36 Jews who have shaped the 2008 U.S.
election
By Bradley Burston and J.J.
Goldberg
Published in the Israeli
paper Ha' aretz, Online Edition, 18 October 2008
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1029302.html
NEW YORK - The John
McCain-Barack Obama contest has been one in which the issues of Wall
Street and fitness for the presidency have far overshadowed the
subject of Israel. But the Jewish vote remains a key element in
battleground states, and, playing a wide variety of roles, Jews have
helped to shape the campaigns.
Thirty-six of them are mentioned below.
This list is by no means all-inclusive, and, for considerations of
space, many Jews who have played active parts in the campaigns do not
a appear - among them Obama surrogate US Senator Ben Cardin
of Maryland, and Obama advisor and ex-California
congressman Mel Levine.
Also missing are a number of Jews who have played minor roles, but
merit mention for the interest they have attracted - in particular,
Sandra Froman, the first Jewish president of the National
Rifle Association (2005-7), and a steering committee member of
Sportsmen for McCain; and Linda Lingle, the first Jewish
governor of Hawaii and an early defender of Sarah Palin.
It should be noted that perhaps the most significant name that
appears on the list belongs to a man, Henry Lehman, who has
been dead for 153 years, and has thus remained uncounted among the
living. Following is the list, in alphabetical order:
Sheldon Adelson: He is Republican, neo-conservative and a
mega-donor. However, a combination of financial reverses and internal
disputes has muted his contribution to the McCain effort.
David Axelrod: Chief strategist and media advisor for the
Obama campaign, he has harnessed grassroots support through "viral"
media, new technology and emphasis on the theme of change.
Steven Bob and Sam Gordon: The two Reform rabbis from
the Chicago area founded Rabbis for Obama, which has persuaded
hundreds of rabbinical colleagues to go on record by name supporting
the candidate. The group's influence on the Jewish electorate has
been difficult to gauge.
Matt Brooks: The executive director of the Republican Jewish
Coalition is a frequent media "first responder" on Jewish
issues..
Mark Broxmeyer: A businessman and chair of the Jewish
Institute for National Security Affairs conservative think tank,
Broxmeyer serves as national chairman of the McCain campaign's Jewish
Advisory Coalition and as a member of the candidate's national
finance committee.
Eric Cantor: This Virginia congressman, the sole Jewish
Republican in the House, has emerged as a primary McCain surrogate in
a bid to sway Florida and his home state.
Laurie David: The global-warming activist and producer of "An
Inconvenient Truth," starring Al Gore, she is ex-wife of "Seinfeld"
and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" creator Larry David and one of Jewish
Hollywood's most prodigious fundraisers.
Ira Forman: The executive director of the National Jewish
Democratic Council, he is Matt Brooks' counterpart.
Barney Frank: The Massachusetts Democratic congressman is one
of the most visible, outspoken liberals in the House. He is openly
gay and a frequent target of pro-McCain commentators, particularly on
Fox News, where, because of his role as chair of the House
Financial services Committee, he has been said to bear crucial
responsibility for the sub-prime lending crisis. He played a key role
in negotiating the Wall Street bailout package.
Malcolm Hoenlein: Formally nonpartisan as professional chief
of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organizations, he invited Sarah Palin to speak at an anti-Ahmadinejad
rally at the UN, then bowed to pressure to rescind the invitation. He
is seen to have aided the McCain campaign in terms of some Jewish
undecideds.
Cheryl Jacobs: A McCain campaign co-chair in Broward County,
Florida, the Conservative rabbi, a longtime Democrat, supported
Hillary Clinton's primary race for president, but then switched to
McCain.
Henry Kissinger: The New York Times calls the former
secretary of state a "close outside adviser" to McCain's campaign. He
is regularly called upon by the candidate for advice on foreign
affairs, and held a high-profile briefing session with Palin prior to
the vice-presidential debate.
Ed Koch: The former New York City mayor is still a gold standard
for Jews of a certain age. He backed Bush in 2004 and Hillary Clinton
during the primaries. Now he's for Obama.
William Kristol: As editor of Rupert Murdoch's Weekly
Standard magazine, a New York Times columnist and a Fox News
commentator, he is an extremely influential neoconservative
voice.
Sherry Lansing: The first woman to head a major Hollywood
studio (Paramount), she is a major Democratic donor and
fundraiser.
Ed Lasky: Through the American Thinker Web site, his
articles helped spawn the widespread Internet campaign alleging that
Obama is anti-Israel.
Henry Lehman: A Bavarian immigrant who settled in Alabama in
1844 at age 23, and founded H. Lehman, a general store that, by
accepting raw cotton in lieu of cash, would later lead to commodity
trading in cotton. In 1850, he and his brothers Emanuel and Mayer
formed Lehman Brothers, which became one of the first and most
powerful investment houses on Wall Street. Lehman Brothers'
spectacular collapse in mid-September, the largest bankruptcy in
American history, triggered a worldwide financial panic that, more
than any single factor, may determine the outcome of the 2008
presidential election.
Joe Lieberman: The Connecticut senator was Al Gore's 2000
Democratic running mate. He is now McCain's point man for undecided
Jewish voters.
Mik Moore and Ari Wallach: Launched
Jewsvote.org, utilizing high-tech methods to counteract Web-borne
attacks on Obama.
The group also sponsors "The Great Schlep" - a campaign to get
grandchildren to visit grandparents in Florida, to persuade them to
vote for Obama.
Eli Pariser: He heads MoveOn.org, a liberal on-line
advocacy group that has raised large sums for Democratic
candidates.
Martin Peretz: The editor of The New Republic, he wrote
an influential article entitled "Can friends of Israel - and Jews -
trust Obama? In a word, Yes."
Dennis Prager: He is an influential, outspoken and often
strident nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. Despite
reservations over McCain's campaign reform bill, he has thrown his
weight behind the GOP ticket.
Penny Pritzker: She is the national finance chair of the Obama
campaign. A billionaire executive, pioneer Obama supporter and scion
of a well-known Jewish mega-donor family, she has taken flak over the
degree of her involvement in a the failure of a bank driven by
sub-prime mortgages.
Ed Rendell: The governor of the key swing state of
Pennsylvania, he is former head of the Democratic National Committee
and a top Democratic campaign spokesman.
Denise Rich: The socialite and ex-wife of disgraced
billionaire Marc Rich is a Democratic megafundraiser.
Dennis Ross and Dan Kurtzer: They are the center-right
and center-left anchors of Obama's Middle East advisory staff.
Robert Rubin: The top Obama economics advisor has unsurpassed
knowledge of the workings of Wall Street and was treasury secretary
in the Clinton administration.
Dan Shapiro: A former Clinton administration National Security
Council official, he is a senior Mideast policy advisor and Jewish
outreach coordinator for the Obama campaign. He is said to have
co-written Obama's speech before AIPAC (the pro-Israel lobby), in
which the candidate declared "Jerusalem will remain the capital of
Israel and it must remain undivided" - a statement Obama later
partially recanted.
Sarah Silverman: A "shock comedian," she served as video
spokeswoman for The Great Schlep (see Mik Moore, above). Her
monologue spawned a counter-clip from veteran comic Jackie Mason.
Alan Solow: The Chicago lawyer is active in the Jewish
community and in the Conference of Presidents. He has been an Obama
supporter for a dozen years.
Jon Stewart: As host of the satirical TV news program "The
Daily Show," he has become perhaps the most listened-to liberal voice
in the nation. The New York Times called Stewart's program "a
genuine cultural and political force."
Barbra Streisand: The superstar singer is a Jewish-liberal
icon and mega-fundraiser. She endorsed Hillary Clinton in the primary
race and has backed Obama since the Democratic convention.
She also headlined a Hollywood fundraiser in September, which
included a $25,800-a-plate dinner.
Robert Wexler: A key Obama surrogate, the Florida congressman
has campaigned extensively in the effort to shift the electoral
vote-rich Sunshine State from the McCain column to the Democrats.
Fred Zeidman: McCain's lead Jewish strategist, he is chairman
of the US Holocaust Memorial Council, and a heavyweight among Jewish
Republicans.
