Obama To Address Middle East Issues Today, Courting Jewish Voters In Florida
Barack Obama has lagged behind John McCain in Florida, with a much poorer performance than Hillary Clinton, and a new piece this morning in the New York Times sheds some light on one factor: Jews in Florida, a normally loyal Demoratic constituency, still feel distrust of Obama.
Obama is taking some steps to defuse the situation, speaking today at a synagogue in Boca Raton in order to let voters there meet him up close, something he couldn't do before when boycotting the state's rogue primary.
"Because of a dispute over moving the date of the state's primary, Mr. Obama and the other Democratic candidates did not campaign in Florida," the paper explains. "In his absence, novel and exotic rumors about Mr. Obama have flourished. Among many older Jews, and some younger ones, as well, he has become a conduit for Jewish anxiety about Israel, Iran, anti-Semitism and race."















Obama's Still Has Problem
Is this an lolcats headline?
May 22, 2008 9:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
WTF?!?!?
Nope. My foreskin is still gone . . .
Jewish voters will has no problems with Obama in November. This story is horse-hockey.
May 22, 2008 9:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you :-)
I'm a Catholic and I don't have a problem with Obama.
May 22, 2008 9:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jewish anxiety is making me tired. I'm tired of worrying about what Jewish anxiety is going to do to the elections in America.
Real real tired.
May 22, 2008 9:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Eat something, Tena. You're just skin and bones. And why don't you ever call me anymore?!
May 22, 2008 9:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
LOL!
I wish I had known my Jewish grandmother. Unfortunately, I not only didn't know her, I didn't know she was Jewish until I had my DNA analyzed. I would have given anything for a Bubba!
May 22, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
haha, bubbas are the best. Mine died when I was probably around 8 or 9. She was a riot.
May 22, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Meanwhile, Israel and Syria negotiate. Some US Jews need to catch up with those who actually in Israel.
May 22, 2008 9:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
'who actually live'
May 22, 2008 9:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes that just points out the stupidity here - American Jews apparently get more worked up over Israel than the Israelis.
*sigh*
May 22, 2008 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
But isn't that just an incredibly Jewish thing to do?
May 22, 2008 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
I have got to stop posting from my Treo.
May 22, 2008 9:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
What do American Jews have to worry about? This is probably the least anti-semitic country on earth.
So what's with the anxiety? If it's all Israel - we need to get some perspective in this country or else go ahead and just make Israel the 51st state- one or the other.
May 22, 2008 9:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
HusseinTenaX,
That's a fair point. But while I can understand and almost appreciate it, the tone of resentment doesn't help. What can I say? Jews tend to have long memories and an accute sense of history -- it's not necessarily good or bad, but that's the way it is. For good or ill.
Speaking strictly for myself, when I hear presumptions about America being a Christian nation, and political lip service to warped notions of "Judeo-Christian" values and tradition, something in my BS meeter goes off. On the other side of the poltical spectrum, we sometimes hear that the influence of American Jews exceeds our numbers in US foreign policy decisions, or that strings are pulled from Jerusalem. Even in a recent TPMCafe discussion, for example, a challenge was made to provide a figure for American Jewish troops killed in action in Iraq in order to vouch for the loyalty of the community as a whole.
So, yes, I will admit to a certain amount of anxiety when notions like these are batted around.
May 22, 2008 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
What resentment? Please tell me what resentment?
and dude, I hate to break it to you, but genetically I'm among the Jewy-est Jews here - Ashkenazi and Sephardi, so will you allow me to speak openly, without constantly worrying about whether or not someone is going to accuse me of anti-semitism? What I am and I will defend this - is far more interested in the welfare and well being of everyone in the United States of America than I am any other country. And it concerns me that Repugs will play on Israeli nationalism and lie about it to persuade American Jews to vote Republican. And have done so.
What's wrong with that?
May 22, 2008 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Look - I can make the same analogy over Latino immigrants from Cuba who vote in Florida to keep the sanctions against Cuba by voting for Republicans. I'm more concerned about normalizing relations between our countries inasmuch as I believe it is to everyone's best interest.
But there are beaucoup Cubans in Florida who were, for the most part, the wealthy who got out, and of course lost everything and they hate the Castros to the point of irrationality.
May 22, 2008 12:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I took a stab at explaining the anxiety you wondered about, and I got a little impression of resentment in the Israel as 51st state remark. I didn't mean it as a knock. Sorry.
May 22, 2008 4:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Israel can't be the 51st state.
According to Obama, there are already 57 states.
May 22, 2008 2:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
After watching our politicians since Vietnam, trusting them is ridiculous.
When have they earned our trust?
May 22, 2008 9:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
There is a sophisticated underground movement to undermine Obama in the Jewish community. My Aunt gets forwarded articles about Obama's supposed ties to anti-Israel folks every day. Sadly she eventually bought into this stuff. A couple months ago she told me that she could no longer support Obama and for me to stop sending her fundraising emails.
Obviously the right-wing is responsible for this, but I'm sure that HRC supporters are at minimum turning a blind eye. This something that must be confronted head on because it is not going away.
May 22, 2008 9:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Two words: Sydney Blumenthal.
May 22, 2008 9:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
GRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
fuck Sidney fucking Blumenthal.
May 22, 2008 9:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don't think that the right wing is the only responsible party. Clinton has been energetically attacking Obama's support for Israel:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/114723
Which is a pile of horseshit a mile high. Obama's commitment to Jewish issues has been beyond reproach. Even Haaretz says so!
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerBlog.jhtml?itemNo=832667&contrassID=25&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=1&listSrc=Y&art=1
Too bad that in the land of the low-information voter the sound-bite is king.
May 22, 2008 9:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jewish voters traditionally turn out Democratic to the tune of 3-1. Regarding Obama specifically, Republicans are reduced to bragging about how polls show Jews "only" favor Obama over McCain at about 2-1 (I expect a wider margin of support when Obama gets the nomination).
May 22, 2008 10:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
I dont think its actually Obama's fault if American Jews in Florida are so stupid they rely on hearsay and viral emails from right-wing nutjobs.What does Obama have to say really to finally pacify those ignorant jews huh?
Maybe Obama should just promise to move a few Nuclear bombs to Tel-Aviv? Sheesh!!!!
May 22, 2008 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Turning a blind eye my ass; Hillary's campaign is actively involved in spreading this stuff. When will people learn that there's no depth to which she won't sink?
May 22, 2008 9:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
From the article I gather the anxiety has as much to do with good old fashion race relations in the U.S. as it does with Israel. From the linked article:
Also a fear of the Muslim other:
May 22, 2008 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
God there was always a very good relationship between American Jews and African Americans, until just recently - not that many years ago.
This kills me. That and the fact that the overwhelming majority of American Jews are Democrats and loyal Democrats and always have been.
Did the right do this to us? All these goddamn labels and divisions of population - red states, blue states, white working class, limo liberals - jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezuz. 'And we buy right into it and perpetuate the same damn blind prejudice.
May 22, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sounds like you might be an Obama supporter. It's one thing to address the fissures in America's racial and class makeup and another thing to exploit those fissures for short term political gain. That type of selfish cynicism makes me angry. Responsible idealism makes is fortifying.
May 22, 2008 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
.....it pains me that as a non-practising Jewiush man I seem to be an important demographic for Obama, one that happens to be declining and the flames are being fanned that (he is an anti-semite as Mike Malloy would whisper) he has some sort of a Jewish problem. I haven't seen any polling indictaiong how Jewish people would vote so I am curious if this is a real phenomenon or anecdotal in nature. I can't imagine seeing McCain sidle up with Hagee and Parsley would be a persuading factor in Jews voting for the GOP this cycle.
May 22, 2008 9:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nor have I, but if history is any indication of anything, then American Jews will vote Democratic.
The only caveat there is that apparently a number of American Jews fell for Bush's bullshit. In '04, the Repugs dispatched Tom Delay a couple of blocks down from the convention to hold a separate convention for American Jews voting Repug. Tom harangued the group on Israel and the End of Time.
And they bought it - some of them, anyway, based on the '04 vote. The ignored the End Times crap and just heard the Israel crap.
'What is going on when otherwise really good Democrats listen to someone like Tom Delay?
May 22, 2008 9:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
What in the '04 vote makes you believe that? As I recall, the split of the Jewish vote was about the same as in the several preceding elections.
May 22, 2008 10:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
It was - but they had a full house in their mini-convention and I found that unprecedented.
May 22, 2008 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
There has been extra effort given to giving Jewish voters concerns about Obama. Smearing Obama describes a lot of these efforts of the
The Nation article describes some of how it is done and who is behind it and how some of the craziest theories and articles move from smear to something that has an air of respectability.
They name some of the right wingers including both Christian and Jesish right wing that work on the smears(Ed Lasky, a blogger whose articles gets into AmericanThinker.com , Aaron Klein, an Orthodox Jew who is Jerusalem correspondent for WorldNetDaily and others)and how the articles move. Also of note:
Then we have other little helpers. From McClatchy Newspapers earlier this month
Where did the Web rumors about Obama
We can't make the obvious guess about who this retired CIA agent is because he writes to whoever does and violently denies it but if Obama has more than one ex-CIA agent ho hates Obama like a dog hates cats and obsesses and smears Obama on these very issue, well God help us.
There are some Jewish bloggers who say they can get up to 25 Obama smearing e-mails a week.
So I don't think Jewish voters just get concerned by a black guy with that name, they are barraged with reasons to be suspicious.
May 22, 2008 10:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://jews4obama2008.wordpress.com/
May 22, 2008 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good luck, Barack.
May 22, 2008 11:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
After the Hagee audio about Hitler doing God's will, I am sure the jewish population will get away from McBushSame very fast!!!
May 22, 2008 11:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lol, they already have over 400 of their own nukes.
It is much ado over nothing, he is supported within the Jewish community and a few off ends from Florida will get over it.
May 22, 2008 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
It should be noted that the elderly in both the black and Jewish communities don't have great relations, actually meriting a segment in (let's see if this works) The Black Jew Dialogues, where the two actors dress up as old women and begin the airing of grievances.
May 22, 2008 5:03 PM | Reply | Permalink