Gallup vs Politico: Are Jewish Democrats Wary Of Obama--Or Not?

Obama may be losing the faith of Jewish Democrats
Headline from Ben Smith, Politico, June 29, 2011

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Solid Majority of Jewish Americans Still Approve of Obama
Gallup Poll, July 5, 2011

Julie Moos addresses the apparent contradiction between Ben Smith and Gallup on Obama and the Jewish vote this way:

The latest Gallup poll results on U.S. Jews’ continued support of President Obama addressed directly how the findings contrasted with a Politico story by Ben Smith suggesting Jewish Democrats may be losing faith after the president’s May speech about Israel. Could both Gallup and Politico be right? Yes.

Ben Smith himself explains the contradiction this way:

Nobody imagines a wholesale, er, exodus. I was writing about, as I described it:

Center-left American Jews and Obama supporters — and many of them Democratic donors. On some core issues involving Israel, they’re well to the left of Netanyahu and many Americans: They refer to the “West Bank,” not to “Judea and Samaria,” fervently supported the Oslo peace process and Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and believe in the urgency of creating a Palestinian state.

The share of that pro-Israel, Democratic Jewish swing vote can't be outside the single digits in the community, representing a small number of votes in some key states, an outsized share of the Democratic donor base, and a vocal constituency. Their voices matter in part because Israel is, for many Jews and non-Jews, a kind of token for other national security issues.[emphasis added]

Smith indicates that this wariness does not necessarily translates into Jewish Democrats running to vote for Republicans. In his original article he wrote about this, but it was edited out:

Many of the pro-Israel Democrats who spoke to POLITICO said they were beginning to contemplate the unthinkable – voting for a Republican – but said that would be a heavy personal lift.

“Depending on who the nominee is it’s enough now that I would at least look at a republican candidate.,” said Scott Matasar , a Cleveland lawyer, who added improbably that he’d prefer that Republican favor abortion rights. “The problem is the Republicans are not going to come up with a candidate that I probably am going to find palatable,” he said.

“I think people are differentiating between being a Democratic supporter and being an Obama supporter,” said Keith Greenwald, a benefits consultant in Atlanta who said he’s troubled by a persistent sense that Obama is “coming down harder and harder on Israel.”

Greenwald says he’s been telling his Republican friends to “please give us someone we can vote for.”

“If you give us a viable candidate, we will vote Republican,” he said of himself and his wife. “But if you expect us to vote for Sarah Palin, you’ve got to be crazy.”

Considering that it's not clear yet that the Republicans can come up with a candidate that Republicans can vote for, I don't know that they can come up with a candidate that Jewish Democrats can get behind.

But Obama is not taking a chances, regardless of what Gallup--or Ben Smith--say.

Hat tip: PB

Technorati Tag: Israel and Jews and Obama.