NEW YORK (AFP)---Heard about the black guy and the Jewish grandma? Or the strange contents of John McCain's fridge?
Jewish Democrats fear Barack Obama is losing ground in the Jewish community to Republican McCain, especially in the key state of Florida, and they're
fighting back -- with jokes.
Shock comic Sarah Silverman is urging young Jews to make a "Great Schlep" to their conservative grandparents in Florida and persuade them to vote Obama, the first African-American with a serious chance to become president.
In a skit on www.greatschlep.com, seen by seven million Internet viewers, Silverman lists similarities between a young black man and a Jewish retiree: love of tracksuits, Cadillacs, jewelry.
"They both say 'yo' all the time, or Jews go right to left and say 'oy,'" Silverman quips. Oh, and "all their friends are dying."
The jokey appeal, littered with swear words, has a serious message.
Jews traditionally vote overwhelmingly Democratic, but Obama's share has slipped.
Opinion polls show him with only about 60 percent of Jewish support nationwide, well below Democrat John Kerry's approximately 75 percent in the 2004 election that he lost to George W. Bush.
That shift could make a difference in a tight contest -- particularly in the ultra-tight finish predicted in Florida, a state crucial to McCain's strategy and where about five percent of the vote is Jewish.
| |
|
In recent presidential elections, Jews have drifted somewhat to the right. Because Obama is relatively new on the national stage, his résumé of Senate votes in support of Israel is short, as is his list of high-profile visits to synagogues and delis.
Perhaps the single most controversial issue for Obama among Jews is his desire to negotiate with Israel's enemy Iran, rather than continue Washington's current policies.
|
"If Barack Obama doesn't become the next president of the United States, I'm going to blame the Jews," Silverman deadpans in her video.
Analysts say conservative Jews -- who are just as likely to be young as old -- dislike Obama because of his relatively dovish foreign policy platform.
Perhaps the single most controversial issue for Obama among Jews is his desire to negotiate with Israel's enemy Iran, rather than continue Washington's current hard-line policies.
He also suffers from an exotic name and the lingering effect of a whispering campaign by opponents that he secretly practices Islam.
"You know why your grandparents don't like Barack Obama?" Silverman asks. "Because his name sounds scary, it sounds Moslem, which he's obviously not."
At an Obama fundraiser thrown this week by hip young New York Jews, comedians delivered a string of below-the-belt attacks on Republicans.
| |
Alan Dershowitz, a professor at Harvard Law School, said he had been deluged with questions from Jews about what to think of Barack Obama. "I have gotten hundreds of e-mails asking me, ‘Who should we vote for?’ " he said. Dershowitz, who supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries, says he tells voters that Obama and McCain, are all pro-Israel and to reject false personal attacks on Obama.
|
Gabe Liedman and Jenny Slate conjured a crude scenario involving a hungry McCain and a bra in his fridge and they said his wife Cindy was a witch.
"If you say 'Cindy McCain' three times she appears out of the mirror and traps your soul in one of her many diamond necklaces," Slate said.
But when Seth Herzog took the stage, the defensiveness about Obama, albeit with humor, returned.
"If you know anything about Obama, one thing you know is he's not an Arab," Herzog said in mock exasperation. "He's a black guy, ladies and gentlemen!"
The "Great Schlep" has had more media success than impact on the ground. So far only about 100 Jews have travelled to Florida and another 100 to other
states.
However, several hundred more are expected to make the journey, said one of the organizers, Mik Moore of the Jewish Council for Education and Research.
"Even if this is not a huge number, you win elections through accumulative effort," Moore said.
Arlynn Greenbaum, 59, a literary agent in New York, said her 81-year-old mother, who lives in Florida, had been a typical hold-out.
"She doesn't trust Obama. I'd say she's prejudiced. We've had arguments,
screaming arguments," Greenbaum said."
"Finally last weekend when we had our weekly phone call, she said, 'OK --
I'll vote Obama.'"
Watch out, though, says Joshua Neuman, publisher of Heeb magazine.
"Jewish grandparents can be very sneaky. I don't trust them when they say
'I'll vote Obama.' That's the big X factor."