Jews support Obama or Clinton similarly against McCain
There has been rumbling here and there during the primary season that should Barack Obama get the nomination, there could be a massive exodus of Jewish voters to McCain. The assuption appeared to be that
1. Jews only care about Israel, no other topic interests them.
2. Your level of being pro-Israel can only be counted by your willingness to bomb Iran and/or Palestinians.
Your guess of where they got this brilliant analysis is as good as mine, but according to Gallup, that disastrous loss of an incredibly loyal constituency is not supported by polling data.
In terms of the general election, Jewish voters nationwide are nearly as likely to say they would vote for Obama if he were the Democratic nominee running against the Republican McCain (61%), as to say they would vote for Clinton (66%).
I must admit that I’m a bit surprised, but then the only Jewish input I’ve been getting during primary season has come from this lady. It really shouldn’t suprise me much though. The last time the Jewish vote went Republican was 1920, at the election of Harding (with the socialist candidate getting a close second in Jewish votes). Since then they’ve been a solidly Democratic demographic, having polled at 75-80% Democratic in the last three elections. Those numbers appear to be down in the poll for both candidates, though it must be remembered that we are comparing polling opinion 6 months ahead of the election to actual votes.
The upshot is that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have a solid lead over McCain in the Jewish vote, so stop the kvetching.
Does anyone else get the impression that media types of all brands are trying to get to be concerned about things we don’t care about? I mean aren’t all politics local in the end?
oops, insert an "us" between the "to get" and "to be" above! My face is red!