There falls yet another myth about the problems Obama will supposedly have among a particular sector of the population: according to a poll by a pro-Israel group, Obama is not only popular among Jews, he's far more popular than Lieberman, McCain or George Bush:
Among the most high-profile Jews in Congress, Lieberman is viewed far more unfavorably than the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to a new poll. Only 37 percent of Jews view the Connecticut Independent in a favorable light compared to 48 percent who have a negative perception. As for Obama, 60 percent of Jews view him favorably while 34 percent view him unfavorably.
Lieberman does score better among the 900 Jewish voters polled than other major political and religious figures. President Bush is viewed unfavorably by 74 percent of Jews, compared to 22 percent who see him in a positive light. McCain, meanwhile, is viewed favorably by just 34 percent of Jews, while 57 said they had a negative perception. On the lowest end of the spectrum stood Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who was viewed favorably by just five percent of Jews and unfavorably by 68 percent.
It says a lot about the Jewish community that they can seperate Obama from his former pastor. Thank God, considering how badly Wright polls.
Now, as would be expected, considering the tendency of Jews to vote Democratic, Obama is polling well against McCain - 62-32 - but that's below the levels that Kerry an Gore polled. However there is room in the polls for Obama to grow his lead. According to analysis of the poll by Spencer Ackerman in Washington Independent:
"Seventy-four percent of us view Bush unfavorably and 83 percent of us disapprove of his job performance," Ackerman wrote. "While 76 percent of the country as a whole says the U.S. is on the wrong track, an astonishing 90 percent of American Jews say the same. Only 21 percent of us approve of the Iraq war and only 29 percent think Bush is good for Israel, and those are clearly the shmucks that kissed ass in Hebrew school and snitched when the rest of us used the synagogue phone booth and cloakroom to make out."
It will be interesting to see if these numbers change after Obama's trip to Israel this week.