JTA Election Central

You know you’ve been in this business (Jewish journalism) too long when … the rest of the country is taking in Joe Biden’s tragic/inspiring story of losing his first wife and a baby daughter in a car crash, then managing to press ahead with his political career and raise his other children — but the [...]

If you need a corrective after reading the Jewish NRA head’s scorching of Barack Obama for not knowing how to properly skin an animal, here’s Gloria Steinem’s account of why Sarah Palin would be a monumental setback for women.

First Linda Lingle, Hawaii’s Jewish Republican governor, came to the defense of Sarah Palin. And now Sandra Froman — the only Jew and only the second woman to serve as president of the NRA — has the GOP running mate’s back, in an op-ed that she’s sent out via e-mail.
Our favorite line: “In addition, Palin’s [...]

Joe Biden had a 20-minute conference call with members of the Jewish media today.
Among other things, when asked about a possible Israeli attack against Iran, he said: “This is not a question for us to tell the Israelis what they can and cannot do. … I have faith in the democracy of Israel.” His overall [...]

Sarah Palin meets with AIPAC leaders.
Ynet reports on an Israeli filmmaker in L.A. who is mesmerized by McCain’s Veep pick.
Calev Ben-David compares the Olmerts and the Palins, and ponders whether the behavior of a politician’s children ever relevant to voters in assessing the character of a candidate.
Jerusalem Post columnist Elliot Jager wasn’t thrilled with the [...]

Eric Fingerhut has an article up about two prayers recited at Barack Obama’s big night last week in Denver at the Democratic convention: one by Rabbi David Saperstein, the Reform movement’s man in D.C., and another by Pastor John Hunter of Florida:
Barack Obama’s big night began with a prayer from a rabbi and ended with [...]

Ron Kampeas and Eric Fingerhut file their first video report from the GOP convention in the Twin Cities.

Here’s the JTA brief on Biden’s swing through South Florida:
Joe Biden reassured older Florida Jews that Barack Obama would be strong on Israel.
Biden, the Democratic nominee for vice president, was introduced by a Holocaust survivor at a speech before several hundred at a retirement community, The Associated Press reported.
“I am chairman of the Foreign Relations [...]

Rudy Giuliani bumped for Joe Lieberman tonight at the Republican convention. Lieberman: “I’m not going to spend any time tonight attacking Sen. Obama,” Lieberman told CNN, but he added that he will explain “why I am an independent Democrat voting for Sen. McCain.”
Hadassah Lieberman talks to JTA about the same issue.
Ha’aretz reports on Republican Hawaii [...]

In an interview with JTA last week, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz insisted that Joe Biden would be a big asset with Jewish folks in Florida, predicting he would “come down and move around the bagel places and the condos.”
Well… it didn’t take long. Biden heads to Florida on Tuesday — we don’t see any bagel [...]

Start looking at about 6:50 of the video — left lower corner of the window:

UPDATE: Here’s a screen cap.

UPDATED UPDATE: Ben Smith offers his take on the flag find.

Ira Forman, executive direction of the National Jewish Democratic Council, argues that “for a party which claims it is trying to reach out to the Jewish community McCain’s pick is particularly strange.”
Here’s the full statement:
Today, Senator John McCain made his first critical presidential decision with his selection of his Vice Presidential running mate. McCain’s judgment [...]

The Republican Jewish Coalition praises Sarah Palin, and says she does have “a proven track record of experienced and principled leadership.”
Washington, D.C. (August 29, 2008) — Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks issued the following statement today:
“By choosing Governor Sarah Palin as the vice-presidential candidate, John McCain once again demonstrates good judgment and a [...]

Blogging for the New York Daily News, Dan Gerstein writes:
In picking an unknown, untested, half-a-term woman governor from Alaska to be his running mate, John McCain is following in a long line of reckless men who have rolled the dice for a beauty queen. Except in this case, McCain is taking one of the biggest, [...]

Hey, if Obama had known that John McCain was going to go with an obscure governor from a state with a tiny population, I wonder if he would have gone with Montana’s rancher-turned-governor Brian Schweitzer — a big hit at the convention.

Is he Jewish?