refused comment on the Obama-Sarkozy exchange, which is expected to constitute a further impediment to Obama’s effort to approach the support levels that he received in 2008 amongst Jewish voters.