Why Is Obama Backpedaling His Speech? The Same Reason The GOP Is All Smiles

With the backlash against Obama's Thursday Middle East speech--unmitigated by his interview with the BBC or his later speech to AIPAC--Republicans think they actually have a chance to attract Jewish voters--and donations:

GOP activists are confident that they’ll gain additional votes and donations from the Jewish community following President Barack Obama’s call for Israel to retreat to territory along its pre-1967 border, with “mutually agreed swaps” in any final peace settlement with Palestinian Arabs.


“My friends in the Republican Jewish Coalition are ecstatic at the crossover they’re having from independent-minded Jews,” GOP consultant Karl Rove told The Daily Caller.

Ari Fleischer, President Bush's former press secretary, is quoted as explaining that as opposed to Jews who vote Democrat because they focus on domestic issues:

those who are more inclined to vote on international affairs are more likely to be independent and they tend to vote Republican...They’re also the people who are more likely to be alarmed by Obama’s new stance...That’s where the damage was done.

No wonder that the GOP feels they can regain their momentum in increasing their share of the Jewish vote. While Republicans pulled in only 9% percent of the Jewish vote in 1992, they received 16% in 1996 and 25% in 2004 before going back down to 21% in 2008 against Obama.

Based on what they perceive as Obama's Middle East speech debacle--and the dislike of Jewish entrepreneurs for Obama's pro-regulatory policies--Republicans are optimistic about again increasing their take of the Jewish vote come 2012.

Of course, it would help if they could field a candidate for the election.

Technorati Tag: Obama and Republicans.