Clicking on banner ads keeps JWR alive
Jewish World Review August 11, 2000 / 10 Menachem-Av, 5760

Greg Crosby

Greg Crosby
JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Debbie Schlussel
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


But he’s Jewish!

http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- I BARELY had a chance to get down my first swallow of coffee early Monday morning when the phone rang. It was my sister.

Sister : “Hey! Did you hear? We might have a Jewish Vice President!”

Me : “Uh, well, yeah, I heard that Gore will be choosing Joe Lieberman for his running mate.”

Sister : “So, aren’t you excited? That means we might have a Jewish President!”

Me : “Wait a minute. Slow down. You’ve gone from Vice President to President in two seconds -- Al Gore is still the Democratic candidate running for President, remember?”

Sister : “Yeah, but the Jewish guy ... uh, what’s his name?”

Me : “Joseph Lieberman.”

Sister : “Yeah, him. He would be President if something happens to Gore, right?”

Me : “Look, I’m voting for Bush. Do you want Gore? Do you want to see him become President?”

Sister : “Well, no ... but ... shouldn’t we vote for the Jewish guy? I mean, what should we do? He’s JEWISH!”

About an hour later we got a call from my wife’s sister in Brooklyn. She was euphoric over the big news. “Joe Lieberman! It’s fantastic! Just think --- we might have a Jewish President.”

Before this morning, she was unsure of who to vote for, or if she would even vote at all. A lifelong Democrat, she certainly wouldn’t vote for Bush, and she really couldn’t stand Gore either. But that was yesterday. That was before Moses came down from the mountain called Capital Hill. Now she’s voting for Jewish Joe. My whole family was going nuts.

“He’s JEWISH!! JEWISH!!” All day long I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from otherwise normal, rational Jews. It was so bizarre. It reminded me of the scene in the original Frankenstein movie when Colin Clive yells, “He’s ALIVE! ALIVE!!” after seeing the monster move his little finger.

Ever on the ball, the media immediately went out to Jewish neighborhoods to get the “Jewish reaction.” Sticking microphones in the faces of eighty-five year old Jewish people in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles they posed the hard-hitting question, “How do you feel about Joseph Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, being chosen as the running mate to Vice President Gore?”

What did they expect these people to say, “I’m against it?”

Yes, the consensus is in -- many Jewish people are happy to see one of their own on a Presidential ticket --- whether they agree with his politics or not -- or whether they even know who he is or not. All they know is that he’s Jewish, and that’s enough. It’s called “tribal voting,” a form of “group think.” As it is, for many Democratic Jews, voting Republican has been akin to converting to Christianity. The Lieberman factor has only intensified this feeling.

Later that day I spoke with my mother.

Mother : “So, we’re going to have a Jewish man in the White House. Isn’t that nice?”

Me : “Ma, have you ever heard of Joseph Lieberman?”

Silence.

Me : “Ma?

Mother : “Yeah?”

Me : “How much do you know about Joseph Lieberman?” Mother : “Well ... he’s Jewish, no? Everyone on television is saying he’s Jewish.” Me : “Yes, he’s Jewish. So what? Meyer Lansky was Jewish, too. What does that mean?”

Mother : “Can you imagine? A Jewish President!”

Me : “Ma, he’s not running for President. Al Gore is running for President and I’m voting for Bush.”

Mother : “Oh. So, you’re not voting Jewish?”

My mother was actually trying to make me feel guilty for not voting for the nice Jewish man. Oy vey -- it’s going to be a long, hard campaign!


JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. You may contact him by clicking here.

Up

08/04/00: Aint Nothin’ But A Hound Dog
07/27/00: Trick or Treat
07/21/00: Another Golden Moment In Broadcasting
07/14/00: Who eats this, ahem, 'stuff'?
07/07/00: In Your Face Advertising
06/29/00: My Home Sweet Home
06/23/00: Hairs The Thing
06/13/00: The Sweetest Sounds
06/02/00: Another Opening, Another Show
05/22/00: What's next, The Million Mutt March?
05/19/00: Hail the Conquering Hero
05/12/00: Extra! Read All About It!
05/03/00: Clinton’s Transparent Department of Duplicity and Demagoguery
04/24/00: For The Children?
04/19/00: Liars And Cowards And Bums, Oh My!
04/11/00: Gripe, Gripe, Gripe
04/05/00: Counting the Race Cards
03/30/00: Speed Bumps
03/22/00: The Eyes Have It
03/15/00: Academia and Media --- They’re Just Not Right
03/09/00: Sweat The Small Stuff -- It’s Okay
03/02/00: Actors And Other Animals
02/23/00: Campaign 2000 --- Wake Me When Its Over
02/15/00: Who Wants to be Regis Philbin?
02/08/00: Aftermath of a Tragedy
01/31/00: Ask Mr. Politically Correct Man
01/25/00: I’d Like To Thank All The Little People
01/20/00: Merger Mania
01/11/00: Just Say JA-GWAAR
01/04/00: Who Was That Masked Man? My Hero!
12/28/99: New Millennium --- New Rules
12/21/99: Bubba’s Visit From Saint Nick
12/14/99: Call Me Mister
12/08/99: So Much Going On, So Little Time
11/30/99: Sunday Afternoon
11/22/99: The Best Money Can’t Buy
11/15/99: My Peter Pan Generation
11/08/99: Fall Invasion
10/29/99: When my wife was young and Gay
10/22/99: Too Late for Dinner
10/15/99: Pondering, Musing and Supposing
10/05/99: A Message From Your Journalistic Human Interest Commentator
09/24/99: The Getting Away With It Decade
09/17/99: The Scoop of the Century
09/09/99: Important Millennium Advisory
09/03/99: Ask Mr. Politically Correct Man
08/26/99: Broadcasters, Please mind Your Manners
08/19/99: The Golden Age of Jerkdom
08/12/99: Dressing Down...and Out


© 2000, Greg Crosby