Why Obama Will Do Fine With Jews

Constituency needs soothing, but he's got time, and they're reliably Democrat
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted May 8, 2008 8:36 PM CDT
Why Obama Will Do Fine With Jews
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. address Jewish community leaders, Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia.    (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Much has been made of Barack Obama’s “Jewish problem,” but while it’s hurt him in the primaries—he’s done 10 points worse among Jewish voters—it will have little or no meaning in November, SV Date writes in the New Republic. The demographic is most politically meaningful in Florida, and 80% of Jews there dependably vote Democratic.

A Clinton rep warned that a third of those might go to McCain instead, but Date says that crossing party lines is highly unlikely and that a more realistic expectation is that 1 in 10 might stay home. Nah, says pollster John Zogby, who is "skeptical" about the problem. “Jewish voters will vote, and (they won't) abandon the Democratic Party.” Not only that, but a new poll shows that Obama’s numbers among Jews have improved since March. (More Barack Obama stories.)

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