I've only read two pages of the thread, so forgive me if this has already been settled, but I don't see why people are complaining about this. Do you want to give people like Rubio and Ryan the ammo to paint Rand as anti-Israel? If they did that and it worked, it would spell death for Rand in the primaries and he wouldn't even make it to the Convention. Do you want Rand to lose the evangelical vote, which would also sink him not only in the Primaries, but in the General Election as well?
I understand sticking to your principals, but at some point we have have to realize that unless we pander to the typical GOP voter, we aren't going to win the nomination, much less the presidency. Who cares if he's at the Weaping Wall? If anything, that would make it much harder for people to paint Rand as anti-Israel. The evangelical Christians and Zionists on the GOP side aren't just going to go away in the next four years. They're there and will be a huge voting block during the Primaries.
If this trip to Israel helps Rand during the Primaries, then so be it. It's all about playing the game, and if Rand refuses to play (like Ron did) then he will be ignored by everyone in the GOP and the media just like Ron was. That isn't how you win a presidency. The more Rand does to convince them that he is "one of them," the better his chances are in 2016.
I don't say this as a knock at anyone, but some of you all would make awful politicians. I know the word "politician" has a negative concoction at times, but if you want to win big like Rand seems to want to do, you have to play politics.
