New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was supposed to have joined the “we’ll do a better job securing Israel” chorus Wednesday night. Richardson was bumped from the schedule on the night that the Democratic Party convention in Denver focused on national security and foreign policy. A line in his speech pledged that the nominee, Sen. Barack… More ▸
Jewish Democrats didn’t spare themselves when they contemplated Jewish ethics and politics at a roundtable session Wednesday during the Democratic convention in Denver. Much of the discussion naturally focused on Republicans, particularly the Republican Jewish Coalition. Some inveighing at the National Jewish Democratic Council session was misdirected: A number of panelists (perhaps inartfully) crammed “RJC”… More ▸
Will.i.am just sang his viral paean to Barack Obama’s candidacy, “Yes, We Can,” but more or less solo – no appearances by MOTs Scarlett Johansson and Maya Rubin, who appear in the online video. (A “Kein, Anu Yacholim” would have moved a few Jewish votes, no?) More ▸
You’ve got three minutes, and now it’s two: what do you cut? Here are some of Rabbi David Saperstein’s choices: a nod to Martin Luther King, a prayer for the war dead, and a couple of God references. Saperstein, the director of the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, was asked to deliver the invocation Thursday… More ▸
Actors Blair Underwood and Alfre Woodard read the “I Have A Dream” speech, faith leaders of all stripes provided reflections and Al Sharpton and Elder Bernice King brought the house down at Thursday morning’s “Unity Prayer Breakfast” in Denver marking the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington. Speaking early in the lengthy program –… More ▸
Ron Kampeas and Eric Fingerhut breakdown speculation that John McCain could end up tapping either Joe Lieberman or Eric Cantor for the Veep slot: More ▸
The Israel Project released a poll this afternoon finding that 55 percent of Americans would approve of the “United States and its allies making targeted conventional military strikes against Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities” – a surprisingly high number considering the opposition generated by the war in Iraq. At a press conference announcing the findings –… More ▸
Jake Tapper dismantles the McCain campaign’s latest ad, targeting Barack Obama’s perception of the Iran threat. His assessment: “dishonest.” (Nice shot of the Israeli flag and the Dome of the Rock, though.) More ▸
In his vice presidential acceptance speech [at 20:34 in the video], Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) used the candidate’s contrasting approaches on Iran as one of the distinctions he drew on foreign policy: “Should we trust John McCain’s judgment when he rejected talking with Iran and then asked: What is there to talk about? Or Barack… More ▸
Bill Clinton didn’t get into any specifics on the Middle East in his speech tonight, but did say that “our position in the world has been weakened by,” among other things, “a failure to consistently use the power of diplomacy, from the Middle East to Africa to Latin America to Center and Eastern Europe.” More ▸
