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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 28, 2003
/ 4 Teves, 5764
Urban Legends of Vermont
By
Jonathan Tobin
Overreaction to Dean's loose tongue shouldn't stifle questions about
candidate's stands
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
The first time I ever saw Howard Dean, he was looking very lonely.
The occasion was the first presidential candidates debate in 1996, when the
dead-in-the-water Bob Dole faced off in Hartford, Conn., with President Clinton.
After the debate, I spent a couple of hours in "Spin Alley," an open area in
the huge press room where luminaries from the major parties, including the t
hen little-known governor of Vermont, gathered to give their impressions about
the event we just witnessed.
The Democrats had the idea of having each of their celebrity spinners
accompanied by an aide, who held a sign with their man's name so as to alert the
media to their presence. But while you had to elbow your way through determined
throngs of scribblers to get nose to nose with various governors, senators and
members of the Cabinet present, the path to the governor of the Green Mountain State
was open.
Dean's aide waved his sign in vain, but few, if any, members of the media
cared to talk to him that night, leaving the scrappy physician-turned-politician
on the sidelines, looking as forlorn and frustrated as a wallflower at the
junior prom.
No one would have predicted that a little more than seven years later, the
same guy who was snubbed by the press corps would be on the verge of becoming
the Democratic Party's nominee for president of the United States. Though no
votes have yet been cast, right now it appears that the only candidate who can
stop the Dean juggernaut is Dean himself.
FOOT-IN-THE-MOUTH SYNDROME
That's because the candidate's offhand remarks now get the sort of attention
he once craved. Dean's candidacy has famously been built on the effective use
of the Internet, but that same medium can also be used against him, as his
campaign recently found out.
The cause of their concern is a mass e-mail that cites two recent Dean
quotes, and concludes that no one who "has any love for America and Israel" could
vote for Dean since he has "promised" not to support the Jewish state.
The comments were Dean's assertion that "the United States needs an
evenhanded approach in the [Arab-Israeli] conflict," and another where he referred to
members of Hamas as "soldiers" in a war against Israel.
The mass distribution of the e-mail was enough to send Dean's campaign into
action to counter it and, curiously, even got a response from the
Anti-Defamation League and various Jewish Community Relations Councils around the country,
agencies that don't normally leap to the defense of political candidates.
The e-mail was roundly denounced as an "urban legend." Dean himself claimed
that it must have been the work of Karl Rove, President Bush's political
mastermind.
Why all the fuss about an e-mail?
Most of it is driven by the fear shared by many in the Democratic Party that
Bush is heading for a far larger share of the Jewish vote next November that
any Republican has received since Ronald Reagan back in 1980. The Democrats
will need one of their key core constituencies to stay loyal if they are to have
a chance to unseat the incumbent.
But was the e-mail merely partisan propaganda?
The answer is mixed. Dean does now say many of the right things about the
enduring nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship, Palestinian terrorism and
Israel's right to defend itself. And, for the sake of argument, let's assume that
Dean's use of the term "evenhanded" was as innocent as he now claims it to be.
But even if we stick with Dean's official policy statements on Israel, some
serious questions remain.
CLINTON AS A ROLE MODEL
Dean claims that on the Israel issue, he will model his presidency on that of
Bill Clinton, and thinks Bush has erred at times by allowing the parties to
negotiate without U.S. involvement. That would mean a Dean presidency might
repeat many of the same mistakes that helped bring about the latest Palestinian
terror war and left Israel stranded.
Would Dean, as Clinton did, invite Yasser Arafat to the White House more
times than any other foreign leader? Others might ask why he thinks it's so
important to use the power of the presidency to create a Palestinian state when he
was so reluctant to use U.S. power against Saddam Hussein?
Why did he name as one of his foreign-policy advisers Clyde Prestowitz, an
author who advocates ending all U.S. aid to Israel to pressure it to make
concessions?
And, most importantly, how will a candidate whose base of support is on the
left-wing of the political spectrum — where hostility to Israel is now
commonplace — deal with the anti-Israel sentiments expressed by many of his supporters?
The truth is that there are a lot reasons, other than a few stray remarks, to
question the direction a Dean presidency might take on the Middle East. And
voters who care about Israel — Jews and non-Jews alike — have the
responsibility to try and make him answer these questions.
That's not to say that Bush should have a free ride from Jewish voters. Far
from it, since Bush has himself, with his road map peace plan, repeated many of
the mistakes Clinton made, mistakes he promised not to imitate.
But whether or not you think he has a realistic shot at defeating Bush next
November — and I doubt that he does — the focus now must be on pinning down Dean. As he moves toward the nomination, it's time to stop relying on e-mails
and spin, and think seriously about what a President Dean might do.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent.
Let him know what you think by clicking here. In June, Mr. Tobin won first places honors in the American
Jewish Press Association's Louis Rapaport Award for Excellence in Commentary as
well as the Philadelphia Press Association's Media Award for top weekly
columnist. Both competitions were for articles written in the year 2002.
Jonathan Tobin Archives
© 2003, Jonathan Tobin
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