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July 2, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person

Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya

July 1, 2009

Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken

The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts

June 30, 2009

Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent?

Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief

June 29, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor'

Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas

June 26, 2009

Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain

Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law

June 25, 2009

Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 24, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity

The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun

June 23, 2009

Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin

Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect

June 22, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm

N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews?

June 19, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity

June 18, 2009

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 17, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and …

June 16, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel

Richard Z. Chesnoff: ‘Palestinians’: Never Missing an Opportunity …

June 15, 2009

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine'

Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed

June 12, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's High Commissioner

June 11, 2009

Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President

Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers

Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos

June 10, 2009

Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste

June 9, 2009

Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president?

June 8, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper?

Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past

Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic?

June 5, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams

Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth

June 4, 2009

Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock

The Kosher Gourmet by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette

June 3, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed?

Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action

June 2, 2009

Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Jan. 23, 2007 / 4 Shevat, 5767

The Hillary factor

By Cal Thomas


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Fund-raisers on the left and right are salivating now that Sen. Hillary Clinton has declared, "I'm in" the 2008 presidential race. On the left, feminists will likely hail her as the reincarnation of suffragette Susan B. Anthony. On the right, conservatives will portray her as a cross between Lady Macbeth and Bonnie Parker.


Conservatives should be careful. The nonstop attacks on Bill Clinton did not keep him from winning in 1992, nor did his personal scandals prevent his re-election four years later. Using similar smear tactics on Hillary Clinton will only turn her into a victim and cause many not predisposed to vote for her to support her.


Men can't run against a woman the way they run against other men. Former Republican Congressman Rick Lazio learned the double standard voters apply to a female candidate when he challenged her in 2000 for the New York Senate seat she now holds. During a debate, Lazio left his lectern and invaded her personal space to make a point. Many voters saw a man trying to physically intimidate a woman and Lazio lost the debate and the election.


Some conservative Web sites are already claiming Sen. Clinton will unite the Republican base like no other Democratic candidate. Maybe, but that base is too small to counter what surely will be a surge in female voters. A recent USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll found that six out of 10 women were likely to support Clinton in her run for the White House.


A major advantage for Republicans is that Hillary is not her husband. She is aloof and calculating, while he can be warm and engaging. We have seen his temper — most recently in an interview with Fox's Chris Wallace — but we have only heard about hers. Will the public accept this kind of behavior from a woman who wants to be president? Will such behavior be seen as strength or character weakness?


In an interview with the London Sunday Times, Clinton's campaign manager, Terry McAuliffe, compared her to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. "Their policies are totally different," McAuliffe said, "but they are both perceived as very tough." Hillary Clinton and Margaret Thatcher are as different as Phyllis Schlafly and Gloria Steinem. Toughness in the pursuit of bad ideas is as unhelpful as weakness in pursuit of good ones.


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In her videotaped announcement, which emulated Sen. Barack Obama's announcement of his presidential candidacy last week, Sen. Clinton ticked off the issues about which she is ticked off, because she says the Bush administration has failed to deal with them. They include health care, Social Security, Medicare and Iraq. The Bush administration has attempted to address all of these, but Democrats have blocked any progress. It's an old political trick. You work against success and then blame failure on the president.


The Clintons have a well-oiled political machine that neutralizes people who get in the way of their pursuit of wealth and power. Sen. Clinton sounded as if she is ready to haul out that machine again when she said, "I have never been afraid to stand up for what I believe in or to face down the Republican machine. After nearly $70 million spent against my campaigns in New York and two landslide wins, I can say I know how Washington Republicans think, how they operate, and how to beat them."


Media reports speak of this being the most "diverse" presidential race ever with a woman, (Clinton), an African-American (Obama) and a Hispanic (New Mexico's Bill Richardson). But this is not ideological diversity, as all are liberals. This race shouldn't be about race, gender, or ethnicity, but ideas. The big media, so far, have tossed Sen. Clinton softball questions. Handlers have been able to get away with limiting questions to pre-approved subjects. The public will demand more from her and the media in a presidential campaign.


There has never been a campaign like the one the country is about to experience. The focus should not be on gender or any other side issue, but on who is best qualified to defend the country against its many enemies, foreign and domestic.


Look for the dirtiest, meanest and most costly presidential campaign in history in pursuit of the answer.

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

JWR contributor Cal Thomas is the author of, among others, The Wit and Wisdom of Cal Thomas Comment by clicking here.


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