Obama and the Jewish vote - trading his support for Israel for their support for the White House bid - or does he just want their money ?

Obama Walks a Difficult Path as He Courts Jewish Voters is the headline in today's New York Times

1. Why oh Why did Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader endorse him ?
Mr. Obama called Mr. Farrakhan an anti-Semite and denounced his support, but was pressed by Shrillary ( who has a black spot after sayin nice things to Suha Arafat, in 2000 in Gaza.

2. Mr. Obama has also faced criticism over remarks he made about the suffering of Palestinians — remarks he says were incorrectly reported .

3. Viral e-mail messages, say he is a Muslim who attended a madrassa in Indonesia as a boy and was sworn into office on the Koran. In fact, he is a Christian who was sworn in on a Bible.

4. E-mail messages say you can't trust Mr Obama - the former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and diplomat Robert Malley, hate figures for Jews, are top advisers to his campaign. Mr. Brzezinski has met with Mr. Obama, but he is not a top adviser. Mr. Malley has communicated with the campaign by e-mail but has never spoken to Mr. Obama, a campaign spokesman said. Denial. Denial. Denial

But he has clutch of Jews advsing him on Mid East affairs ... 2 previouslt staff members for Billary Dennis Ross, a top Mideast adviser; Anthony Lake, national security adviser and Susan Rice, assistant secretary of state ( not a Jewish Princess, Rhodes Scholar and United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from October '97 to Jan ,2001 but also also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Strategy Group) . Other advisers on Israeli and Mideast matters are Mr. Wexler; Dan Shapiro, formerly of the Clinton national security council, and Eric Lynn, a former Congressional aide.

The young (and inexperienced Senator Barack Obama voted against authorising President Bush to go to war in Iraq. My how HE has changed , (change being his watchword) he has voted with Republicans to increase the size and presence of the US military there (in the so-called "Surge" program); he has voted yes to reauthorise the undemocratic USA Patriot Act that endangers Americans' civil liberties; and has voted in favor of a Republican bill to authorise the construction of a 700-mile fence on the border with Mexico.

In an article in The Electronic Intifada (4 March 2007, "How Barack Obama learned to love Israel"), Ali Abunimah, a leading Palestinian activist in Chicago, exposed the ambitious Illinois Senator in the way he gradually dovetailed his (perfectly legitimate) ambition for the White House with a systematic distancing of himself from the Palestinian cause and a simultaneous catering to the Zionist Lobby in the United States.

"Israel," Senator Obama told a cheering and crowded AIPAC audience in a speech on 3 March 2007, is "our strongest ally in the region and its only established democracy. . . We must preserve our total commitment to our unique defense relationship with Israel by fully funding military assistance and continuing work on the Arrow and related missile defense programs."

"Dear Ambassador Khalilzad," wrote Barack Obama, "I understand that today the UN Security Council met regarding the situation in Gaza, and that a resolution or statement could be forthcoming from the Council in short order. I urge you to ensure that the Security Council issue no statement and pass no resolution on this matter that does not fully condemn the rocket assault Hamas has been conducting on civilians in southern Israel."

That is what the Presidential candiadte wrote to the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad in January -- soon after hundreds of thousands of Palestinians smashed their way out of the Gaza concentration camp and flooded into Egypt in search of food and other basic necessities.

Shrillary said at the height of the Israeli bombing of innocent Lebanese in July 2006. "Israeli values are American values,"

Maybe Obama has indeed woken the dead soul at the heart of the current US political culture. Maybe he does want to change. Maybe he has a yearning a yearning, a wish, a vision perhaps always embedded in the American dream -- to be a nation among others, to wed the fate of its own poor, sick, homeless, and forsaken to that of others around the world.

Maybe he is just as happy as Shrillary and her husband ....and almost every Congressman and Senator to dance to the tune of AIPAC ....

The Said's were/are of course supporters of ...
Read about the Movement here also see How the FBI Spied on Edward Said

"In our work and planning and discussions our main principle is that separation between peoples is not a solution for any of the problems that divide peoples." Edward Said

Tip ; Keep an eye on the dissing of Michelle Obama.