The First Jewish President?

It says a lot about this country that two major Democratic presidential candidates are Jewish and nobody cares. What I mean is that in America the idea of one of our own being the leader of the free world  doesn’t even register a blip on anyone’s radar screen.

Actually, that isn’t exactly accurate.  Putting a Jew near the top of the ticket is actually seen as a plus by the American people. As I’ve pointed out many times - when Al Gore chose Joe Lieberman, an identifiably Orthodox Jew as his running mate, his poll numbers went up  by 10 points - pulling even with his Republican rival George W. Bush.  That ticket even won the popular vote. (It should not escape one’s attention that these poll numbers represent Democrats.)

In light of that 10% bump in the polls and the fact that Lieberman would be a heartbeat away from the Presidency - I recall another poll taken at the time asking whether a Jew that observers the Sabbath would hurt a President’s ability to do his job.  The response was exactly the opposite. Which explained that bump. Voters liked the fact that a man whose religious values made someone as ethical and moral as Liebeman was. They considered it a plus adding that this was exactly what was missing among our political leaders. (What a Kiddush Lieberman made! And what a contrast to the current President.)

I mention this in light of an article by Rabbi Avi Shafran in Hamodia (republished at Cross Currents).  He discusses Bernie Sanders and Mike Bloomberg, the two current Jewish candidates running for the Democratic nomination - and what impact it might have if a Jew wins the election. He calls it a double edged sword. On the one hand it would give the Jewish people a tremendous sense of pride. On the other hand it would give the antisemites of the world a target. Meaning that they will blame ‘the Jew in the White House’ for every problem in the world.

A lot of Jews have expressed that worry to me. They prefer that a Jew not be President and might even vote for his opponent even though they wouldn’t do so otherwise.

I could not disagree with that mentality more. As I have said many times, the American people are truly different. It doesn’t matter whether they are Republicans or Democrats; liberals or conservatives. The Jewish people are a highly respected people in this country. (For a variety of reasons that are beyond the scope of this post.) 

And while it is true that the antisemites of the world will do their level best to convince the world that ‘the Jew’ in the White House is really the devil in human form, they will not convince mainstream America of that. As the late John McCain said when asked whether the reaction to Jack Abramoff a high profile Orhtodox Jew that was convicted of fraud would cause Americans to become antisemitic. He answered something to the effect that the American people know how to distinguish between a crook and a Jew.

Which brings me back to the 2 Jewish candidates. One of which I believe has a good chance to become the nominee.  That became a more distinct possibility after Iowa Caucus debacle.

Here is the way I see it. Sanders’s socialism is too far left for the American electorate. You cannot give away the store without paying a very hefty price. He cannot win in the general election and will not be the nominee.

That leaves Biden, Warren, Buttigeig, and Klobuchar. I don’t think Biden can recover from his 4th place finish in Iowa - nor his projected 4^thplace finish in New Hampshire. (Never really thought he was viable anyway.)

Warren is quickly fading in the polls as well. Probably for the same reason Sanders won’t  be the nominee. Her politics are also way too far to the left.

Klobuchar is more of a moderate by comparison but in any case a dark horse at best. She is too far back in the polls. I don’t  see her being the nominee either.

Buttigeig is by far the most articulate candidate and although pretty liberal, by comparison to Warren and Sanders, he is moderate. That he won in Iowa doesn’t surprise me at all. And he has a good chance of winning in New Hampshire.  I’m not sure however that America is ready for a gay President yet. Nor are they ready for such a young man (at age 37) with no governing experience beyond being the mayor of a small Indiana town (South Bend). But even if they are ready for Buttigeig - none of the candidates will have a commanding lead once Super Tuesday (when several states will be holding their primary) comes around.

That is when Bloomberg comes into the picture. Although he is quite liberal, like Klobuchar, he too is a moderate by comparison. If he does well on Super Tuesday he may end up being the Democratic nominee. Making him the first Jew to head the ticket of one of the two major political parties. And he will have shot at winning the whole shebang.

Although at this point it seems unlikely, I believe that as a politically moderate Democrat, Bloomberg will be in the best position to challenge Trump – with enough money to outspend the President no matter how much he spends. And he won’t even feel it. (61.5 billion dollars is a lot of change.)

As  Rabbi Shafran pointed out, both Jewish candidates have recently been touting their Jewish credentials to Jewish voters. While I might be tempted to feel pride about the possibility of a Jewish President, I’m not so sure I do about this one. 

I find it hard to feel pride about a man who has so abandoned his Judaism that he married a non Jewish woman thereby ending his Jewish line. (The same thing is true about Sanders.) There should be no greater proof of Bloomberg’s apathy to Judaism than  the fact that he did not even care to raise his children to be Jewish! (Which they would not be in any case.) I can’t imagine how any Jew that has the slightest bit of pride in being Jewish could raise his children in another faith!

There is another un-Jewish thing about Bloomberg. He bragged in his autobiography that he had a girlfriend in every city - and currently lives with a non Jewish women without the benefit of marriage.

Despite his more Presidential demeanor than the current President I don’t see much difference between them on that level. It should not escape anyone’s attention that the current President is married; does have a Jewish child; and Jewish grandchildren. Not that this makes Trump more moral or qualified to be President. But it does seems to make the President more Jewish them Bloomberg.

The only positive thing to say about Bloomberg’s Jewishness is that he is a strong supporter of Israel. He said that he will support Israel no matter who the Prime Minister is. I believe him. But in a contest about who supports Israel more, I don’t think there can be any dispute about who wins that contest.

Does that mean I would not feel any pride at all if he becomes the first Jewish President?  I don’t know. I might. A little. But I would have had much more pride if an observant Jew like Joe Lieberman would have been the first. In the current scenario, however, I think  my pride will be more in the American people that will have elected him - than in the President being Jewish. By far.