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Obama camp says Carter won’t be talking foreign policy at convention (Corrected)

By Eric Fingerhut · August 20, 2008

Jimmy Carter will be speaking at the Democratic National Convention, but he won't be talking about Israel. The former president will be speaking "via a special video tape message from New Orleans," said Obama convention spokesperson Jenny Backus via e-mail. He will talk "about Americans coming together to help their neighbors and friends, fitting our theme of one nation" and "discuss programs that we can do together to make America stronger." Backus added that Carter "is not discussing foreign relations." Backus said Carter will be in Denver and be recognized before the video is played.

The Republican Jewish Coalition has called for his removal from the scheduled because of "troubling anti-Israel bias." Carter also spoke at the 2004 convention, but that was before the publication of his controversial book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."

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Lieberman: Still an asset in attracting Jewish votes?

By Eric Fingerhut · August 20, 2008

Sure, Joe Lieberman was very popular among Jewish voters in 2000, but would his inclusion on the Republican presidential ticket this year inspire significant numbers of them to jump to the GOP? Jewish McCain supporters say yes, but a recent poll indicates the Connecticut senator might not be much of a draw anymore among his non-Republican co-religionists.

Lieberman had just a 37 percent overall favorability rating in a survey of 800 self-identified American Jews released last month by the dovish J Street organization, with 48 percent expressing disapproval of the now independent senator. And Jim Gerstein – principal of Gerstein Agne Strategic Communiciations, which conducted the poll – noted that a good percentage of that favoribility rating comes from Jewish GOPers, who registered 65 percent approval for Lieberman, compared to just 25 percent among Democrats and 45 percent for independents. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Furthermore, the stats show that older Jews who were enamored at the first Jewish vice presidential candidate in places like Florida aren't any more favorably disposed to Lieberman – he has the same 37 percent approval rating among Jews over 64 that he receives from the overall population, and a higher disapproval rate of 53 percent. In addition, Orthodox Jews – the most likely denomination of the Jewish community to be Republicans – has a huge 76 percent approval rating for Lieberman, but Reform Jews only give him a 34 percent positive rating.

"The bottom line is Lieberman doesn't help McCain" among Jews, said Gerstein, because many Jews are upset at Lieberman's departure from the Democratic Party and strident support for the Iraq war.

National Jewish Democratic Council executive director Ira Forman agrees. "First of all, I'd be very surprised if Lieberman was selected," said Forman. But if he was, he doubts he has much extra appeal, noting that the Democratic vote for president only rose 1 percent from 1996 to 2000. If Lieberman truly made a difference to Jews, "you would think you'd have seen some difference" with him on the ticket.

But Jewish Republicans say they would be very comfortable with the Connecticut senator as McCain's running mate, and should help their efforts to bring more Jews over to the GOP side. "I certainly hope he would," said Fred Zeidman, a Republican Jewish Coalition board member from Houston. "I'd like to believe the Jewish community would embrace him." Zeidman said he had been on the road campaigning for Jewish votes with Lieberman in Michigan, and noted 300 people had turned out to hear him speak at a Holocaust museum in Detroit.

McCain supporter Gary Erlbaum of Philadelphia, who has financially backed candidates of both parties over the years, said he thinks Lieberman would still be a draw for Jewish voters. "Joe has made friends and lost friends," he said. "He would be a great asset" in attracting independents and Jews. But Erlbaum doubts Lieberman will be McCain's pick, since the number of voters it could attract would be outweighed by the alienation of so many conservatives.

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Obama campaign geared up for Jewish outreach

By Eric Fingerhut · August 20, 2008

The new foreign policy adviser and Jewish outreach coordinator to the Obama campaign says he's "joining an operation that's already well-organized." Dan Shapiro said in a telephone interview that the campaign already has 15 Jewish leadership councils – with more still forming – "up and running" in major cities around the country, organizing house parties and other "direct voter contact" activities, as well as dedicated outreach staff in key states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida and Michigan.

Shapiro said he'll continue to do the same kinds of things that he was doing in an volunteer advisory role for the last year now that he's a full-time staffer, including speaking to voters and lining up other surrogates in the Jewish community.

A source in the Obama campaign who did not wish to be identified said a major theme of the Obama Jewish outreach effort this fall would be to show that the Democratic candidate is "in touch with" and cares about the same values that are important to the community – Jewish values such as caring for "the less fortunate among us, caring for our parents and grandparents, being good stewards of the earth." The campaign also will continue to highlight Obama's "rock-solid" backing of Israel, said the source.

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RJC: Don’t let Carter speak in Denver (UPDATED)

By Eric Fingerhut · August 20, 2008

A day after the Democrats announced that former President Jimmy Carter would be speaking next Monday at their convention, the Republican Jewish Coalition is demanding his removal from the schedule because of his "troubling anti-Israel bias." Carter spoke at the convention four years ago, but that was before the 2006 release of his controversial book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."

A top Jewish leader, though, believes a Carter speech in Denver is unavoidable. Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham Foxman said in a phone interview that he wished Carter wasn't speaking, but "I don't think there's an option not to provide a platform for a former president." He hoped the "Democratic leadership would use the opportunity [of Carter's appearance] to distance themselves" from the former president's "biased view of the Arab-Israeli conflict."

Here's the full RJC release:

RJC: Remove Carter From Democratic Convention Program

Washington, D.C. (August 20, 2008) – The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) today called on Sen. Barack Obama and the Democratic Party leadership to remove former President Jimmy Carter from the program at the Democratic National Convention. Yesterday it was announced that Carter is scheduled to speak at the Convention in Denver on Monday, August 25, 2008.

Through the years, President Carter has consistently demonstrated by his statements and actions a troubling anti-Israel bias. In April 2008, despite strong protests by Israeli leaders, the U.S. State Department and several Democratic leaders, Carter met with Hamas leader Khaled Meshal in Syria. In an August 2006 interview with Der Spiegel, Carter ignored Israel's right to defend its citizens and borders. Instead, Carter claimed Israel's attack was "unjustified" and that "Israel looks upon this as a justification for an attack on the civilian population of Lebanon and Gaza." In 2006, Carter also published an error-filled, egregiously biased book entitled Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. Carter said publicly that Israeli treatment of Palestinians is "one of the greatest human rights crimes on earth."

"Jimmy Carter's long history of anti-Israel bias has rendered him unfit to address the Democratic Convention. It is incumbent upon the Democratic Party leadership and Senator Obama to remove Carter from the program in Denver. The Democratic Party and Senator Obama's continued embrace of Carter and his anti-Israel bias sends a troubling message to the Jewish community. It stands in stark contrast to the GOP and John McCain's pro-Israel stance," said RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks. "Additionally, Senator Obama should reject Carter's superdelegate vote. The hand that shook Khaled Meshal's should not be allowed to rise in support of Senator Obama's candidacy for president."

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Jewish legislators make good surrogates

By Eric Fingerhut · August 20, 2008

Some of the best candidate surrogates are Jewish Democrats in Congress. Florida Reps. Robert Wexler and Debbie Wasserman Schultz – who supported Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, respectively, in the primaries – and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, who also backed Clinton, were among those singled out in a Politico article. (One Senate Democrat says of Schumer, "We didn't know Chuck could be such a team player.") The article points out that being a successful surrogate means "enhanced national stature."

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No Joementum among Republicans

By Eric Fingerhut · August 20, 2008

When Al Gore picked Joe Lieberman as his running mate eight years ago, many Republicans said he was their favorite Democrat. But that doesn't mean they want him to be the Republican vice presidential nominee.

The Politico's report that Lieberman, or fellow pro-choice politician Tom Ridge, was apparently being seriously considered as John McCain's vice presidential pick was not welcomed by conservatives yesterday. "You will not have a unanimous vote at the convention, that much I can tell you," said one unnamed Republican.

And there's more on the McCain-Lieberman front...

• The Washington Times reports that state GOP officials are already plotting how to reject a Lieberman pick.
• Rush Limbaugh offers an emphatic "NO" to the idea.
• The National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez feels similarly.
• Jim Geraghty of the same publication also agrees, adding that Lieberman won't win Connecticut for McCain.
• Jewish conservative John Podhoretz makes the case in Commentary magazine for Lieberman as McCain's pick – foreign policy strength and both could pledge to fight the "corrupt political culture." But he says Lieberman would have to pledge not to seek the presidency in order to mollify political conservatives.
• Byron York of National Review writes that McCain would like to pick a "friend" like Lieberman and the campaign believes it would give him back his "maverick" image – but he's still struggling with the decision.
• And Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard has a similar take, writing that if McCain was making the decision without regard to policy or politics, it would be Joe – but that in the end, he'll pick Pawlenty.
• Liberal blogger Jane Hamsher of The Huffington Post believes McCain will choose Lieberman and announce it next Friday, because the media will love it and it will steal Obama's thunder after his convention speech.
• Time magazine political guru Mark Halperin said a choice of any "pro-choice" VP would be a "disaster" for McCain.

Signs do point this morning to Lieberman being vetted, according to Politico. And he's also now on the Republican convention speaking agenda, although no specifics on when. And the Connecticut senator is following in the footsteps of another rumored VP nominee, Joe Biden, by heading to Georgia this week.

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