Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn
February 21, 2012
Admittedly few people have even run for President with the bankroll that Mitt Romney has, but one might have hoped that by now he would have learned that not all Americans were born with a silver spoon in their mouths.
During an interview when he was campaigning at the end of last week in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the state of his birth and early years, he once again showed no ability to relate to the less fortunate in society. First he had put down a wager with Texas Governor Rick Perry for $10,000 during an earlier debate; then he said he did not make much money with his speaking engagements, only $350,000; and now he sought to make all of America’s baseball fans feel equal when he discussed leaning over during a game as a child and discussing the virtues of Mickey Mantle and Al Kaline with the man in the next box.
Governor, tickets are so expensive that average Americans, might lean over to speak to speak to the person sitting next to them; but he/she certainly will not be sitting in box seats.
Michigan's primary is next Tuesday. Stay tuned
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn
February 17, 2012
On the advent of the Jewish Agency meetings scheduled in Jerusalem for February 26, Anshel Pfeffer wrote in Haaretz about the size of the salaries received by the head of the Jewish Agency Natan Sharansky as well as the chief fund-raiser Misha Galperin. He also discussed at length a number of the internal political issues within the Jewish Agency. The article addressed salaries paid my a number of other leading Jewish professionals whom the writer suggests-- certainly in a time of serious budgetary crises and growing communal needs--are overpaid. The problem with this challenge is that it truly misses the point of the Jewish community’s institutional malaise. It is not the salaries of the officials that is the problem, but the existence of the very organizations.
The Jewish Agency was the Government for the Jewish people in Palestine before the existence of the State of Israel. Upon the creation of the State, the Jewish Agency should have closed its doors; mission accomplished. This is not to suggest that the work of the Jewish Agency throughout the past 63 years has not been important, valuable, and vital; but its work should have been taken over by the Government and not—as has been in some instances—duplicated by the Government or even worse in competition with the Government.
It is not only the Jewish Agency and the salaries of Sharansky and Halperin, who are discussed in detail, but others as well. John Ruskay, who is cited as well in the article for example, the CEO of the New York UJA-Federation is an exceedingly dedicated and hard-working Jewish official who works 24/6 and, it might be even argued, is not paid enough commensurate with the time and effort he dedicates to his job. The problem is the definition of his job and the structure and activities of the organization which are the question; so too with other groups.
Charitable contributions have sustained these organizations for years. There is a finite amount of money available, even from a wonderfully generous Diaspora Jewish community. Monies have maintained individual institutions which should have been funded by the Government or by a central charitable fund. Duplicate efforts in education, absorption, welfare, etc. have never made any sense. There are thousands of people whose jobs depended on the existence of organizations like the Jewish Agency and buildings and offices throughout the world which are maintained to sustain these organizations; but charitable resources need to be husbanded and not dispensed unnecessarily.
The Jewish community must consider whether it is time for a major restructuring of organizational life. It may even hold the key to the next generation’s willingness to continue to sustain Jewish life at the same financial level as their parents and grandparents.
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn
February 16, 2012
The growing bloodbath in Syria is only matched by the persistent inability of the world to develop a way to reduce or eliminate it. The horror spreads throughout the country with no end in sight. Sympathetic and concerned journalists as well as humanitarians and human rights activists throughout the world bemoan the suffering, but no one has yet developed a plan that can bring it to an end; other than, perhaps, assassinating President Assad. Voices of optimism for a better future abound, but probably are mere dreams in the minds of the writers.
Assad himself will not nor cannot tolerate a democratic system with participation from rival factions. Sadly, the best scenario to reduce the suffering is for the West and the Arab League to find a way to bring Syria back to the status quo ante. There remain no signs that in any of the countries affected by the Arab Spring is there a realistic movement succeeding to create a secular, liberal democracy.
Elimination of the violence and stabilization of the regime might be the best that the West can expect, despite desires to the contrary and Tom Friedman’s wishful thinking notwithstanding. Unfortunately, he is more likely to see Hama Rules now becoming Syria Rules, rather than the rosy picture he would like to paint.
The one possible positive outcome might be if Hizbollah and some of the more radical Muslim groups become uncomfortable in Syria as Hamas apparently has already. If Iranian influence could be reduced than that too would be positive. On the other hand, if indeed Al-Qaeda-Iraq does succeed in gaining influence or if the Muslim Brotherhood can assert power over the disillusioned rebels, the Assad regime’s Russian and Chinese friends will not be happy. Only an even more repressive police state then will be able to stay in power.
For Israel and the West, none of these scenarios are very pretty.
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn
February 15, 2012
As if he did not have enough other problems, here comes the question of Romney’s faith, but from an unexpected quarter. Much has been suggested throughout the campaign that there were many Republican Tea-Partiers who were not enthused with Mitt Romney being a Mormon. Now in light of the recent controversy concerning Mormon Church members posthumously seeking to baptize the parents of Jewish Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, enter Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel into the political fray.
Wiesel disclosed that his own ancestors’ names were submitted for baptism. As he observed, Jews died and were murdered because they would not convert to Christianity and now people want to convert them posthumously. It is reported that he has called upon Romney to denounce this practice of the Church of Latter Day Saints to seek to baptize dead Jews including victims of the Holocaust. It also appears that as recently as 2007 Romney himself did not totally deny participating or sanctioning this practice.
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn
February 14, 2012
Assuming today’s CNN/ORC poll is accurate, the once assumed Romney Republican nomination would appear to be in enough trouble to make even his staunchest supporters queasy. In this national poll the nomination race between Romney (32%) and Santorum (34%) is a virtual dead heat
The problems for Romney are only increasing. The trend is dramatically away from him. His favorability rating dropped 13% among Republicans (54 % vs. 67%) since the same January poll and down 8% among all Americans (34% vs. 41%). In that same in that period (56% from 49%). Santorum’s favorability among Republicans has risen 8%, although his favorability rating among all Americans has not budged going from 31% in January to 32%. One curious note about the survey is that Gingrich still is seen as a better versed candidate on foreign policy although Santorum leads Gingrich on abortion and Romney leads all on economic issues.
Santorum is emerging as the anyone but Romney candidate as he continues to be seen as a less divisive force. Santorum got to this place with little money before his triple header win last Tuesday opened the financial spigots for him.
While it is still about delegates and it is a series of state primaries and caucuses not a national popularity contest, Romney needs to correct not only the victories but the image by Super Tuesday, three weeks from today. For the Romney team they need momentum as much as they need wins on Super Tuesday. They need delegates—they lead Santorum 123-72 with 1144 needed for the nomination--to show they are leading but also to convince the GOP that Romney can struggle through adversity and take the lead back—for good. The delegate picture will begin to move first with the Michigan and Arizona primaries on February 28 with 59 delegates to be selected and then on March 6 when there will be seven primaries and three caucuses with a total of 437 delegates at stake.
The debates in Arizona on February 22 and in Georgia on March 1 may be crucial for Romney as he seeks to regroup and regain the image of front-runner not only in delegate counts but in favorability. Those debates may also be especially critical for Gingrich who has been fading so fast that he could be out of the picture after Super Tuesday.
The Romney campaign is at its most vulnerable now and needs to change the tone and the atmospherics as well as the substance. Otherwise the struggle for the nomination will make Romney a dramatically weakened candidate in the general election. If he truly falters now, a brokered convention in Tampa will loom ever more likely.
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn
February 14, 2012
It seems like the New York Times is losing its journalistic perspectives at the same time that the Washington Post is disappearing in front of our eyes as a newspaper.
Last week the WPost announced another series of dramatic cutbacks. Clearly the business was hemorrhaging so badly that these further rounds of cut backs became necessary. The Post is already a shell of its former self. One of America’s finest papers may be strictly on-line before it covers the next presidential election. Meanwhile the Times—no doubt with glee—played the story as a business matter (rather than a journalism-information issue) in a spread in Sunday’s business section, perpetuating the long standing rivalry between the Post and the Grey Lady.
At the same time this same bastion of journalistic excellence and high standards appears to now seeking to attract tabloid readers by playing the Kate Upton genesis into the SI swimsuit cover as a front page news story and not an arts or business story.
Surely the Times is now opening itself up once again to critics from all ideological positions as to how and who is making news judgments on the serious issues of the day. Maybe it is becoming “All the News that Sells We Print”.
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn
February 13, 2012
An Archbishop, a Rabbi, and a lay Minister railed out in the Wall Street Journal on Friday against the Obama Administration’s original decision requiring that contraception be covered in the healthcare package given to employees of religious institutions, even if doing so contravenes their religious principles. Their challenge clearly emanates from their conservative political views as much as from their conservative religious positions.
An attorney friend made the following observations and challenges to these religious leaders which are only the tip of the iceberg of the questions which could be asked:
1. Religious leaders and their institutions (for example schools or hospitals) enjoy the tax benefits and subsidies that the State provides them, but question the right of their employees to equal protection under the law?
2. Will parochial schools cover an abortion pill for a teacher who is raped?
3. Are these conservative leaders as committed and concerned about First Amendment rights when it comes to Muslims and Sharia law?
Politically conservative clergy ought to be more honest with their parishioners as well as with public.
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn
February 9, 2012
It was reassuring to note that some Israelis are giving their Government wise advice about how to determine when to launch an attack on Iran. Their recommendation was after May 29, the date of Madonna’s concert in Israel!
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn
February 9, 2012
The decision-making apparatus in the Obama White House is somethimes reminiscent of some of the characters in Jimmy Breslin’s 1969 novel, The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. Leaving aside most of the White House staff’s opinion on abortion, why would President Obama meet with the Catholic Bishops Conference and apparently promise them that he would not require Catholic institutions to provide medical plans for their employees which covered services which compromised the edicts of the Catholic Church; and then turn around and mandate less than 10 months before Election Day that these institutions are required to cover all contraceptive needs of their employees.
While the Administration certainly feels strongly about this matter, if they could wait until now to announce this, why not wait until after he is re-elected. As the campaign will heat up and, if, as they are hoping, the economy continues to improve, it certainly will be the conservative social agenda which will re-emerge as the focus of dominant concern for Catholics and fundamentalist Christians. While Obama may well not stand to get a significant percentage of either of these constituencies, nevertheless he may pick up some votes if he does not inflame the abortion issue unnecessarily. In addition, he would not have lost any pro-choice votes if he had waited until after November to issue this order.
It certainly seems like some folks in the Obama campaign are asleep at the wheel.
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn
February 8, 2012
Mitt Romney ran into a speed bump yesterday as he prepares—or so he would have us believe-- to come close to wrapping up the nomination by March 6. Rick Santorum’s three victories yesterday indeed do not amount to many delegates, but they raise very serious issues concerning the viability and even “winneablity” ofRomney’s campaign.
Romney may well have money and organization but it is clear that he has hardly electrified the Republican base. While he may well still be nominated in Tampa, it is beginning to look like for starters he needs a new message, since America may not need a businessman if a lawyer ends up having turned the economy around. In addition, while he may have learned how to be more aggressive in debating Newt Gingrich, his election night speech, although polite to Santorum, was labored, forced, and tired.
Santorum did himself proud last night and showed that he may have some staying power to contest at least the Gingrich leaning conservative base, although was unfocused, repetitive, and much too long. These three victories bought Santorum time, money (to buy media), and hope, even if he did not pick up a huge number of delegates and Missouri was only a straw poll. If indeed the economy continues to improve, Santorum may well be positioned to argue for support from the social issue base in the GOP which is certainly showing difficulty with Romney’s history.
Ron Paul just keeps plugging along and Gingrich was a virtual afterthought last night. The former Speaker will undoubtedly will be heard from in full voice between now and Super Tuesday. Unless his next round of attack ads have greater effect, he may be more likely to fall in the primary than Santorum, despite Gingrich’s pledge that he is in it until Tampa.
All of which leaves Republican analysts groping at straws. One has a sense that they realize, after watching him carefully on the hustings that Romney will really be an exceedingly weak candidate and campaigner in the general election. In addition, they recognize that regardless of Obama’s weaknesses, he will be a formidable debater against whoever is selected.
Perhaps the Republicans are beginning to consider that a brokered convention at the end of August would excite their base and draw enormous public attention away from the Democrats, just when they go into their convention on Labor Day. Such a move could give Republicans a huge bounce which even a rousing send off from the President in his acceptance speech in the Charlotte Bank of America Stadium will not diminish.
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