Houston Rockets guard Joe Johnson is a seven-time all-star who earned the nickname "Iso-Joe" for his one-man play, especially when the game is on the line. At 36, he's playing his last season on the Rockets, a team with a good shot to knock off Golden State as NBA champ.
Though the iso label (e.g., ball hog) is a derogatory term, all teams run an isolation play where everybody clears out to draw their defenders from the guy who is supposed to make the play.
I doubt Donald Trump is much of an NBA fan, but his decision today to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal reminded me of Iso-Joe Johnson.
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Despite pleas from traditional allies Britain and France (Trump's bromance with French president Emmanuel Macron nipped in the bud), Trump yanked the Iran deal that everyone (except Israel) says has kept Iran's nuclear program in check.
His move isolates the US from friends and adversaries Russia and China. It Makes America Smaller Again on the world's stage.
Exiting the Iran deal continues the President's policy of erasing every piece of evidence that Barack Obama ever sat in the Oval office.
Iran's nuke deal was Obama's signature foreign policy achievement. Trump has already nixed Obama's No. 2 foreign policy success, which was negotiating the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership, a trade treaty also designed to check China's influence. It was a win-win deal.
Trump recently signaled that he may have second thoughts on TPTP, but Japan told him don't bother to come crawling back.
As for Obama's signature domestic achievement, ObamaCare, Donald is working to destroy that.
Johnson made his mark playing for the Atlanta Hawks from 2005-2002, where he was an all-star six times.
He made it to New York in 2012, suiting up for the Brooklyn Nets, where he was to be part of a backcourt to propel the Nets into playoffs and beyond. Let's just say that didn't work out.
Perhaps Trump caught a game or two at Barclay's Center and was inspired by the play of Iso-Joe.
There is a difference between the Iso-Joe and Iso-Don. Johnson has a decent chance of getting into the NBA Hall of Fame.
Trump's head isn't going to be carved into Mount Rushmore.
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As Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to meet with Donald Trump, the influential Israeli media outlet, Haaretz, has called on the country to end of the country’s influence ops campaign targeted at the US.
