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May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review Sept. 29, 2008 / 29 Elul 5768

Blind ambition

By Linda Chavez


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The nation's economy is on the precipice, but Barack Obama has more important things to attend to. He's a man in a hurry to be president, and a little thing like the collapse of the U.S. credit markets won't deter him. In fact, he sees it as an opportunity. By Obama's calculation — and that of many of his supporters — the worse mess the economy is in, the better his chances are to win the Oval Office.


But John McCain has other ideas. He actually believes it's his duty to deal with the crisis at hand, which is why he temporarily suspended his presidential campaign Wednesday to return to Washington. Before he asks voters to elect him to a new office, McCain will fulfill what the citizens of Arizona have six times elected him to do — legislate; this time on an issue that has momentous consequences for all Americans, rescuing the credit markets on which much of the U.S. economy depends. McCain is willing to put partisan differences and his presidential ambitions aside for the moment and do what's right for the country.


Obama thinks what's right for the country is to elect him, period. This is, after all, the man who declared that his selection as the Democratic presidential nominee will be remembered as "the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal" and who assured his devotees: "We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."


Barack Obama has what can only be described as a Messianic vision of his own powers. It is beyond hubris; it verges on delusional. Before securing the Democratic nomination, Obama's single biggest achievement was to win his Senate seat by beating a perennially losing candidate and carpetbagger from Maryland.


Since his election to the Senate, Obama has produced scant legislative accomplishments. He's lent his name to largely non-controversial bills — like the Lugar-Obama initiative to destroy stockpiles of heavy conventional weapons that might end up in the hands of terrorists and promote nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction — but he hasn't engaged in the nitty-gritty of forging difficult legislation with bipartisan support.


McCain, on the other hand, is consistently rated by his fellow senators and outside groups as one of the Senate's most effective members. He's tackled thorny issues from campaign finance and immigration reform to overcoming gridlock on judicial nominations — all with bipartisan support. And, unlike Obama, McCain doesn't just put his name on an effort and show up for photo ops, he involves himself in the actual drafting of proposals and participates in negotiations that achieve real results.


McCain is a risk-taker. When he supported sending additional troops to Iraq for the so-called surge, public support for the war was at its lowest point and the military situation in the country looked dire. But, he said that he would rather lose an election than lose a war.


Obama thinks the election is the only war that counts, and he aims to win it. As for risk-taking, he'll do nothing that he thinks might stop his juggernaut from capturing the White House, which is why he insisted that Friday's first presidential debate go on as scheduled, financial crisis be damned. If Obama had agreed to McCain's proposal to hold 10 town hall meetings, then Friday's debate could easily have been postponed while both men stayed where they belonged, in Washington. Instead, Obama made it clear that he would be in Oxford, Miss., and McCain had no choice but to return to the campaign trail.


These two candidates have been campaigning for months, but the American people have never had a clearer look into what drives them than they had this week. One man's ambition is to become president. The other man's ambition is to get things done.


In the vagaries of a presidential election, it is never possible to predict how voters will react to events. But character often trumps party affiliation or even specific policy concerns when it comes to determining which candidate will prevail. And when it comes to character, John McCain once again proved this week that he has the edge.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Linda Chavez is President of the Center for Equal Opportunity. Her latest book is "Betrayal: How Union Bosses Shake Down Their Members and Corrupt American Politics". (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.)

Linda Chavez Archives


© 2006, Creators Syndicate

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