Joe Lieberman's sway extends only so far

The full-throated backing that Democrat-turned-independent Joe Lieberman is providing Republican John McCain -- most recently evidenced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece Wednesday -- may well pay big dividends in the presidential election, especially in swing states with significant Jewish populations. But apparently there are limits to the persuasive powers of the senator from Connecticut.

Deep in a richly reported New York Times story today on deep-seated skepticism toward Barack Obama in Florida's Jewish enclaves, perspective is provided by Rabbi Ethan Tucker, Lieberman's stepson and co-founder of a Manhattan-based Jewish learning organization.

Tucker, 32, the biological son of Lieberman's wife, Hadassah, opines that an age split is apparent within the Jewish community in attitudes about Obama (as has also been shown in the overall Democratic constituency). Tucker, as paraphrased by reporter Jodi Kantor, asserts that younger Jews "have grown up in diverse settings and are therefore less likely to be troubled by Mr. Obama’s associations than their elders."

Those "associations," of course, include Obama's controversial ex-pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose praise of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has especially rankled many Jews.

But here's the detail about Tucker in Kantor's article that really caught our eye:

"Rabbi Tucker said he had given money to Mr. Obama and would vote for him in the fall. 'If association was the litmus test of identity, everyone would be a hopeless mishmash of confusion, or you’d have no friends,' he said."

Obama, in an effort likely to be repeated if he finally nails down the Democratic presidential nomination, sought to improve his standing among Jews with an appearance today at a synagogue in South Florida. He stressed his commitment to Israel, as you can read here.

-- Don Frederick

Photo credit: Getty Images

Comments

[toby]

The problem with younger voters is...they're flakey.

Have you hung out with 20 year olds lately? They're all over the place.

There should be a tee-shirt that says "Bro, dude, I sooo meant to vote but...something came up..."

And then on the other side should be a Bong and a Wii.

Where as old people...they got nothing better to do than vote.

[Chris]

'If association was the litmus test of identity, everyone would be a hopeless mishmash of confusion, or you’d have no friends,'

That is the best quote I have heard about Rev. Wright so far.
BTW I don't think Wright was always right, but nothing I heard him say was racist or anti-semetic. Unless you are in denial you should know that black people have been treated like second class citizens in America.

You should know as well that our foriegn policy is pretty messed up and our government has been less than honest with us about it. Read a book!!!

Our government has been supporting terrorists and oppressing freedom (in america and other countries) for more than 100 years, whenever it is financially convenient to American corporations. So for Rev. Wright to speak out against it (wether he was right or wrong) is PATRIOTISM!

We have amazing potential as a country. Imagine if the time and resourses we spend on doing bad things (Iraq, Contra, etc) were spent on things that benefit more than just the rich. It would be amazing.

[jennifer potenciano]

sen. joe lieberman, an ex-democrat-turned independent-turned-closet republican, may be endorsing mccain, but it's his scathing putdown of obama that sticks, searing obama all over his political persona.

the other side is seeing hillary's role as the real democrat avenger.

i read marie cocco’s sympathetic, yet, well-thought out feature (“the ‘not clinton’ excuse”) on hillary’s quest for the us presidency--& i cried.

earlier, i also got to read in another major us paper krissah william’s equally magnificent article on hillary, & was i moved, especially when krissah demolished obama’s “intolerable logic” that to be old means to be boring and “mean,” & to be young is to be “fresh and inspiring,” & that only the young can institute “change,” (though thomas sowell has totally shot down obama’s “change” (an ‘old newness,’ as sowell puts it) shibboleth as nothing more than the rehashing of old, ineffective programs.

finally, the us media understand hillary rodham clinton.
no, i should say, many in the us media are now beginning to understand hillary.

the fault in the us media’s almost sadistic penchant to lambast hillary at every turn in this dems’ nominating contest lies in two reasons, the first one buttressing the second.

the us media attacks hillary not simly for the satisfaction of their sadistic pleasure, but for the wrong reason that what they want to see is a PERFECT WOMAN CANDIDATE, no warts & other imperfections. of course, hillary can’t be that woman, as no one. not even a man, can be perfect enough, only God is.

the second reason is the more damning for the us media: they want ALWAYS that a man should be us president, the hopeless misogynist that many in them are.

the us media are unable to take the cue from the american whites who, in the course of hillary’s indefatigable efforts to show her real self, her brilliance & all her best qualities to the american electorate, have now begun to warm up to her, & to realize that, in hillary’s self-deprecating description of herself, she “isn’t bad at all,” but even more importantly, she’s far & away the better candidate compared to the wet-in-the-ears, hemming-&-hawing, duplicitous (ever read that piece on barrack gaffes by national review?), even more imperfect, nay, fatally flawed obama.

we admire the firm resolve, albeit puny efforts of some women to defend hillary against the sexist, utterly vulgar & personal attacks of many in the us media & her enemies in her quest for the us presidency. the 74-year-old gloria seinem, icon of the women's movement, “riled some younger, pro-obama feminists with a(n) op-ed (piece) suggesting that they were in denial about america's persisting "sexual caste system."

we also knew of the righteous & well-founded critique of sen. barbara mikulski on the role that the omnipotent u.s. press/media played in destroying hillary rodham clinton & her presidential bid.

we also doff our hats off to the best-known feminist group - the National Organization for Women - before its political action committee endorsed clinton in march 2007.
NOW's president, kim gandy, sees clinton's determination and combativeness as among her strongest attributes.
" gandy knows some feminists dismiss clinton as a woman whose political ascension depended on her husband's career, but she rejects that thinking.
"she might have been president instead of him if things had gone a little differently," gandy said. "no one will ever know whether her marriage to bill clinton held her back politically as much as it moved her forward…it's hard to imagine that anytime soon there will be another candidate as extraordinary as hillary clinton," she said.

gloria feldt conveyed similar sentiment.
"i'd feel very sad to miss this enormous opportunity to bring the united states of america into the circle of nations that have had women as their leaders," she said. "i feel strongly when you have the opportunity to support a women so clearly qualified and capable, do it. do it for your daughter."

finally, cocco, in her piece, asked: “clinton cleared the hurdles often cited as holding american women back, yet she is unlikely to surmount the final barrier. so you have to wonder. is it something about hillary, or something about us?”

the answer, dear brutuses (of the us media), lies in your character & destiny, not in hillary’s. change the first, & you’ll have a better shot at a brighter future not only for yourself, but for america & its great people as well--& for the world. it’s not yet too late, give hillary a fair shake, wake up to the fact that only she can beat mccain, that she is, in fact, the best candidate—among men & women—who can carry today’s america’s burden w/ great wisdom & aplomb.

[J.N.]

LOL Toby pretty much summed it up. I think if peopel could stay home and vote online Obama would win by a landslide.

But as an Obama supporter I'm going to go ahead and admit that I think he will lose by a close margin. Because young people and black people already have very litle faith in this country so sadly the attitude is, "i'm going to do something better with my time."

Sad but true.

[Phoenix Woman]

So when will Joe Lieberman reject and denounce his and McCain's good buddy John Hagee, who has called for Israel's destruction -- and who Lieberman praises in public?

http://phoenixwoman.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/lieberman-hagee-is-a-moses/

Thing is, the whole "Obama has probs with Jews" is being pushed by -- you guessed it -- backers of the Bush agenda like Richard Perle. Actual polling, as opposed to the "some say" hearsay indulged in by McCain's media friends, shows that Jews like Obama (and Clinton) just fine.

The National Jewish Democratic Council has been for months debunking the various right-wing whispering campaigns against the Democratic candidates. Here are some key links for Obama and Clinton supporters to bookmark:

http://njdc.typepad.com/njdcs_blog/2008/01/njdcs-guide-to.html
http://njdc.typepad.com/njdcs_blog/2008/05/who-is-best-for.html
http://njdc.typepad.com/njdcs_blog/2008/05/neville-chamber.html