Another sign that while the Palin nomination is energizing all sorts of voters, it's backfiring among Jews: Ed Koch, the former Mayor of New York City, who endorsed and campaigned for George W. Bush in 2004, has now endorsed Obama.
The reason, he told Politico.com: "The designation of Palin to be vice president. She's scary."
Koch elaborated in his full endorsement statement that he feels both McCain and Obama are equally committed to defending Israel and fighting terrorism, so he's looking to other issues, such as helping improve health care... and which ticket has the better vice president:
If the vice president were ever called on to lead the country, there is no question in my mind that the experience and demonstrated judgment of Joe Biden is superior to that of Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin is a plucky, exciting candidate, but when her record is examined, she fails miserably with respect to her views on the domestic issues that are so important to the people of the U.S., and to me. Frankly, it would scare me if she were to succeed John McCain in the presidency.
Meanwhile, the Jewish Week Web site quoted Fred Zeidman, co-chair of Jewish outreach for the McCain campaign, as saying the Palin pick had worried some potential Jewish McCain supporters. "There has been a lot of consternation all day," admitted Zeidman, when asked about the impact of Palin's selection on Jewish voters.
Does any of this matter politically? Of the seven states that have more than 2% Jewish population (according to the Pew Religion Forum), five of them are safe Democratic states.
There are two swing states with meaningful Jewish populations: Florida (3%) and Pennsylvania (2%). While polls have showed Obama running strong in Pennsylvania, they'd also indicated Florida was leaning McCain or tied. Obama may lose several states out west over the Palin pick, but he may also get a real shot at Florida.
As a matter of perspective: if the Palin pick sent all of the Western swing states over to McCain that would be a total of 20 electoral votes. Florida has 27 electoral votes.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
I am amazed at how you people rationalize your racial prejudice! A confident black man is arrogant, while a confident white man is cjust confident! Mr. Obama is not the liar, McCain is! And Sarah Palin is indeed scary!
A Generation of Vipers-- Now Indigenous to Alaska?
(With Credits to Matthew 12, 23, and Philip Wylie)
To; Steve Waldman: It isn’t what you’ve said in your unique form of tergiversation. It’s what you haven’t said! And the silence is damning. Surprise, Steven, my Corporatioon will shut down my e-mail if I use the word "Jew", "Jewish" is OK. Wouldn't want you to be left standing in a puddle of UnBrissed naivete.
I'm a Jew who grew up in the countryside and quickly learnd that daytime white Pentecostals were Nightime Klansmen. that's the way it was.
As for Sarah Palin "Scaring" Jewish people--why not, She frightens Christian People.
Barack Obama urges us to disagree, without being disagreeable”. Yet Sarah Palin giggles about her opponents cancer and indulges in gutter language..How does one respond other than in kind?
Video clips displaying the GOP’s finest: espousing their allegiance to the strictest of fundamental Christian Values, and in the next moment smirking, giggling, laughing, at their opponents illnesses (cancer) and resorting to gutter terms bespeaks the hypocrisy of a brood of vipers.
http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=42568
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_23HhsKOQQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9AIDRGzUAw
Not since Edward R Murrow’s film clip of Joseph McCarthy's sinister smirk --as he smeared Adlai Stevenson's name with Alger Hiss --have I heard such venomous disrespect for a political opponent as shown by Sarah Palin and her Soul Mate John McCain.. (Do view the URLs above).
Sarah Palin, the (truly) presumptive Republican Party VP candidate, is a neighbor of Lyda Green; both are from Wasilla, Alaska. Lyda Green , like myself is a Senior Citizen and Cancer Survivor. Lyda Green is a devout Christian, a Republican, a Baptist, who has served Alaska since 1995. How Lyda Green has become the object of such verbal abuse is beyond me. This video completely belies any claim Sarah Palin has for the: respect of Family Values, Love of Jesus Christ, or respect for Women's rights. Plausibly she's joining her mentor John McCain who mocked and slandered Hillary Clinton with the same terminology. (See the URL below).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8XBlxvA7AA
How, as Self-Proclaimed Standards for Family Values , Sarah Palin and her Soul Mate John McCain can simply stand by and giggle, at such abuse painfully reminds me of the depicted cruelty of the scorners at an ancient Roman Crucifixion. Sarah Palin, your adolescent giggles at the expense of a cancer survivor are the heart, the soul of blasphemy. Jesus said "Father Forgive --because as a Cancer-surviving Senior Citizen who knows the pain--it's beyond my human capacity to do so. How Sarah can claim that she loves her Down’s syndrome child then giggle about her neighbor’s cancer is beyond my comprehension. It speaks to a lack of compassion, and betrays a hypocrisy beyond belief. Klansmen can love one neighbor and kill another, true Christians cannot.
The United States deserves both a President and a Vice President with sufficient Judgment, Courage, and G-D Loving Temperament to steadfastly reject pejorative sexist, racist, age-discriminating, vindictive actions and remarks. A person who demeans and giggles about a cancer survivor is not worthy of any public office for any American Party. I have not in my lifetime observed any couple less temperamentally qualified to serve in any capacity.
If Sarah Palin is truly as John McCain proclaims, his “Partner and Soulmate”; this is more than an AK-47 marriage to be consummated in the exploitation of the Alaskan countryside for the sake of the oil companies and an occasional Bambi. Until now, I’d rejected Evil as a force. In our language Gott and Good are synonomous. Martin Buber’s Rabbi Israel Ben Eliezar is right, there are Evil souls threatening our World and they are now masquerading in the GOPs’s ruthless. Blood-thirsty, ambition for the presidency.
Please forward this e-mail to your friends. Protect our Senior Citizens. Protect those who face the challenge of life-threatening disease. Bring an end to the Hypocrisy, and in this case outright scorn and Blasphemy demonstrated by the GOP leadership.
Dov El
Sarah Palin should scare us all if by some terrible stroke of fate America votes for the wrong President again and we get her with the package. A woman in the Presidency or Vice presidency should be exceptional in every way, like Hillary Clinton. She's been an experienced politician for many yrs.. She has impeccable academic credentials, a published author, and a noted world leader. S. Palin has an undergraduate degree in journalism, a brief career as a sportscaster and her political experience includes being mayor of a little town in Alaska, and now Governor in Alaska. This hardly should give us a feeling of qualification for her to be presented to America as a possible VP. Many states in our U.S.A. have had governors that shouldn't have been, and they faded away. Obama is a highly educated man, with everything it takes to be a leader we can be proud of, and one that will be fair and just to all Americans. McCain is now talking the talk that Obama has been talking for four years, he sees how great it's working, and in his usual chameleon ways has jumped onto everything the Democrats have said for eight yrs. Poverty has to go, the war is wrong, etc., etc.. If you believe him maybe we can still sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.
since when has hawaii been considered a muslin nation??????????????
Thanks Mr. Waldman for your article. I could barely read some the posts ahead of mine as in SOME of them so much emotion is flowing as people vent their fears or pass judgment, who seem to me, to not really understand the issues and believe that everything is going to be OK if we vote for people who believe in the Bible. Jim Jones believed in the Bible and led his people to commit suicide by drinking the kool-aid.
I do not want to know if a person believes in the Bible, I want to know if the person lives the convictions of his or her faith.
And since when do people of faith agree with each other! LOL
I think Christians have a hard time with us Jews because we do not judge a person by what they BELIEVE, but how they live and how they treat their fellow human beings. We do not believe we are judged by G-d for our "beliefs", but how we live and how we treat each other.
I supported Hillary and think she would have made a great Pres. Hillary is a Christian. She is a woman of faith also and yet the hate and fear towards her on the conservative radio talk shows was unbelievable!!
Palin is very like able and a smart cookie, but something about her being chosen raises a flag for me. Not because she isn't G-d fearing or does not have faith, but because I think she lacks a certain level of maturity plus I do not agree with the trickle down economics of the Republican party.
I worry about her children - a downs syndrome son - an expecting daughter. Will her marriage stand the strain of white house career?
I hope and pray she does well and is able to be the loving mom her family needs. But, I wonder is she really ready to take over the reigns of this country if something happens to McCain? I do not think any of us really understand the stress Presidents and their families experience. She may be a person who can thrive on stress - but what about her little ones? Will she look back some day and realize she missed important years with them?
I think people are taken with her because we are so discouraged with the Bush Adm. that we are grasping for hope anywhere and a Black man with a Muslim name is demanding that we think outside of the box more than many Americans are ready too. We want to be inspired. We want someone to set us on fire again and set us free from this boring, bungling, mistake hiding, damaging to our economy current Adm.
But if we do not think cognitively we just may be following the "Pied Pipper" into the river.
I am not afraid of Obama and I intend to vote for him and yes, I am pro-live and believe the the Hebrew Bible.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.