There are 13 Jewish senators in the U.S. Senate – so why did only seven of them sign a letter repudiating emails that smear their colleague, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)?
Sources say that the letter’s initiator, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), has been among the most emphatic non-endorsers in the body when it comes to the race for his party’s presidential nomination. Levin has told Obama’s campaign, as well as that of U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) that he will not endorse.
When it came to his letter, the sources said, he did not want it tainted by an association with any of the campaigns, so he only approached senators who are not backing one of the presidential hopefuls.
No explanation, however, for why U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) – or, for that matter, U.S. Sen. Arlene Specter (R-Pa.) – are no shows. Both senators have so far withheld any endorsements.
