Via Drudge; A brief glimpse into the bliss that is Hope & Change

Indianapolis - Lines were long and tempers flared Wednesday not to vote but to get paid for canvassing for Barack Obama. Several hundred people are still waiting to get their pay for last-minute campaigning. Police were called to the Obama campaign office on North Meridian Street downtown to control the crowd.

The line was long and the crowd was angry at times.

“I want my money today! It’s my money. I want it right now!” yelled one former campaign worker. [...]

Maybe they should unionize? Obama won by 6 points and the margins in the key states that made the electoral count look mighty high were fairly tight, was this the big get out the vote move.. Sloshing some of the 700 million dollars he raised around to eager grabbers? It has been years since I was in Skokie IL, but somehow even internationally I can’t help shake the feeling that Chicago is coming to all of us soon. Oh Joy.

Soon they may be lining up for bread like in the Soviet Union..

“I want my bread today, it’s my bread. I want it right now.”
Woohoo! Viva Socialism! You want some butter with that?..
You have to line up over there under the sign marked Pelosi..

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That’s a big sell these days, that Obama is a ‘Great Statesman’

Other than the fact that he mostly met his 1st foreign leaders 3 months ago this summer on his big world tour, this like most everything else about Obama is mostly fantasy spun up by his adoring legions. Personally Obama reminds me more of the Teflon Don, you know the gangster in the suit employing Chicago style dirt to achieve his aims while the common folk sing his eternal praise.

Willingness to meet the World’s worst regimes for coffee & tea does not a great statesman make incidentally, but that’s not my concern at the moment. A greater concern are the statements made by Obama & Biden regarding Israeli politics previously, specifically Obama’s denigration of the Likud, historically one of Israel two leading parties and a current favorite to sweep into power in our upcoming elections..

The left in Israel is already trying to make hay

Israel cannot elect Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu prime minister after the United States voted for president-elect Barack Obama, because of the differences in their views on the Middle East conflict and economic issues, Labor and Kadima MKs charged Wednesday in the wake of Obama’s victory. [...]

There’s more there, including the sad & pitiful statements so typical of our left wing of late, who have tried everything under the sun to secure their own asses and seats in a manner not befitting statesmen of any stripe. Bush was of the right, yet he dealt fairly and with respect with our center left governments as well as our center right wing governments. He respected Israel’s right to choose & define its own destiny in this regard.

We don’t need no thought control..

Will Obama step forward, in contrast to his previous statements before he became a ‘great statesman’, and state that Israel has both the right & the responsibility to choose its own destiny and elect its own leaders in democracy? Or will he play into the hands of Israel’s left and his own convenience, by unduly influencing Israel’s internal politics and subtly intimidating Israel’s electorate, as our own left is already doing in order to create the great socialist order?

Before Syria, Iran, the Palestinians and all manner of dangerous foreign policy plays available to him, Obama will have an opportunity to first show how much he respects the State of Israel and her vibrant democracy, specifically by repudiating the kind of self serving schlock served up above by our own politicians and stating that whatever Israel chooses, the choice will be respected & welcomed by the new US administration once he takes office. He met with Bibi previously, that’s a positive start though the meeting reportedly was cool.

Netanyahu and Israel’s own right wing have so far been gracious in regard to Obama’s victory. We will be at the height of election fever specifically around Obama’s inauguration, he will have ample opportunity to shows us his statesman ways in this regard..

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In an effort to quell what has become evident media bias & undue influence on the public, a bill designed to limit media influence before primary voting has become law.

This may seem somewhat controversial, but in light of the cycle of events in recent elections and the polling which is routinely absurdly off base here, something needed to be done. Is this a solution? Perhaps not, but it does constitute a sharp slap & message to both pollsters & media in Israel who were wholly unapologetic for their bias recently, in what was clearly an attempt to influence elections.

Via YNET:

The Knesset on Wednesday approved a bill prohibiting the publication of polls during the four days prior to any primary election. The bill constitutes a fine of NIS 67,300 (about $17,700).

The bill also states that polls that are published will be obligated to include certain details such as number of people polled, their background, and information regarding the method used to gather the data.

The proposal was initiated by Knesset Members Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor), Tzachi Hangebi (Kadima), Gideon Sa’ar (Likud) and Yuli Edelstein (Likud). It was submitted a few months ago, and legislative procedure was spurred after Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni’s victory over her opponent, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz.

The polls on the Kadima primaries showed a landslide victory for Livni, but on election eve she won by just a small margin. [...]

One notes that major players in all major parties were in favor & proposal, because the situation has become totally untenable to the point of openly influencing & manipulating Israeli Democracy by paid flacks in Israeli media, which has become like its US counterpart a sad, ill respected partisan joke. Israel is a small country with a heavy heavy media presence, this causes much more influence than larger markets may be accustomed to.

Subtle warning?

I would consider this a warning a shot, as it applies to primary votes not general elections. A free society depends on a free press, this is a signal in my belief to the media that it is time to start acting more responsibly, and to let the people not the agenda decide elections. The media sham that took place in the Kadima primary was the most shameful display in recent Israeli election history, the election of Livni was manipulated and everyone including Kadima itself knows it. Disclosure clauses in the bill would indicate a well warranted lack of trust in the media & polling, and puts the pollsters on notice..

Update: Israel Channel 2 to cease reporting primary polling entirely

Globes: Sources inform ”Globes” that Channel 2 News CEO Avi Weiss has decided that the company will no longer report primaries polls. He cited a professional recommendation by several polling and research firms because of polling inaccuracies. Until now, Channel 2 News and other news stations and media published primaries poll data, including polls in the Kadima party primaries mid-September, which were won by Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni. The decision will apply to primaries held by any party. [...]

We never do anything half way in Israel, it’s part of our charm.. Channel 10 is now under the spotlight, the Public broadcaster Channel 1 also released polling data on Primary night but waited until polls closed, an improvement but they still called the election in error based ENTIRELY on exit polling like other media outlets! Can you imagine!? Calling the elections on Exit Polls without counting votes, in some cases before polls even closed!? Total insanity. Incidentally, major print media are affiliated with the TV media stations and share / initiate polling data jointly.

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Dumbest Man on TV?

If you ever watch him on MSNBC you already know, Olbermann is an idiot. He’s over the top, partisan, often factually incorrect, and instead of allowing the natural events of the news to stir interest & curiosity in the viewer he usually prefers to showcase himself. In short, he is the exact antithesis of the classic definition of a newsman.

That’s why I found this so alluring, not only does Olbermann compare the greatest technological achievement of mankind in its time, to the election of Obama! Which is absurd in itself to the point of mockery, he also seemingly alludes to his own ‘greatness’ at the same time.

He famously likes to liken himself to Walter Cronkite, using Cronkite’s sign off lines & mannerisms liberally in his nightly ’showpieces’.. Here he elevates idiocy to all new levels equating himself to Cronkite in an offhand manner the night Man left the atmosphere and landed men on the Moon, complete with incoherent analogies. A double shot of idiocy from the king of the morons himself.. Is it any wonder MSNBC has become the clown network?

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Yes, it’s almost considered criminal in this day & age to buck the popular trend. We are so overcome by a deluge of media and paid talking heads, that some people are often afraid to think for themselves or form their own opinions. It is a lot easier to just go with the flow, run with the crowd. On the topic of Bush the talking points have been clear as day - hate him.

Andrew Breitbart comes out of the closet in support of President Bush today and I can only agree with what he writes wholeheartedly. I think Bush has done an excellent job. In fact, this same ‘run with the crowd’ Bush mania hatred manifested well before the last 2004 Presidential election.. Yet, Bush won that one too. Maybe there are more independent thinkers out there than we give credence.

President Bush is far smarter, more articulate and less ideological than his plentiful detractors scream, and, ultimately, he will be judged by history - not by vengeful Democrats, hate-filled Hollywood, corrupt foreign governments, an imploding mainstream media or fleeting approval ratings.

George W. Bush is history’s president, a man for whom the long-term success or failure of democracy in Iraq will determine his place in history. He may end up a victim of his own tough choices, but the cheerleading for his demise when Iraq’s outcome is yet determined has hurt America and possibly set up the next president for the same appalling partisan response.

The fact that the United States has not been attacked since Sept. 11, 2001, far exceeds the most wishful expert predictions of the time. Perhaps facing another al Qaeda-led barrage would have reinforced our need for national unity, caused us to recognize the gravity of the Islamist threat and fortified Mr. Bush’s standing at home and abroad. Yet, thankfully, that never happened. And Mr. Bush has been punished for this obvious success. [...]

America enjoyed phenomenal economic strength for much of the Bush terms, despite a devastating attack and Clintons hand off of the dot com bubble burst. Bush wasn’t handing out mortgages and did not cause a housing bubble, so blaming him for recent ills seems far fetched as well. Have there been odd foreign policy moves? Indeed, there have. But much of them came after the highly charged & partisan hatred directed at the Administration around 2004 and the 2nd term, the effect was a watering down of Bush’s foreign policy. In combination with insurgency in Iraq, it seems clear that at that time Condi Rice took over here in this part of the world, and frankly - both at the NSA and now at State no one has been a bigger personal disappointment than Condi for me. This affects my view of Bush somewhat, but no man is perfect. Most in fact are farther from it than we care to admit.

Overall, Bush angered Democrats merely by existing, he angered Conservatives by trying to be bi-partisan on key issues, and in the end Congress spent like savage maniacs angering everyone, but the focus goes to the President naturally. I look at his approval numbers which are abysmal, yet they still smoke Congress’ numbers by multiples. Through it all, President Bush has tried to lead using his inner compass to guide him above all else. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but that is exactly what leadership means to me. He’s been a great friend to Israel, a great defender of America & Democracy around the world, and when the greatest challenge modern America faced reared its terrible head, President Bush led with everything he had.

I admire him. Whether or not you do too, it behooves me to see how one might judge his arching Presidency right now, when so much of what he looked to accomplish is clearly forward looking and will require the less partisan eye of history to truly judge with any honesty. I hope the next President will equally earn my deep respect, anything less may be disastrous imho.

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No, I wasn’t in any form of rehab as is popular these days, my detoxification alludes to a week without internet..

And oh what a joyful week it has been. My brother hastily threw together a visit from Cali to spend some time with me here in Israel. It has been almost a year since we were last together so we opted to forgo sleep and cram as much face time in as humanely possible.. This was an excellent strategy for the 1st few days. Now however I look like I went 10 rounds with George Foreman.

Somewhere along the way we floated in the rapidly evaporating Dead Sea, spent shabbat at the Wall, ventured deep into Arab Jerusalem under the guise of tourists, criss crossed Tel Aviv endlessly (along with the rest of the tiny country), and generally spent enough money to bailout a substantial portion of the US financial system. Aside from the occasional tell tale beeps of radio Kol Israel delivering 2 minute bursts of news while in the car, I was almost totally decoupled from the planet - there simply was no time.

It’s Alive!

Thankfully, my cat who I had visited only with once in between all the action for a brief 5 minute interlude, is alive and well.. Aside of course from the occasional cat puke pile he left me from gorging in his overflowing food bowls. Apparently he had a little fiesta of his own while I was gone, enjoying the all you can eat ‘mechanically separated canned meat parts’ buffet I left him.

Aside from cat puke, I return to an American federal election tonight and the likely dread of an Obama victory. That’s enough right there to make me want to rip the broadband lan cable right out of the router and stay ‘dark’ for a while longer truthfully. That’s not going to happen, but the likelihood of me being inebriated and maybe doing a little pukey pukey myself by the time 7 Eastern poll closings roll along is currently possible, with a lean to high on the color coded threat meter..

Looks like I wasn’t the only guy doing ‘carnival’

Despite my AWOL status, Esser Agoroth kindly included me in this week’s Haveil Havalim carnival - One of the largest I’ve ever seen and the theme is fittingly elections, nice job there Yaqov! So aside from the fact that I am a week behind in work, have aged a year, and a socialist pali loving mystery man is about to be President of the United States.. I feel great!! : )

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Lame Duck?

The Bush Administration may be on its way out but there’s something to be said about the time period between administrations. We saw this week an intense American assault in what appears to be hot pursuit, land American forces into Syria, do some live firefighting and raze part of a village. It is still unclear what their targets were but this is the 1st time in 7 years of Bush’s presidency where we’ve seen this kind of bold moves on the Syrian involvement or lack thereof in stabilizing Iraq.

By the same token, America’s international anti-terrorism efforts scored huge this past week. It is little reported but a massive terror funding ring has been blown wide open in a long, complex US anti-terror and anti drug investigation which has revealed massive ties between Hezbollah & South American and Colombian Narco trafficking. An entire Hezbollah criminal drug funding ring has been busted while at the same time revealing the deep tentacles that organization has to brutal criminal elements and enemies of America. The Terrorists are dealing drugs for profit.

At the same time American intervention in financial markets have brought the dollar up, and oil way way down. The collapse of oil has put a sudden blast of hurt on Iran financially. All together not bad for a ‘lame duck’ President. I pray Obama could accomplish as much in a week.

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Power to the People

Kadima under Livni is trying to spin their failure to put together a viable coalition majority, citing an end to ‘political extortion’. In some ways they are right. Kadima is referring to the billions of shekels worth of spending parties requested in order to play ball. But truthfully, the price to pay for the public was even before the billions too high.

The real extortion has been ongoing - A government that has been plagued by;

• failed strategies
• failed military achievements
• massive corruption

While at the same time veering far from its mandated platform, has been scheming along the political strata at the public’s expense for over a year. A deposed but still leading in a transitional government PM, a new Kadima party leader who failed to inspire even an internal party win, wild secret and not so secret negotations coalition wise and diplomatically / internationally, along with nary a statement or political platform, or plan submitted to the public. This steam engine has lacked an engineer for a while now.

In the mean time, serious security matters and state affairs all seemingly have gone on unattended, resulting in deeply negative public opinion. In short, Livni’s failure has saved us from continued totally un-mandated, chaos.

Election roll out

One of two scenarios can play out. President Peres can now afford 28 days for another candidate to try and form a coalition, this is unlikely but that candidate would be leader of the opposition Bibi. Failing that elections would take place likely in February. The Knesset parties can also come to agreement and set an election date themselves to advance the process. Until then, Olmert controls the transitional govt. Should he be indicted in the interim theoretically Livni would head the transitional government. The absurdity of that statement says it all.

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40,000+ Strong - Half of them hail from battleground states.

Votefromisrael.org

According to the get out the vote non partisan ‘Vote From Israel’, if the race is tight in key swing states the Americans living in Israel & registered to vote could tip the balance (JPOST)

[...] “If the election is close, as it was in the past two [presidential] elections, then the deciding votes could be coming from Israel,” he said. According to the organization, Israel has the third-largest group of American voters abroad, behind Canada and Britain.

While the largest number of registered US voters in Israel come from New York or New Jersey, two states heavily in the Democratic camp according to polls, the next two states are the key battlegrounds of Ohio and Florida. Several thousand votes will likely be going to those swing states from Israel.

Furthermore, the significance of the votes from Israel could be magnified because they will come well before the November 4 election. Their choices, to be reported next week in an Israel-based exit poll commissioned by Vote From Israel, could influence American Jews in the United States, believes Greenspan. [...]

Many of these Israeli American good souls are devout, a great many of them in fact. If we look at the block voting from Israel from a purely Jewish perspective in comparison to American Jewish voters with no Israeli ties, polling so far would show that this could be a big chunk of change for McCain in key states.

Data so far from America points to Orthodox Jewish Americans overwhelmingly supporting John McCain for President, in stark contrast to more secular & Liberal Jewish voters who favor not so much Obama as posted yesterday, but the Democratic party itself. The polling numbers also say that McCain pulls heavily in the demographics most cognizant of Israel as an important foreign policy issue, again this issue in polling has shown overwhelming resonance with Orthodox voters for whom a strong Israel, with the Star of David above Jerusalem is non-negotiable.

If we disregard the USA data for a moment and look only at Israeli Americans with votes, I’d surmise the picture for McCain is even stronger coming out of Israel. Poll after poll in Israel of Israelis show heavy leans towards McCain. It is the worst kept secret in Israel that the Military elite which comprises a huge power base here, and the political & government strata also overwhelmingly favor what is being called ‘more of the same’ - Meaning, friendly GOP which under Bush has been a valued friend.

Obama Biden & Iran

Recent sensational statements by Biden about Obama have raised red flags, the notion that Obama will be ‘quickly tested’ according to Biden by enemies of America, and that Obama’s response will go against the grain of American public opinion, thus requiring the ‘far left to explain to the rest of America they are in the right’ immediately conjures up images of Obama leaving Israel flapping in the wind in the face of Iranian nuclear aggression. Both these links above give somewhat divergent interpretations of Biden’s remarks, but I disagree with Allahpundit on this one.

These statements reinforce the worst fears about Obama here in Israel, where few are prepared to go quietly into the wind in the face of a nuclear armed Islamic fundamentalist state that calls for genocidal destruction of Israel. We are wary of Obama here and with good reason.

Get Out the Vote

Israeli American voters here will be by default uber security conscious for obvious reasons, issues like Missile Defense funding, US sponsored peace negotiations, sanctions on Iran & Syria, the isolation & destruction of terrorist organizations etc, are pillars here in Israel. Many Israelis polled refuse to answer whom they prefer openly leaving large undecided blocks, that mirrors American Jewish data stateside as well. There may be of thousands of McCain votes pouring into crucial Ohio, Florida, and linchpin Pennsylvania - Special delivery from the Holy Land.

“Vote From Israel” will hold events in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on October 26th and 28th, in which registered voters can drop off their ballots and, if they have yet to receive ballots from their state or country, submit a federal ballot provided by the organization.

I am partisan, If you are an American living in Israel, this election may be crucial to both countries in a manner not seen for 60 years. Please register & Vote!

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