Obama, Israel And Al Sharpton

[BeyondGeography]

It wasn't exactly a Sister Souljah moment, but recognizing the suffering of the Palestinians on the eve of his maiden address as a presidential candidate before AIPAC, the national pro-Israel lobby, as Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) did this week, was certain to get the notice of the crowd.

"Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people," is what Obama said in Iowa on Sunday.

<...You can see in Obama's moves signs of either the sort of independence that could win this race for him or the sort of inexperience that could lose it for him. Hillary was a hit at AIPAC. In a roomful of donors for whom Israel is the number one issue, she left no doubt as to her commitment. She gave them what they wanted, which is what you would expect her to do. The conventional step for her opponent would be to do precisely the same thing. Hillary has made her peace with Sharpton. Many expect him to endorse her.

<But Obama is not going to beat Hillary at the conventional game. That's her hand. If he's going to win, not to mention preserve his integrity in the process, he has to be who he is. Whether that is viewed as naivety in action or the insight of a new generation of leaders is the judgment voters will ultimately have to make.>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20070316/cm_uc_crsesx/op_392228

Comment: This piece by Susan Estrich is a solid analysis of Obama's AIPAC speech and the strategy behind it. The Sharpton link is tenuous, but is added to support her thesis (which I agree with) that Obama needs to continue to be his own man if he is to beat HRC and get the nom.

[ovidsen]

1. Sharpton is the kiss of death

If the Reverend Sharpton embraces (and embraced by) either Obama or Hillary, it will be the kiss of death for the candidate being hugged. At least as far as I'm concerned.

Too many Democrats in New York. especially those who lived in the New York City area in the 1980s remember Tawana Brawley, and Sharpton's part in that vicious, racist attack on the white police officers who supposedly gang raped, smeared with feces and left for dead this "poor innocent" black teenager who fabricaed a lie because she broke her curfew, to say nothing of the prosecutors who were cornered into and crucufied in this vicious fabrication.

Sharpton's a charlatan. I don't care whom he supports, but anyone who accepts his support loses my vote immeditely. No exceptions.

[Solo_in_MD]

2. I hope you are wrong, since Sharpie is going to start hanging around the front runners more and more

to attempt to conivince people he is relevant.