My mother would have been proud to have Obama as a relative, given his story. Biden would have been recognised as another immigrant-like striver, and even McCain is vaguely reminiscent of some older Jews (note how the default "old person" voice for comedians is Miami-Jewish---Prof. Hubert Farnsworth aside).

But from the odd-seeming (to us) form of Christianity to the airplane-based hunting to the Marketolatry to the disparagement of élite education (or just plain book learnin') to the exaggerated folksiness (check out footage of her from 2002, not a "you betcha" in earshot) I can't think of anyone who seems less, well...Jewish.

I've often thought that the pejorative Yiddish phrase "goyische kopf" (lit., "Gentile head") refers not so much to stupidity or cruelty as such as to ways of thinking and acting that make no sense to Eastern European Jews and their descendants---attitudes so headless that (to crib from Enrico Fermi, kind of Jewish-seeming himself) "they aren't even wrong". (Example: I understand someone wanting my bicycle's stealing it, but I don't understand someone unable to steal my bicycle due to my care in locking its deciding to instead vandalise it.) (Example: throwing out food.)

It's unfair not to vote for someone because they remind you of your polar opposite. On the other hand, Ms Palin seems to be getting what gains she has had on the basis of some number of people feeling that she's "just like them", a stupid reason to vote for someone, so it's only fair, or at least poetic justice.

I have to guess that Salon contracted this piece specifically with a numbered list of hit points to cover. There's not much of anything in Mr. Korten's otherwise good work about the Caribbean and diving that leads me to believe he had anything to do with the outline, goal or intents of this piece. In other words, when you hire a hired gun you get to tell him who to shoot at.

I’m a Jew, I am for Obama and think McCain’s choice of Palin signaled his complete bankruptcy as a political leader. I was floored by elderly Jewish voters who rejected Obama because they feared he was a Muslim and found his color worrisome.

However, your piece on how Jewish voters in Florida are turning to Obama and dumping McCain because of Palin either misses the mark for why Jews are abandoning McCain or the AKs of South Florida are missing the problem. For example, you end with the idea that the remark about “Israelites” from an African preacher in Palin’s church suggested that he said Jews controlled the U.S. economy is just false.

Instead, he made a lame comparison between how “Israelites” do business with other “Israelites”, and argued Christians need to do the same thing. Maybe he was invoking our famous “cliquishness” and recommending Christians follow suit. But he hardly said Jews controlled the economy.

But you are right, Jews should be suspicious of Palin’s love for Israel, which is part of her end-of-days orientation. We, the stiff-necked Jews who historically have resisted conversion, in the end-times will either convert or go to hell. Israel will be the arena for that last great confrontation between the Anti-Christ and Christ. Jews are just props in this drama. We are no more loved by the Palins of this world than the sacrificial lamb is loved by his executioner. Jews should pay more attention to Palin’s comfort factor when listening to Jews for Jesus exhortations. I think that gets closer to her respect for Jews. The most we can expect is the same “tolerance” she has for gays. And her tolerance will go only so far.

This addressed to those intelligent readers who have at least some interest in rational debate and ctitical thought (not the ignoramus hep46):

History never exactly repeats itself, but there are similar good things and bad things which reoccur because human nature does not change.

ACORN and the entire 'community organizer' movement was largely inspired by the radical Jewish left wing thinker, Saul Alinsky. He is a person who Obama and Hillary Clinton both worshiped when they were in college. He and they had been very impatent with liberalsm because that kind of change takes too long to accomplish anything of value in their minds, because liberals have a fundamental regard for freedom and process and for gradually improving society through persuasion. Instead of persuasion, he organized 'mobilizations' of direct action. He fully understood that this meant intimidation and slander and whatever else it took for leftists to get what they want because they knew that what they want is wonderful.

In short, for outfits like ACORN, the ends justify the means, and getting what you want can often mean characterizing your opponents as contemptable sub humans who must be bested and defeated. This is why ACORN's activists believe rules are for others, and this is why they so often of late have gotten in trouble for voter fraud, padding voter rolls with imaginary people and people who have died or moved away.

While we are at it, let's introduce the subject of "useful idiots." Jews are maybe 5% of the population, but they were maybe 20+% of all Civil Rights Activists. From ancient times, Jews have been taught to strive for justice and harmony in the world, and they have often been at the forefront of charities and movements for social change. Lenin recognized that many of his peace loving, idealistic, rose colored glasses early cohorts were dreamy eyed Jews, and he called them "useful idiots." He had Trotsky murdered, and Stalin later referred to many of these Jews as "cosmopolitans." Many of them were murdered too after horrific show trials.

Today we have a Presidential Candidate who was an ACORN trainer, which sounds very nice until you find our what ACORN is all about. He was a loyal donor and member of his church for twenty years, very nice also, until you figure out what Trinity United has been all about. He helped a professor of education to distribute $100 million dollars to charitable organizations over a period of several years, which also sounds very nice, until you look closely at the organizations which got that money, and, until you identify the professor as a guy who brags about how he got away with blowing up buildings.

Is Obama a new age version of Lenin or Stalin who both died a long time ago? Isn't he far more simpatico with Hugo Chavez than he is with Alvaro Uribe? Couldn't we get a President who would be fawning all over every left wing looser in Latin America, and couldn't this have disasterous effects on fledgling democracies in Brazil, Peru and Chile?

Would he be able or even want to stand up to Putin if and when he decides to take back parts of or all of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine? What would he do or not do if Israel was suddenly swarmed again by hostile armies from all sides?

And if he is president, and as Sternberg would hope, let's the good Jews in his party and his administration start to have misgivings about him and even get the nerve to oppose some shall we say future heavy handed abuses of power, what do you think would happen to them, my dears? If the ends justify the means, what could happen?

It is very important today for Obama to tap into the great wealth of many of the most prosperous Jewish Families. Perhaps 25 to 50 per cent of the money flowing into his campaign and into sister organizations such as move on is coming from Jews. He also needs Jewish votes in Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Virginia, Ohio, and Wisconsin. This is very smart of him and I think these Jews, who always vote in great numbers, are all too willing to think this man is who he now says he is, a very rational, liberal, pragmatic Democrat, and not the combination of his real past experience, and his real past associations.

This is why I have tried to remind you of Moshe, who everyone thought was crazy, just like many of you think or would like to think that I am crazy now too.