Jewish Influence in Capital Soars
By Brett Lieberman
It’s difficult to quantify whether Jews are in line to hold any sort of a record number of top positions in the Obama administration or the next Congress, but it’s clear that a large number of Jews stand to serve in key positions.
Among the latest is U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman.
The California Democrat dethroned Michigan’s John Dingell to chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The panel has jurisdiction over critical areas including potential legislation setting pollution standards, health care and energy policy.
Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia will be the No. 2 Republican leader in the House, where Reps. Robert Wexler and Debbie Wasserman Schultz saw their stocks go up after their campaign efforts on behalf of President-elect Barack Obama in Florida.
In addition to Rahm Emanuel as Obama’s chief of staff, Ron Klain will play the same role for Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod will serve as a senior advisor to the president.
Penny Pritzker, the Hyatt hotel heiress, was supposedly in line to head the Commerce Department, but The Washington Post says she’s unlikely to take the job. Politico quotes unnamed officials saying she took herself out of the running because of concerns that past business dealings would pose confirmation problems.
Pritzker was named one of the top picks on this year’s Forward 50 list.
Another name being thrown around for a possible administration posts include Larry Summers at Treasury.
Bill Clinton, Obama Want Joe Lieberman to Stay With Democrats
By Brett Lieberman
After not only supporting John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, but criticizing the Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman is fighting for his job as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. And Democrats must decide whether they want him to caucus with them.
While they have enough votes to remain in the majority regardless of Lieberman, they still need the senator from Connecticut because they’re shy of the 60 votes needed to cut of filibusters.
Lieberman has told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he does not want to relinquish his chairmanship, which plenty of Democrats want to take away from him as punishment.
Lieberman was re-elected as an Independent after losing the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont, but continued caucusing with Democrats.
Now comes word that Lieberman may have some influential party leaders want Lieberman to keep caucusing with Democrats.
Talking Point Memo’s Josh Marshall reports that former President Bill Clinton is making calls on Lieberman’s behalf, and The Huffington Post reports that President-elect Barack Obama, who Lieberman campaigned against, also wants him to remain in the caucus.
Obama to Name Rahm Emanuel Chief of Staff
By Brett Lieberman
UPDATE 2:15 p.m.
Jews still questioning whether they will have a strong ally in the next White House may have their answer.
In one of his first decisions, President-elect Barack Obama has asked Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel to be White House chief of staff, according to three leaders in the Jewish community and Washington insiders.
Emanuel worked in the Clinton White House.
When Emanuel lived in the Washington, D.C. area, he was a member of Agudas Achim Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in Alexandria, Va.
“Rahm Emanuel and hopefully many other Jewish Americans will have a role in helping to move the country in a new direction,” said a Washington lobbyist.
A formal announcement is expected this afternoon.
UPDATE Emanuel was said to be mulling the offer, which wasn’t part of the career trajectory he planned. But media reports now indicate that he has in fact accepted the position.
November 5, 2008, 4:17am
Republican Jewish Leader Claims Win in Obama Victory
By Brett Lieberman
UPDATED 8:21 A.M
With exit polls showing that Democrat Barack Obama won an estimated 77 percent of the Jewish vote, you would think that all Republicans would be disappointed.
Yet other than the fact that Obama won, Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, is declaring the election a success.
“The reality is that the Republicans were able to hold onto the gains and inroads that we’ve made in the past several elections,” Brooks told the Forward by phone around 1:30 a.m. from Minnesota, where he was helped U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman’s campaign.
“We stood tall in the face of a major tsunami,” Brooks said.
Palin Questions Obama's Israel Support; Wasserman Schultz Says 'Look Who's Talking'
By Brett Lieberman
Hello pot, the kettle’s on Line 3.
Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who doesn’t exactly have the strongest bona fides when it comes to Israel or any foreign policy, is questioning whether Democrat Barack Obama is really as staunch a supporter of Israel as he contends.
CBS News reports that at a rally in Bowling Green, Ohio, Palin questioned the Democratic presidential nominee’s Israel commitment.
Palin’s remarks came as she raised the issue of a 2003 banquet for Rashid Khalidi, who has been referred to as a former PLO spokesman and has been critical of Israel. Khalidi is now a Columbia University professor.
Today’s New York Times also has a story on the controversy.
Conservative bloggers and more recently John McCain’s campaign have questioned why the Los Angeles Times won’t release a video tape it has of the event.
“And the twist here is that there’s a videotape of a party for this person, back in 2003, a celebration of him, and Barack was there, and we know some very derogatory things were said there about Israel and America’s support for that great nation,” CBS reports Palin said. “And among other things, Israel was described there as the perpetrator of terrorism instead of the victim.”
“What we don’t know is how Barack Obama responded to these slurs on a country that he now professes to support,” she said.
The L.A. Times said it is not releasing the video because of a promise to the source who provided it. But it also notes that this is old news. It reported on the event back in an April 2008 story.
In responding, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., suggested that Palin look in the mirror before throwing out charges.
“Gov. Sarah Palin – who prior to her nomination for Vice President had never spoken publicly about Israel in any major forum – has no standing to question Barack Obama’s unshakable commitment to Israel and its security,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. “He has demonstrated this commitment over many years through word, deed, legislation, and votes. Frankly, her attempts to question Barack Obama on Israel are unfounded and pathetic.”
Pa. Republicans Fire Strategist Over Obama 'Smear' E-Mail
By Brett Lieberman
The Pennsylvania Republican State Party has fired a strategist over an e-mail sent to Jewish voters that warns a vote for Barack Obama would be a “tragic mistake” with parallels to the “ignored warning signs of the 1930s and 1940s.”
The e-mail, which a GOP spokesman says was sent without the party’s authorization, falsely warns that Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee “taught members of Acorn to commit voter registration fraud” during his community organizing days.
The e-mail was signed by several prominent Pennsylvania Republicans who are supporting GOP presidential nominee John McCain. They were Sandra Schultz Newman, a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice; developer Mitchell L. Morgan, a top fund-raiser from the Philadelphia area for McCain as well as other Republicans including President Bush and former U.S. Sen Rick Santorum; and I. Michael Coslow, a steel industry exec.
A spokesman for the state party, Michael Barley, tells the New York Times, that state party leaders repudiated the message sent Friday and that Bryan Rudnick, the strategist who helped draft it, had been fired.
“There were some points that were accurate, there were two that we cannot substantiate, however; as a result of them we’ve let him go,” Michael Barley told The Times.
“There are points that could have been made and he touched on some of them, but he definitely went a little bit farther than the facts would support,” he said.
Democrats blasted what one Jewish Democrat calls a “blatantly false and incendiary e-mail” that was “just one more vicious smear.”
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., and state Rep. Josh Shapiro, both of whom are leading Obama surrogates held a conference call with reporters Saturday afternoon to respond to the e-mail.
Keep reading for the full, unedited, text of the e-mail that was provided to the Forward:
National, Fla. Polls Show Obama Gaining Support Among Jewish Voters
By Brett Lieberman
It’s a little early for Barack Obama’s campaign to breath a sigh of relief and say a few Amens, but two new polls of Jewish voters offer some good news for the Democratic presidential nominee.
An analysis by Gallup based on its daily tracking poll and interviews with more than 500 Jewish voters shows that Jewish voters have grown much more comfortable with Obama.
It found that 74 percent of Jewish voters now support Obama. That’s a tad lower than what exit polls showed John Kerry and Al Gore won in 2004 and 2000, but it’s shows huge gains for Obama in the last few months.
A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,433 Florida voters shows Obama leading Republican John McCain by a 77 percent to 20 percent margin among Jewish voters included in a survey.
One note of caution in the Q-Poll numbers – the Jewish sample survey carries a whopping 10.5 percent margin of error because of the small sample of Jews in the larger survey, which had a 2.6 percent margin of error. Given their methodology, Quinnipiac pollsters, however, believe the number is probably pretty close to accurate despite the large potential margin of error.
Jewish support for Obama has risen gradually from the low 60 percent range in June and July to 66 percent in August, 69 percent in September, and now 74 percent, according to Gallup.
With just under two weeks until the Nov. 4 election, “The current proportion of U.S. Jews backing Obama is identical to the level of support the Democratic ticket of John Kerry and John Edwards received in the 2004 presidential election (74%),” and “It is only slightly lower than what Al Gore and Joe Lieberman received in 2000 (80%) – when the first Jewish American appeared on the presidential ticket of a major party,” according to Gallup.
And while there has been much concern about a generational divide and the potential of bigotry that could keep some older Jews from supporting Obama, or cause them to vote for Republican John McCain, Gallup reports that “support for Obama is a bit higher among older Jews than among Jews younger than 55.”
Middle East Envoy Suffers Envy
Dennis Ross, the former Middle East envoy, has been spending a lot of time on the road and in synagogues these days.
Since joining joining Barack Obama on a Middle East trip and then publicly coming out in support of the Democratic presidential nominee, Ross has been on a tour of the Jewish community in battleground states.
On Sunday, he stumped for the Democratic nominee in Tampa and then Parkland, Florida.
While imparting the reasons he’s supporting Obama, Ross, looking around at Congregation Kol Tikvah’s new shul in Parkland, Broward County, noted how he’s also gleaned some valuable insights of his own.
“I have shul building envy,” Ross told about 75 people seated in the building that opened earlier this year.
Ross explained that he’s co-chair of the capital campaign at Kol Shalom, a seven-year-old Conservative egalitarian congregation in Maryland that is raising money to construct a synagogue.
His timing couldn’t be worse to be chair of a campaign hitting up donors, Ross said in a reference to the global financial meltdown.
October 15, 2008, 4:19pm
A Debate Detente Between Jewish Republicans and Democrats?
By Brett Lieberman
Representatives of the Republican Jewish Coalition and National Jewish Democratic Council usually spend much of their time trading charges, accusing each other of smears and other assorted provocations.
So it was perhaps a little surprising, to say the least, to see the partisan groups come together for tonight’s final presidential debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain at Hoftsra University in Hempstead, N.Y.
The cause of this detente, which we understand to be completely temporary, is a debate watch party at Washington Hebrew Congregation jointly sponsored by RJC and NJDC.
The behind the scenes story, we’re told, is far less noble than bipartisan accord and world peace. Rather, it boils down to the synagogue tax status and the desire for such an event to be non-partisan.
Oh, well. For those interested $10 will get you two beers, unlimited sodas, snacks and one can only assume some awkward moments.
Democrats can get more information here. Republicans can get more information here.
'Independent' Lieberman on the Synagogue Tour for McCain
By Brett Lieberman
Campaigning as a “Democrat who was re-elected as independent now here to support a Republican for president,” U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman told Jewish voters in southeastern Pennsylvania that he remains convinced that Republican John McCain is the best candidate to lead the country even as the focus of the election has shifted from national security to financial security.
“All days but particularly now country matters more than party, that’s the bottom line,” Lieberman told about 50 Jewish voters at Temple Beth Hillel in Wynnewood Friday morning.
He later spoke to about 70 retirees at B’rith Shalom House in Philadelphia and then about 120 mostly politically conservative Jews at Congregation Shaare Shamayim.
While mostly receptive audiences, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee faced skeptical and sometimes outwardly hostile questioning about McCain’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Lieberman responded that the election is about deciding whether Barack Obama or McCain will be president. Based on his own interactions with Palin and others he’s spoken with, Lieberman described her as a pragmatic and realistic leader who understands everybody does not share all of her ideological views. Lieberman, for one, said he disagrees with many of her social views.
McCain, Obama Allies Hope to Reassure Jewish Buckeyes
By Brett Lieberman
Ohio’s Jewish community is getting lots of love from presidential surrogates this Columbus Day weekend.
U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the independent Connecticut Democrat and 2000 vice presidential nominee, is meeting with Jewish communal leaders over breakfast this morning outside of Cleveland to emphasize his belief that Republican John McCain is the bettered prepared candidate to be president.
Lieberman addressed about 200 McCain volunteers at a campaign call center northeast of Cleveland on Sunday.
Not far away at the Landerhaven banquet hall, which Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher called the epicenter of Ohio Jewish politics and at least for a short while the presidential campaign, former Middle East peace negotiator Dennis Ross was joined by Sen. Carl Levin, Rep. Jane Harman and Alan Solow, a prominent member of Chicago’s Jewish community, to reassure Jewish voters that Democrat Barack Obama is a strong friend of Israel and the Jewish community.
While Ross, Levin and Harman emphasized Obama’s commitment and understanding of the importance of Israel and nominating good candidates to the Supreme Court, it was Solow, chairman of Jewish Community Centers Association of North America but the least known of the group, who offered the best line of the night: “I like to say he’s going to be the first Jewish president of the United States.”
Solow, who met Obama in 2003 and traveled with the Illinois senator to Israel in 2006, said that Obama “gets (Israel) in his bones. He has it in his kishkes,” he said, using the Yiddish word for guts.
Top Obama Aides Dispached to Florida, Ohio
By Brett Lieberman
With three weeks to go until Election Day, Barack Obama’s campaign seems to be betting the kibbutz on three states: Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
“Those three are the three swing states with the largest Jewish population that really has the most likely chance of affecting the outcome,” Dan Shapiro, Obama’s national Jewish outreach coordinator told the Forward Sunday night.
Public polls show the contest is close in Ohio and Florida, but Obama with a wide lead in Pennsylvania, though campaign aides and political insiders believe the Pennsylvania race is narrower.
With three weeks until Election Day, Barack Obama’s top Jewish outreach coordinators are taking up residence in Ohio and Florida, while the campaign has added staff to its Jewish outreach efforts in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
“I’m spending two of the next three weeks in Ohio as an indicator of how we’re deploying our resources,” Shapiro said before a rally near Cleveland at the Landerhaven banquet hall headlined by Dennis Ross, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, U.S. Rep. Jane Harman of California and Alan Solow, a Chicago Jewish leader and a longtime Obama friend.
While Shapiro will be based in Ohio, but will continue to travel to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Chicago and Washington, D.C., Eric Lynn, Obama’s national Jewish vote director will be in Florida, where another staffer was also recently added.
Democrats also have a dedicated state staffer in Ohio for Jewish outreach and several people devoting significant time around Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
Shapiro allowed that the the Jewish vote could still play a critical role in Nevada or Colorado, two other battlegrounds Democrats hope to win.
Obama Spokeman Takes Sean Hannity to Task for Anti-Semitic Guest
By Brett Lieberman
After the debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs and Fox’s Sean Hannity played the guilt by association game.
Gibbs asked the Fox host whether he was anti-Semitic for having Andy Martin on his show.
RNC Criticizes Obama Grant to Rabbi/Relative
By Brett Lieberman
The latest Republican attack line on Barack Obama involves a rabbi.
The Republican National Committee is circulating a news release this morning calling the Democratic presidential nominee to task for awarding $75,000 in grants to a social service agency lead by his wife’s cousin, Rabbi Capers Funnye.
The grants - $50,000 for adult literacy and counseling services and $25,000 for youth services – went to a group called Blue Gargoyle in 1999 and 2000, when Obama was an Illinois state senator, the Associated Press reports.
Funnye, Michelle Obama’s first cousin once removed, denied Obama or the group acted improperly in securing the grants.
“State Sen. Obama joined other legislators in securing funding for a well-established social services agency in his district that provided job training, employment counseling, and alternative education programs to approximately 1,200 Chicago residents each year,” campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt told AP.
But under the headline, “Obama’s Friends & Family Plan,” the RNC asked, “Why Does Barack Obama Decry The Politics Of Special Interest, But Show No Shame In Doing Favors For Friends & Family?”
Jewish Mom Hopes to Set the Record Straight on Obama Rumors
By Brett Lieberman
There’s Jews for Obama, Rabbis for Obama, and now in the seemingly never-ending quest to address every possible demographic, there’s Jewish Moms for Obama. More specifically, it’s an Orthodox Jewish mom, who lived in Israel during the Second Intifada and the start of the Iraq War and now lives in Cambridge, Mass. with her husband and two kids.
Janette Hillis-Jaffe is the driving force behind the new http://www.JewsObamaIsrael.com Web site and video designed to make other Jews feel more comfortable about the Democratic presidential candidate.
Hillis-Jaffe, who says she was offended by the Swift Boating of Sen. John Kerry in 2004, wanted to do something to sway undecided voters, and conservative voters in particular. After researching Obama’s position on Israel and many of the rumors about his religion, Hillis-Jaffe wanted to set the record straight.
“I’m in a position that I may help people feel more comfortable with him,” she told the Forward.
In the video, Hillis-Jaffe talks directly to the camera while in a playground. She tells her own story of being on the frontlines of the war on terror.
“Two buses and two cafes were blown up within minutes of our home,” she says in the video.
If people don’t feel familiar or comfortable with Obama, who looks more trustworthy that “a nice Jewish mother with two kids?” she asks.
She says she wants “real peace and real security for Israel.”
Hillis-Jaffe wrote the script herself, but it was a collaborative effort. A professional documentary maker filmed and edited the 2-minute 29-second segment. A Web marketing expert helped do the promotional materials and Web site. And a journalist helped with a news release.
October 6, 2008, 12:02pm
Did Obama Backers Distort Israelis' Comments?
By Brett Lieberman
Several former Israeli Defense Forces and Mossad officials are saying that the pro-Obama group Jewish Council for Education & Research used their comments out of context and made the Israeli officials sound as though they were endorsing or supporting the Democratic presidential candidate.
“It’s not only misleading, it was an interview about what the next president was going to have to deal with,” former deputy chief of General Staff Maj.-Gen. Uzi Dayan tells The Jerusalem Post.
Dayan and other Israelis were included on a recent JCRC video “Israeli General’s Speak.”
JCER is the group behind pro-Barack Obama sites [JewsVote.org[(http://jewsvote.org/) and The Great Schlep.
October 6, 2008, 10:11am
Obama Warns Against Bigotry After Austrian Election Results
By Brett Lieberman
Weighing in on the recent elections in Austria, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called for tolerance.
Obama’s campaign released this statement on Sunday:
“I am very concerned about last Sunday’s election results in Austria, in which two openly xenophobic far-right parties won nearly thirty percent of the vote. Extremism, bigotry, and anti-Semitism offend our most deeply held transatlantic values and have no place in the 21st century.’
“As Austria’s voters and leaders review the election results and consider the way forward, I urge people of good will and courage in Austria to stand firmly for the principles of pluralism and tolerance that have, for the past 60 years, served Austria and Western Europe so well. Failure to do so would have serious consequences in Europe and beyond.”
October 3, 2008, 10:17am
States to Watch: PA, FL, OH, VA, CO
By Brett Lieberman
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida – all key traditional presidential battlegrounds and all traditional battlegrounds for the Jewish vote will likely be critical once again in this year’s contest between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
Two other states to watch though will be Virginia, where 1.3 percent of the population is Jewish, and Colorado, where 1.7 percent of the population is Jewish, Matt Berger of MSNBC/National Journal predicted on a conference call organized by the United Jewish Communities to discuss the election.
Critical to the election will be what Berger called the “Lieberman Democrats,” those voters like Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Connecticut, who place a premium on security issues. They may be wary of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s lack of experience, he said.
Younger Jewish voters, who are trending conservative in their votes and more open to supporting Republicans, are another critical demographic.
Finally, “Schlepers,” the elderly vote in Florida will be critical as usual in that state, Berger said. Many of these traditionally Democratic voters supported President Bush in 2004 and are looking for a reason to vote for Obama. Yet they remain hesitant to support him.
“They want a reason to vote Democratic and they are wary about Obama,” Berger said. “They need to be convinced that it is OK to vote Obama.” Jewish Democratic leaders have predicted that Obama will do as well or better than 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry did. But Berger was skeptical that Obama will draw the 75 percent of Jewish support that exit polls showed voted for Kerry.
Obama Still Struggling With Jewish Voters
By Brett Lieberman
Democrat Barack Obama enjoys a nearly 2-1 advantage among Jewish voters over Republican John McCain, yet his support continues to lag well-behind historical levels that Democrats have enjoyed from the Jewish community, according to a new survey of Jewish voters.
The American Jewish Committee’s 2008 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion shows Obama leading McCain 57 percent to 30 percent. Another 13 percent of the 914 self-identifying Jewish respondents surveyed said they were undecided. Exit polls showed that John Kerry received 76 percent of the Jewish vote in 2004.
The poll is the latest evidence that Obama continues to struggle winning over Jewish voters despite the optimism expressed by campaign aides and members of the National Jewish Democratic Council at the organization’s Washington conference this week.
The telephone survey by Synovate was conducted by Sept. 8-21. It has a 3 percent margin of error.
Nearly three quarters of those surveyed approved of Obama’s selection of Delaware Senator Joseph Biden as his running mate. Fifty-four percent of respondents disapproved of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s choice for vice president.
Democrats have viewed the Palin selection as good news because they say many Jewish voters are turned off by her lack of foreign policy credentials and lack of prior statements about Israel.
More than half of those surveyed – 54 percent – said they want to hear the candidates talk more about the economy. Only 3 percent cites Israel as the issue they want to hear discussed more.
By overwhelming margins, respondents predicted Democrats would do a better job addressing terrorism, strengthening the economy, supporting Israel, working towards energy independence, and the Iraq war.
Obama Wants Observant Jews to Watch Friday Night Debate -- On Saturday Night
By Brett Lieberman
Friday night’s first presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain is still on. But it comes after sunset, posing a problem for observant Jews, who won’t be able to watch it.
Obama wants the television networks to re-air the debate, which will focus on foreign policy issues, on Saturday night.
He sent the following letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates:
The Honorable Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. The Honorable Paul G. Kirk, Jr. Commission on Presidential Debates 1200 New Hampshire Ave NW Washington, DC 20036
Dear Mr. Fahrenkopf and Mr. Kirk:
Joe Biden and I are looking forward to participating in the upcoming debates, and I appreciate the hard work you and your team have put forth to bring them about. They promise to be some of the best opportunities for the voters to assess the candidates and their views prior to Election Day.
I want to raise one issue, and ask for your assistance. Due to the schedule set by the Commission and presented to the campaigns, the first debate falls on Friday night after the Jewish Sabbath has begun. Unfortunately, that means many Jewish Americans will not have the opportunity to watch the debate live. Because I know there is strong interest in this debate in the Jewish community, and to be as inclusive as possible, I ask for the Commission’s help in encouraging the television networks covering the debate to rebroadcast it on Saturday night after the Sabbath has concluded.
September 25, 2008, 11:05am
Fla. Congressman: Sarah Palin Should Motivate Jews to Vote Obama
By Brett Lieberman
Jewish voters unsure whether to cast their vote for Barack Obama or John McCain, might want to think about this little bit of advice U.S. Representative Alcee Hastings offered about Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate:
“If Sarah Palin isn’t enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention,” the Florida congressman said during a National Jewish Democratic Council panel.
“Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through,” Hastings said.
Congressman Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., later told the same group that Jesus was “a great Democrat,” according to CNN.
The Republican Jewish Coalition, which has been accused of its own share of gross distortions, is denouncing Hastings’ comments as “the worst kind of politics.”
“Hastings’ unconscionable remarks do nothing but sow seeds of fear and divide people,” said RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks in a statement. “There should be no place in our country for this sort of political discourse. We can constructively disagree on the issues without denigrating others.”
He also said Cohen’s remark “inappropriate, offensive and should be repudiated.”
Democrats Feeling More Confident About the Jewish Vote
By Brett Lieberman
Every four years, Democrats go through a period of hand ringing. Will the Jewish vote turn out for Democrats – as usually is the case – or will that be the year that Republicans make inroads with the Jewish vote?
“There is not going to be a problem with the Democrats with the Jewish vote,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told leading Jewish Democrats.
Dean, addressing the National Jewish Democratic Council annual Washington conference, called this “crisis of confidence” a specious issue.
Democrats and the Jewish community’s core relationship based on a set of shared values – strong support for Israel, a sense of community, commitment to others, separation of church and state, support for health care, justice and the belief in science as a legitimate discipline – remains strong, he said.
“Those values are passed on at the Passover table, they are passed on in Shul,” Dean said.
As for support for Israel: “We can go toe-to-toe with the Republicans on support for Israel. Actually, I think we’re smarter in terms of how we get there,” he said.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is doing a better job to bridge gaps with the Jewish community and other groups, including Evangelical Christians by emphasizing areas of agreement. Among those Dean cited was addressing concerns about global climate change, poverty and genocide in Darfur.
Praise for McCain in Some Unexpected Places
By Brett Lieberman
A mere hour or so before the National Jewish Democratic Council’s annual Washington conference was set to begin, the Republican Jewish Coalition rolled out it’s latest ad and some interesting quotes.
The RJC recycles quotes from Hillary Rodham Clinton (March 2008), John Kerry (April 2004) and Chuck Schumer (November 2003).
But what’s sure to elicit an interesting responses at the NJDC conference is a quote by NJDC Executive Director Ira Forman.
“I have to take my hat off to [McCain] for putting principle in front of politics… I wish there were more John McCains,” Forman is quoted as saying.
Of course, RJC had to go way back to an Oct. 1, 1999 JTA story to find such a kind comment.
We couldn’t find the story RJC cites. Forman has characterized the GOP ad campaign as a bunch of smears.
RJC responded to a request for additional information noting that “It’s a JTA story.” But a spokesperson has not provided a copy of the story yet.
UPDATE: Forman says he doesn’t remember the quote, which he’s been informed came in the context of praising McCain for urging that Patrick Buchanan be kicked out of the Republican Party for his fringe views.
The important thing, according to Forman, is that “the four people that are quoted there, me, Hillary, Kerry and Schumer, we all agree on one thing – John McCain is not the best person for president. Barack Obama is the best.”
Forman did say that he still wishes there were more John McCains. Of course, it came in the context of his noting that “the [John McCain] who exists today bears no resemblance to the one from 1999.”
Forman also enjoyed the irony of the latest RJC ad highlighting his praise of McCain for criticizing Buchanan. Less than a week ago, RJC released an ad that highlighted Buchanan’s comments as it sought to draw a connection with Obama.
Here are the rest of the quotes:
Biden, AIPAC Have 'Warm Conversation'
By Brett Lieberman
U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, spoke by phone with the leadership of AIPAC this afternoon.
According to Jewish leaders and campaign officials, Biden and AIPAC leaders had “a warm conversation” that lasted about 20 minutes.
Biden, who was introduced by AIPAC President David Victor, spoke of his long relationship with the organization that extends back to the 1970s. He also spoke of his longstanding support of Israel.
“It was an opportunity to call and talk about some of the issues they’ve worked on in the past and some of the issues they can continue to work on,” said a campaign official.
The conference call was one of a number that Biden has conducted in recent days with the leaderships of various influential organizations.
Alaska Gov. **Sarah Palin*, the Republican vice presidential candidate, met with AIPAC leaders for about 45 minutes during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul earlier this month.
Biden and presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain have no meetings scheduled with AIPAC leaders, though the organization signaled it would be delighted if the candidates’ schedules permitted for such a gathering.
AIPAC issued the following statement after the Biden conference call:
“We had a very warm conversation with Senator Biden today, as we have many times throughout the years, about the importance of the U.S-Israel relationship, and we look forward to continuing to work with him in the future. We had an opportunity to express our appreciation for his strong leadership in support of the U.S.-Israel relationship, and we were pleased to hear Senator Biden reaffirm his desire to maintain his close relationship with AIPAC as we work together to strengthen the special friendship between the two democracies over many years to come.
“Senator Biden is a strong supporter of Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship, and has longstanding, close ties to AIPAC and the pro-Israel community. Throughout his career in the Senate, he has been a staunch supporter of U.S. aid to Israel, a leader in the fight against Palestinian terrorism, a vocal advocate for the special relationship between the two democracies, and he shares our goal of stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Joe Biden has been to Israel numerous times and has gotten to know many of Israel’s most important leaders, starting with Golda Meir.
“Now that both the Democrats and the Republicans have determined their respective tickets, AIPAC is pleased that the parties have selected four pro-Israel candidates. In so doing, they have reaffirmed the broad bi-partisan support that exists in our country for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.
Update “Sen. Biden expressed his appreciation for AIPAC’s important work supporting Israel’s security and the U.S.-Israel relationship, and that he looks forward to continuing to work with them as partners on these issues in the future as he has in the past,” said a campaign adviser.
September 18, 2008, 2:08pm
Groovy Times for the Obama Campaign in the Middle East
By Brett Lieberman
Is Israel the sole democracy or the soul one in the Middle East?
Apparently Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama found the State of Israel is a really hip place during his recent visit.
After a conference call with rabbis on Thursday, Obama’s campaign released a statement that included:
“I think that it’s also important to recognize that throughout my career in the State Legislature and now in the U.S. Senate I have been a stalwart friend of Israel. On every single issue related to Israel’s security, I have been unwavering, and will continue to be unwavering. My belief is that Israel’s security is sacrosanct and we have to ensure that as the soul democracy in the Middle East, one of our greatest allies in the world, one that shares a special relationship with us and shares our values, we have to make sure that they have the support whether its financial or military to sustain their security and the hostile environment. And its also important that we are an effective partner with them in pursuing the possibilities of peace in the future, and that requires not only active engagement and negotiations that may take place with Palestinians but it also requires that we stand tough and with great clarity when it comes to Iran and the unacceptability of them possessing nuclear weapons. During my recent visit to Israel, I had the occasion to meet with all of the major political players. That was my second visit there and I think that they all came away with assurance of my commitment with respect to Israel”
Hat tip on this goes to a proofreader at the Forward.
September 18, 2008, 1:00pm
Pat Buchanan for Obama?
By Brett Lieberman
No, the conservative commentator and former presidential candidate is not endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as the headline of this post or a new ad by the Republican Jewish Coalition might suggest.
But the latest ad from RJC could lead some people to conclude that Obama has or wants Buchanan’s backing.
The ad [shown below], borrows from recent quotes from Buchanan praising what he and the ad say are Obama’s positions on Israel and Palestinians.
Buchanan recently told MSNBC: “Let me say about Israel here. My position on Israel is frankly awful. It is like Mika [Brzezinski]’s father’s, it’s a lot closer to Barack Obama’s than it is John McCain. I think Barack is right, we ought to talk to the Iranians, he’s right to oppose the war and, frankly, he’s right to say the Palestinian people have got a terrible deal over there and their suffering ought to be recognized. That’s Obama’s position. It’s my position. I don’t think it is a Nazi position.”
RJC was quick to point out that it wasn’t suggesting that Obama supports Buchanan’s views. “Rather, we are highlighting the fact that Buchanan believes that his views are in line with Obama’s on the critical issues of Israel and Iran,” said RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said in an accompanying press statement. “Because Pat Buchanan shares Obama’s views on Iran and Israel, how comfortable can the Jewish community be with those positions?” Brooks added.
Brooks stood by the ads when we caught up with him. Democrats accused RJC of engaging in a campaign trying to frighten Jewish voters by insinuating Buchanan’s support.
September 18, 2008, 12:31pm
Obama Chats With 900 Rabbis on Issues and Renewal
By Brett Lieberman
Rosh Hashanah is more than a week away, but Barack Obama drew upon the High Holy Days themes of renewal and rededication in a conference call with more than 900 rabbis.
“I know that for rabbis this is the busiest time of the year as you prepare for the High Holy Days,” the Democratic presidential candidate told the rabbis on Thursday, according to a statement his campaign provided.
“So I am grateful for a few minutes of your time. I extend my New Years greetings to you and to your congregations and communities. I want to wish everybody a Shana Tovah and I hope that you will convey my wishes to all of those you pray and celebrate with this Rosh Hashanah,” Obama said. “The Jewish New Year is unlike the new years of any other cultures. In part because it’s not simply a time for revelry; it’s a time for what might be called determined rejoicing. A time to put your affairs with other people in order so you can honestly turn to God. A time to recommit to the serious work of tikkun olam―of mending the world.”
Obama was introduced on the call by Rabbi Sam Gordon of Congregation Sukkat Shalom in Wilmette, Ill. and Rabbi Eliott Dorf, vice-chair of the Conservative Movements Committee on Jewish Law and Standards and Professor at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. The two are involved in the new Rabbis for Obama group.
Biden to Headline Jewish Democrats' Conference
By Brett Lieberman
U.S. Senator Joseph Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, is expected to headline the National Jewish Democratic Council’s upcoming Washington conference, which is focused on mobilizing the Jewish vote, NJDC officials said.
Democrats hope that Biden of Delaware will be able to counter some of the influence that Senator Joseph Lieberman has had among Jewish voters in crucial battleground states including Florida. Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential candidate, has been an enormous asset for Republican John McCain, reassuring voters about his support for Israel among other issues as well as raise doubts about Democrat Barack Obama’s experience.
NJDC’s September 23-24 program at the Washington Hilton includes sessions on handicapping the 2008 elections, how new media changes the way voters can be reached, and common issues facing the Jewish and African American communities.
The time and date of Biden’s address has not been set. Other unconfirmed invited speakers include former Vice President Al Gore, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Obama.
Barack Obama's Rabbi(s)
By Brett Lieberman
Will a rabbi’s blessing help Barack Obama? What about 300 rabbis? And will the IRS find this arrangement kosher?
“Rather than sit and yell at my television, I thought there was an opportunity to do something,” said Rabbi Steven Bob of Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard, Ill, in the western suburbs of Chicago.
Rabbis for Obama, a grassroots group of 368 rabbis as of Thursday, Sept. 11, from Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist synagogues across the country who hope that by lending their support to the Democratic nominee they can persuade other Jews to back him too, is the brainchild of Bob and Rabbi Sam Gordon of Sukkat Shalom in Wilmette, Ill.
The push, which they say is independent of their synagogues [“I’m not using any of the platforms provided me by the synagogue, neither the bulletin or the bima. This is me doing this personally,” Bob said], is believed to be the largest organized effort by Jewish leaders to support one candidate or presidential ticket. Rabbis have taken out newspaper ads and spoken for or against candidates, but Jewish historians cannot recall a comparable effort.
Their synagogues are not endorsing a candidate, which could lead to the IRS revoking their non-profit status. In announcing their support, Rabbis for Obama announced only the rabbis’ names and hometowns – without their synagogues - to avoid the implication that the synagogues are backing Obama.
What clergy can or can’t say to the congregations about the candidates or issues was a topic raised during a panel discussion at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last month. Several experts on the law said that clergy can discuss issues and the campaigns from the pulpit, but warned they need to be careful not to indicate their support for a particular candidate.
Prominent rabbis in the group include Rabbi Elliot Dorf of Los Angeles, Rabbi Jack Moline of Alexandria, Va, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention, Rabbi Burton Visotzky of New York, Rabbi Janet Marder of Palo Alto, Calif., and Rabbi Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus of Homewood, Ill.
The rabbis felt moved to take an active role in the presidential campaign because of what they saw as a unique opportunity to influence the outcome of an election in which Jewish voters are receiving more attention than they can recall in any recent election.
Believing that Obama and Republican John McCain are equally “pro-Israel,” it was domestic issues such as abortion, separation of church and state that were “gigantic issues” that factored into their decision to publicly support Obama, according to Bob.
“If the question is Israel, I think it’s evidently clear that the differences on the two are very, very small,” Bob said.
RJC Warns 'You Should Be' Worried About Barack Obama
By Brett Lieberman
In what’s sure to draw fire from Democrats and Barack Obama’s campaign, the Republican Jewish Coalition unveiled two tough new ads sure to evoke strong emotions, not to mention controversy.
Under the headline, “Concerned about Barack Obama? You should be,” the ads shown below feature a series of pictures of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, other Muslim leaders and protesters burning an Israeli flag.
The text quotes Obama telling an audience that “Iran, Cuba, Venezuela…don’t pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us.” The ad notes Obama’s willingness to hold direct talks with nations such as Iran, though Obama has said that doesn’t mean options including the use of force would be off the table. It also cited his opposition to legislation designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist entity.
Another ad says “History has shown that a naive and weak foreign policy has resulted in tragic outcomes for the Jewish people” and claims Obama “surrounds himself with anti-Israel advisors…”
UPDATE: Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, responded: “Because Republicans Jews are intellectually brain dead, the only thing they know how to do is fear and negativity. They have nothing positive to say about their candidate.”
He went on to compared the RJC’s tactics of taking text out of context to bolster their political arguments to the tactics employed by the former KGB.
“It’s hard to imagine that somebody would have no shame to distort a record the way the RJC does,” Forman said.
Responding to some of the specifics of the charges, Forman noted that Obama made clear he supported targeting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, but opposed the Kyl-Lieberman legislation along with other Democrats, who feared it would be interpreted by the Bush administration as a blank check to invade Iran.
Forman downplayed the impact of the ads, noting that GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is “the perfect example of inexperience in foreign policy.”
NJDC plans to unveil its own ads as early as this week.
UPDATE 9/11/08
RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks responds with the following statement:
“Rather than engaging in name calling and ad hominem attacks which Mr. Forman does, I would simply point out that all the points in our ads are undisputed facts and are all listed with citations. I invite people to look for themselves and judge if in fact we are taking things out of context. Or is Mr. Forman trying to deflect attention from the reality of the situation – compared to most Democratic candidates, Barack Obama is underperforming among Jewish voters. Every poll reflects that many Jewish voters have doubts and concerns about Barack Obama.”
Here are the two new ads from the Republican Jewish Coalition:
Obama's Still a Tough Sell in South Florida
By Brett Lieberman
A panel discussion on the issues that matter to Jewish voters and which way they’ll vote in this year’s presidential election quickly descended into a harsh criticism of the lack of understanding of the challenges Barack Obama faces winning over the “condo” vote of older South Florida voters, a potentially key group in a battleground state.
“We need to recognize that there is a problem,” said State Sen. Steven Geller, the Florida state Senate minority leader.
Geller and his colleague, state Senator Nan H. Rich, told a crowd of about 150 people attending a discussion the National Jewish Democratic Council organized of a hostile environment in which a mob mentality has taken hold. The problem is primarily among older residents living in condominium communities and more religious voters in Broward, Dade and south Palm Beach counties, where most of the region’s Jewish population lives.
Interpretations that Obama’s struggles to win over Jewish voters is due to Jewish support for Republican John McCain ignore what they described as an anti-Obama reality on the ground.
Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat and key early Obama backer, “has almost been attacked” in strongholds of his South Florida district, Geller said.
Rich told a similar story of Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey being verbally assaulted when he came down to promote Obama.
“He walked away shocked,” said Rich, who faults misinformation campaigns by groups such as the Republican Jewish Council and debunked rumors spread via the Internet about Obama being Muslim, not saluting the American flag or being anti-Israel.
August 25, 2008, 1:01pm
Is Carter's Convention Role a 'Backward Compliment'?
By Brett Lieberman
UPDATED 7:02 p.m. Mountain Time
Much has been made of the balancing act that Barack Obama’s campaign has had to walk as it tries to honor and respect Bill and Hillary Clinton without detracting from what should be Obama’s moment during this week’s Democratic National Convention. But the role of another former president is proving equally vexing.
The inclusion of former President Jimmy Carter during tonight’s Democratic National Convention program has created an awkward situation for Democrats, who don’t want to slight a former Democratic president but also fear offending Jewish voters and other Israel supporters.
Carter has called Israel’s treatment of Palestinians “one of the greatest human rights crimes on earth,” as the Republican Jewish Coalition reminded in a news release calling on Democrats to pull Carter from tonight’s convention line-up.
“Jimmy Carter’s long history of anti-Israel bias has rendered him unfit to address the Democratic Convention,” RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said in a statement.
Democrats’ solution: Carter’s contributions were recognized during a tribute video on his recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but he had no speaking role.
In his taped remarks, Carter predicted an Obama administration would do more to help the poor.
The former president and former First Lady Rossalyn Carter received a warm reception and the first standing ovation of the night from delegates when they walked onto the convention stage and the sounds of Ray Charles’ “Georgia on my Mind” filled the Pepsi Center.
That didn’t sit well with all delegates such as Florida state Sen. Nan H. Rich.
“He hasn’t shown respect to Israel and many of the Jewish constituencies here based on the things he has done,” said the Florida delegate who planned to walk out of the convention hall.
Rich said she respects the presidency, but not Carter.
Carter was originally scheduled to address delegates. Some Jewish leaders saw the change in plans as an effort by Democratic officials to address concerns about Carter.
“If we didn’t matter they wouldn’t have all this focus and preoccupation on Carter’s speaking,” Rabbi Marc Schneier said this morning, adding that “It’s a backward compliment to the Jewish community.”
“If there’s anything positive it’s that the Obama campaign acknowledges how much of a lightening rod Jimmy Carter is within the Jewish community,” he said.
Of course, a lot will depend on what Carter has to say, according to Schneier and other Jewish leaders who hope the former president will steer clear of foreign policy matters.
Bagels, Lox and Barack
By Brett Lieberman
Supporters of Barack Obama readily acknowledge a lingering reluctance among many Jewish voters to embrace the presumptive nominee. The campaign has recently stepped up its outreach to Jewish voters and the Jewish community at large, including naming long-time adviser Daniel Shapiro to a formal role in the Obama campaign.
Jewish and political leaders say the effort to win over voters has proven particularly difficult in South Florida.
But could the solution to Obama’s problem be as simple as noshing on a bagel and lox?
Maybe, says U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, who has been tapped by the Obama campaign to speak with Jewish leadership councils in Florida and addressed the Denver-area council over the weekend.
“He just has a learning curve with our voters, which he’s going to rapidly close when we bring him down and take him around for some bagels and cream cheese in the condos,” Wasserman Schultz said Sunday during a National Jewish Democratic Council reception outside the Golda Meir House in Denver.
Senior citizens and South Floridians are beginning to embrace Obama because they understand that beyond the issue of Israel Republican John McCain is not in sync with Jewish voters on domestic and social issues, she contends.
Other Jewish leaders, though, say the Obama campaign’s outreach efforts have been hampered because most of the Illinois senator’s Jewish surrogates are more liberal or progressive.
“He needs a Joe Lieberman type,” said Rabbi Marc Schneier, referring to the Connecticut Democratic senator turned Independent who has been supporting McCain. Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic nominee for vice president, remains a popular figure with many Conservative and Orthodox Jews.
Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and a past president of the North American Board of Rabbis, says it’s critical for Obama to have more conservative surrogates if he is going to be able to acquire wider support within the Jewish community.
“You cannot ignore those and the standing of the orthodox Jewish community,” he said.
N.Y. Sun: Obama's Stance on Israel Should Be Welcomed, Not Attacked
By Daniel Treiman
The decidedly right-wing New York Sun — a fervent defender of Israel that’s hawkish on the Mideast and bearish on prospects for peace with the Palestinians — is defending Barack Obama from Republican charges that he’s weak when it comes to supporting Israel.
The Sun’s editorialist writes:
New York Republicans, according to an article in the New York Post yesterday, are preparing to attack Senator Obama for his supposed lack of support for Israel. “Obama’s commitment to Israel is open to question, and that would help us with Jews,” the Post quotes a “prominent New York Republican” as saying. We’re no shills for Mr. Obama, but these Republicans haven’t checked their facts. At least by our lights, Mr. Obama’s commitment to Israel, as he has articulated it so far in his campaign, is quite moving and a tribute to the broad, bipartisan support that the Jewish state has in America.
Read the full editorial here.
Hat tip: JTA
January 8, 2008, 4:32pm
Larry David Thinks Obama Would Make a Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good President
By Daniel Treiman
Barack Obama has a surly nebbish stumping in the Dartmouth College dorms for him — “Seinfeld” co-creator and star of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Larry David.
“Haven’t we had enough with Bushes and Clintons and Bushes,” David told students. “The country needs a shower, a good, long, hot shower. That’s what Obama is, a hot shower. So fresh you can smell him, delicious.”
According to The Dartmouth, David “avoided serious responses to students’ questions on policy issues.” Instead, he left that task to his celebrity co-campaigners, Arianna Huffington and his agent, Ari Emanuel. (Emanuel, like David, provided the inspiration for an HBO series character, super-agent Ari Gold on “Entourage,” and is also the brother of Democratic political powerbroker, Rep. Rahm Emanuel — who is in the now-dicey position of being a Clinton loyalist in Chicago.)
While shying from the serious issues, David was in top form when asked which “Seinfeld” character would make the best president.
“Newman,” David answered. “Because every time he would give a press conference and walk up to the podium, everyone would say, ‘Hello Newman.’”
Hat tip: Politico’s Ben Smith.
UPDATE: Arianna Huffington has a nice account of David’s appearance here. He actually gave a pretty substantive response to a student who asked about Obama’s preparation for the presidency.
November 5, 2007, 4:24pm
Writers On Strike, With An Assist from Obama
By Jennifer Siegel
Forgive us if we in the Forward newsroom are paying a little bit of extra attention to the Writers Guild strike. We’re union members ourselves, and the whole brouhaha has our favorite celebrities going all lefty on us: SNL’s Tina Fey and Seth Myers are uptown picketing at Rockefeller Center; Jon Stewart may or may not be keeping his own writers afloat with out-of-pocket payments for the next two weeks.
Barack Obama, meanwhile, has weighed in with statement in support of the writers:
“I stand with the writers. The Guild’s demand is a test of whether corporate media corporations are going to give writers a fair share of the wealth their work creates or continue concentrating profits in the hands of their executives. I urge the producers to work with the writers so that everyone can get back to work.”
Singing the Gospel for Obama
By Jennifer Siegel
The Obama campaign is announcing the launch of an “unprecedented gospel concert tour” in South Carolina as part of the campaign’s grassroots “40 Days of Faith & Family” effort.
The concerts, which will be next week, will feature Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin and Hezekiah Walker, Grammy Award winners all, as well as gospel quartet the Mighty Clouds of Joy.
What’s next? Can we expect a Harold Ford, Jr.-esque commercial shot in a church?
October 11, 2007, 12:00pm
For Giuliani, Insults from Carter Sound a Lot Like Praise
By Jennifer Siegel
The Giuliani campaign is clearly reveling in being attacked by none other than Jimmy Carter on CNN last night. Carter – proving once again that he has zero intention of going quietly into the night – called Giuliani “foolish” for his contention the United States should be open to using force against Iran.
By this morning the Giuliani campaign was emailing around choice snippets from Carter’s interview with Wolf Blitzer, under the subject hearing, “In Case You Were Weren’t Clear That Rudy Is The Right Man To Keep Us On Offense In The Terrorists War On Us.”
Clearly, Carter’s barbs (like when he said the GOP contenders are “competing with each other to appeal to the ultra-right-wing, war-mongering element in our country,”) are only music to the ears of the GOP field. Carter acknowledged as much when he declined to tell Blitzer which Republican he fears the most.
“If I condemn one of them, it might escalate him to the top position in the Republican ranks,” Carter said.
As much as the Republicans love (to hate) Carter, the Democratic frontrunners are clearly going to spend the race hating (having to pretend to not hate) him.
Carter told CNN he disagreed with positions taken by Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who have declined to promise to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq over the following four years if elected president next year.
Given the influence of the Israel lobby — the most powerful in the country, according to Carter — he is not convinced that another president would be willing to do what he considers necessary to bring peace to Israel-Palestine.
“Can the next president say that Palestinian rights need to be protected?” he asked. “Can the next president say that settlements in the West Bank are an obstacle to peace? I don’t know.”
With a new, new book out – “Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease and Building Hope” (Simon & Schuster) – Carter is, by his own admission, on another book tour that feels “like being on the campaign trail.”
The question, down the road, is how will his potential criticism of Clinton and Obama play? It may make them seem trustworthy and mainstream to average Americans, but it may also help galvanize critics in the Democratic base.
Get Your Obama-kah!
By Jennifer Siegel
Campaign Confidential is easing back into desk life after 13 days in the wilds of Maine and looking ahead to High Holidays. To wit: Jewish supporters of Obama are pushing the “Obama-kah” to those who may want to wear their politics on their heads while listening to the sound of shofar.
August 13, 2007, 3:31pm
Barack in Brooklyn ...
By Jennifer Siegel
On August 22. Here’s the sign-up.
Clinton has been outraising Obama in Brooklyn so far, but lately he’s been gaining ground.
August 3, 2007, 12:47pm
Who's Up, Who's Down: Foreign Policy on the Campaign Trail
By Jennifer Siegel
Everywhere we turned this week, presidential contenders were working to score public relations points with posturing on foreign policy.
Here’s the quick summary, along with some verdicts about whether they came out ahead or behind in the image game:
Barack Obama was branded as “irresponsible” by Pakistan’s foreign minister after saying that, as president, he might unilaterally decide to send troops to combat terrorism there. A week ago, the Illinois senator was fighting off bad foreign policy PR after announcing, at the CNN/You Tube debate, that he would commit to diplomatic meetings with the leaders of Iran and other rogue states. Which is it – too hard or too soft? Verdict: DOWN.
Mitt Romney cites Hezbollah as a model for “health diplomacy.” Point well taken, but still. Verdict: DOWN.
The GOP contenders – minus Iraq stalwart John McCain – begin to distance themselves from Bush on the war. Will they open themselves up to flip-flopping charges down the road? Clearly, they’re willing to risk it. Verdict: UP.
John Edwards gets out from under Clinton-Obama by talking tough against the Saudi arms deal. Verdict: UP.
Got Jew? Hillary and Barack Sign Up Jewish Lawmakers
By Jennifer Siegel
Several days after Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, tussled publicly over whether to hold direct talks with the leaders of Iran and Syria, they both seem particularly eager to show support from Jewish members of Congress.
Clinton announced the endorsement of Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California yesterday. Meanwhile, Obama announced that Rep. Paul Hodes, a freshman lawmaker from New Hampshire, will serve as a national co-chair of his campaign, while veteran New Jersey Rep. Steve Rothman will serve as Northeast Regional Co-chair.
It's Official: Obama's On Top
By Jennifer Siegel
Obama raises $32 million, besting Clinton’s $27 million.
June 28, 2007, 1:27pm
Team Hillary Plays Politics of Managing Expectations
By Jennifer Siegel
With the June 30 filing deadline for second quarter fundraising fast approaching, the Clinton campaign is once again telling supporters know it expects to be outraised by Team Obama.
“We expect to bring in about what we did in the First Quarter, or slightly more, which should put us in the range of $27 million,” wrote campaign communications director Howard Wolfson in a memo that went out to supporters this morning. “To put that figure in some perspective, it is more than any Democrat has ever raised in the second quarter of the “off” year. While that figure is record setting, we do expect Senator Obama to significantly outraise us this quarter.”
(In the first quarter, Team Hillary raked in $26 million; Team Barack raked in $25.7.)
Both camps have been underselling themselves in recent weeks, so stayed tuned.
Is Obama Destined for the Campaign’s Israel Hot Seat?
By Jennifer Siegel
When the three leading Democratic presidential contenders got together for a faith and politics forum this past Monday night, it was Illinois Senator Barack Obama who once again fielded a bonus round question about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Asked whether the Palestinians are being treated morally, fairly, and justly by the Israelis, Obama told the audience at George Washington University: “There have been times when there’s no doubt that Palestinians have been placed in situations that we wouldn’t want our own families to be placed in.”
“I believe the Israelis want peace and they want security,” he said. “They’ve got bombs flying into their territories right now,” said Obama. “And we would expect them to act appropriately in defending themselves.”
That exchange reminds me of one of Obama’s questions during the first Democratic debate back in April.
After being asked to name “America’s three most important allies around the world” – he skipped Israel, but gave shout-outs to the European Union and Nato – Obama was stuck with this follow-up:
Brian Williams: Senator, thanks. I’ll give you a follow-up. I didn’t hear you mention Israel, and I ask because there is a quote attributed to your name. You said recently, [to Democratic activists in Muscatine, Iowa] “No one is suffering more than the Palestinian people.” Do you stand by that remark?
So between April and June, “Palestinian suffering” has turned into, in Obama-speak, “situations that we wouldn’t want our own families to be placed in.”
It’s worth noting that just as Obama’s earlier comments about Palestinian suffering cast a shadow over that first Democratic debate, Monday’s forum on faith came with a storm cloud sent by the Catholic League.
Earlier in the day, the league questioned Obama’s ties to several preachers who have allegedly denounced Zionism or have ties to the Nation of Islam.
May 17, 2007, 4:02pm
Obama: Go Ahead, Divest My Day
By Ami Eden
Senator Barack Obama has introduced The Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2007, a measure that would, according to this report, “authorize state and local governments and private fund-managers to divest assets for companies that invest over $20 million in Iran’s energy sector, which the U.S. government would publish in a list every six months.” The companion version in the House was introduced by two Democrats, Barney Frank and Tom Lantos, the respectives chairs of the Financial Services and Foreign Affairs committees.
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