Barack Obama, apparently try to ensure Jewish voters that he’s Israel friendly, mentioned that his outlook has been informed by several Jewish thinkers. Who? Philip Roth, for example.
Philip Roth? When I think of presidents who might have appeared in a Philip Roth novel, I think of Bill Clinton.
As Daniel Pipes reports, John McCain took a very different approach to the same question:
In contrast, McCain felt no need to establish his Zionism nor his pro-Jewish credentials. Taking them as a given, he used his interview to raise practical policy issues, particularly the threat from Iran. For example, asked about the justness of Zionism, he replied that “it’s remarkable that Zionism has been in the middle of wars and great trials and it has held fast to the ideals of democracy and social justice and human rights,” then went on: “I think that the State of Israel remains under significant threat from terrorist organizations as well as the continued advocacy of the Iranians to wipe Israel off the map.” Again referring to Iran, McCain committed himself “to never allowing another Holocaust.” He referred to the threatened destruction of Israel as having “profound national security consequences” for the United States and he stressed that Tehran sponsors terrorist organizations intent “on the destruction of the United States of America.”
So there you have it: McCain has ideas about specific Mideast policy concerns, and Obama read Portnoy’s Complaint. Bravo. Maybe Obama watched some Woody Allen movies, too.