Obama in Israel

Obama has been making a stir all year in Israel, especially among American ex-pat’s who will be voting in the fall. Democrats used to be able to count on winning an overwhelming Jewish vote, but that’s not the case this year. This man is chairman of Republicans Abroad in Israel and says he thinks whoever is the best candidate for America will be by definition the best for Israel as well. Because of threats to Israel, Americans in Israel are more likely to have a tougher stance on international security, and they’re more likely to be socially conservative and religious. Ex-pats in Israel will cast thousands of votes and the man is counting on them to vote for McCain, and he says he’s running a positive campaign because McCain’s experience is such a positive factor. The man says he’s targeting former Clinton supporters and independents, and that’s left Obama with a tough sell in Israel according to his supporters. Israelis for Obama argue that the Bush administration has stretched America so thin that it can’t do anything to help Israel and this supporter says Obama will restore America as a superpower and will thus be able to press for more in the Middle East. He also says his main goal is to ensure the Jewish-American community as opposed to Americans in Israel.