Ben Smith at the politico does a good job reporting on the latest flap, the outrage of far left Obama supporters including Jewish constituents over a lengthy message poll by the Republican Jewish Coalition which after defining the pol-lee through questioning, highlights Obama’s featherweight record on foreign policy – specifically the issue of the Levant & Israel to gauge their position on Obama’s record & message..

[...] The poll asked voters their response to negative statements about Obama, including reported praise for him from a leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas and a friendship early in his career with a pro-Palestinian university professor. Some Jewish Democrats who received the poll – including a New Republic writer who lives in Michigan – were outraged by the poll, describing it in interviews as “ugly” and disturbing. A group that supports Obama, the Jewish Council for Education and Research even staged a protest outside the Manhattan call center from which the calls originated Tuesday.

“If the RJC is responsible for these calls, which are designed to frighten Jews and sow mistrust, they have forfeited their place at the Jewish table,” said the co-executive director of the group, Mik Moore. “It is incumbent upon the McCain campaign to speak out forcefully against this and ongoing efforts by his supporters to scare Jews into supporting his candidacy.”

The fact that there are ‘negative statements about Obama’ in relation to Israel which may be of interest to Jewish voters and are indeed pretty factual, represents it seems a problem for Mr. Obama.. Not the RJC. Boohoo, cry me a river. Just curious was Andrew Sullivan a non Jew by mistake also polled? That would explain a lot, I find him ‘ugly & disturbing’ and he doesn’t even venture into the realm of fact, he sticks to sewage.. The left is always crying foul it seems while treading knee deep in the sewer, spare us. This ‘mock outrage’ is borderline pitiful.

These same sort of ‘outraged groups & individuals’ were the source of scandalous and viscious attacks when the Palin announcement was made, very personal attacks and now they cry foul? It stinks. The NJDC & Mr. Wexler have a long way to go if they wish to become neutral voices of reason in this election.. Good luck with that. Stop whining.

Brooks, however, denied that the poll was meant to influence Jewish voters, and said it was a traditional poll meant to gauge the opinions of Jewish voters.  “What we did is test, in standard polling methodology, a number of factual issues that have been reported on in the press and are policy positions to see how they’re resonating in the Jewish community,” said Brooks. “The notion that this is a ‘push poll’ is offensive to us.”

Brooks said the RJC, whose board includes advisors and fundraisers for Senator John McCain, had placed 750 calls to Jewish voters in five states: Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. He accused the protesters of “intimidation.”

Mark Blumenthal, editor of the website Pollster.com, said the form of the poll, and its length of 15 minutes, made it more likely to be a traditional “message testing” survey than a “push poll,” in which brief calls are made to deliver a message and the caller typically has no interest in the results. He added, however, that in some cases a pollster might anticipate-and welcome-the possibility that negative questions would draw media attention and, indirectly, amplify the pointed statements.

Certainly, they have drawn attention: After first reporting on two voters who were polled, Politico was contacted by a half-dozen more, and many Jewish Obama backers are livid at the survey.  “The fact that the Republican Jewish Coalition is targeting Jewish Americans with these disgraceful and deceitful tactics fits in perfectly with the dishonorable campaign that John McCain has chosen to run. Peddling lies and hateful distortions to scare Jewish voters is reprehensible and deeply disrespectful to Jewish Americans,” said Florida Congressman Robert Wexler, an Obama supporter. [...]

The call to have McCain renounce the polling is absurd. American Jewish Obama backers should be livid at the horse they are betting on if their prime concern is Jewish issues it would seem to me, if there is polling being done highlighting these inconvenient realities and they fear a negative result in key swing states, they should have thought about that before dumping Hillary who has a much stronger record on these issues. Wexler the attack dog can say what he will, these are the cards Obama dealt him.  The only person responsible for negative results in message polling to my Jewish friends & family in America is – Barack Obama. Stay livid, it might help the left in this particular issue which is a losing battle when faced with McCain / Palin.

Obama may have big Jewish left money behind him, but he doesn’t have the issues – Just ask the pollsters it seems..

HT & More at the memeorandum