When will the United States elect it's first Jewish President?

[milhouse24]

I don't think it will be someone who is orthodox jewish, at least hopefully not, like Lieberman.  Some people were worried that a Catholic President like Kennedy would take his orders from the Pope, and Kennedy barely won.  I can see Cantor doing well, he seems to minimize his religious views to the public.  Most Americans want a separation of church and state, especially if that politician is of a minority religion.  I know that America's been tied to Israel for decades, but until there is peace in the middle east, it will be too serious of an issue both domestically and internationally to have a Jewish president.  The Muslim countries would never trust us.  I didn't realize that Israel was a theocracy until recently, so I think much progress needs to be made to create a 2 state solution and a government that allows freedom for palestinians and Jews. 

[milhouse24]

Do you think that the Media hides the reasons for muslim terrorism?  Sure some terrorists may hate US intervention in the middle east or the spreading of a liberal culture.  But is the real reason for muslim terrorism the Israel-Palestine conflict? 

We are wasting billions of dollars bombing the wrong countries Iraq and Afghanstan and the public has no idea that the real issue is Palestine.  The powerful Israel and pro-Israel lobby may be influencing the media and govt to neglect Palestine.  These wars are ruining the American economy and lives to prop up another country. 

America has survived with freedom of religion, why can't Israel govern by the same policies?

[milhouse24]

America has survived with freedom of religion, why can't Israel govern by the same policies?

Because it wouldn't be a Jewish state then.

Does it have to be a Jewish state, and therefore non-Jews cannot live within its borders?  That seems pretty extreme and a violation of human rights.  Its also sound fascist.

[milhouse24]

The problem is that Jews only make up 2% of the U.S. population, which might shrink to 1% in several decades. Catholics made up 28% of the population in 1960 (and the percentage was around that level for several decades before that). Blacks made up 13% of the population in 2008 (and between 9 and 13% for the preceding several decades). Thus, logistically, it is much harder and takes much longer to elect a Jewish President--there are fewer potential Jewish candidates than for other groups. Of course, Jews are overrepresented in politics, but still. Similarly, I think we will be ready for a gay President in several decades, but it might take much longer than that to get one elected.

There are a lot of ambitious and educated Jewish professionals but since they are such a small part of the population, I would really have to determine whether their motives are simply to obtain power and prestige, or whether they can actually serve the best interests of the everyday average Christian voter.  We are divided by race, and gender in America but a common unifying force that transcends race and gender is religion. 

I would say that Obama connected to many Christian White voters and not just Black Americans, and it helped him win the White House.  I'm not saying its impossible for a non-Christian to connect to other Races and Gender, but its not as easy.  JFK had difficulty convincing non-Catholics and he's been the only Catholic President, yet Catholics are about 30% of the population.

[milhouse24]

I actually think Kerry would have beaten Bush if he was Christian.  Kerry never talked about his religion, but if he was a Christian he could have swayed a lot of Ohio voters.

If there were to be a Jewish President, he would probably have to start as a Jewish Governor and I can't think of any at the moment.

Some of my concerns are that will he/she be Pro-Israel and not put American interests first.  I think this is a serious issue, even for other candidates who are Catholic, Muslim, Asian.  Would they be willing to put America's interest first and put down other countries of their heritage if needed. 

I think all successful candidates need to be a "man/woman of the common people" and be able to make citizens "feel good"  Religion makes it easier to build Trust. 

[milhouse24]

There are a lot of ambitious and educated Jewish professionals but since they are such a small part of the population, I would really have to determine whether their motives are simply to obtain power and prestige, or whether they can actually serve the best interests of the everyday average Christian voter.  We are divided by race, and gender in America but a common unifying force that transcends race and gender is religion.

yikes.  ironic that you write this and simultaneously are blind to why Jews feel more secure having their own state.

Jews can have their own state, but they can't steal land from the native population and not give them a say in their govt.  Its not like colonial americans and indians.  Just because you belong in a minority religion doesn't mean you Need to become president.  The President should be the person who reflects the interests of the majority of the country, that's how a democracy works.  But a democracy also should allow for minority religions and races a voice and freedom from persecution.  But its not essential or PC for there to be a Jewish, Muslim or Black, Hispanic, or Asian president of the USA. 

Israel does not allow a majority of muslims to live in its borders or visit certain parts of the country.  It is apartheid. 

[milhouse24]

I actually think Kerry would have beaten Bush if he was Christian.  Kerry never talked about his religion, but if he was a Christian he could have swayed a lot of Ohio voters.

If there were to be a Jewish President, he would probably have to start as a Jewish Governor and I can't think of any at the moment.

Some of my concerns are that will he/she be Pro-Israel and not put American interests first.  I think this is a serious issue, even for other candidates who are Catholic, Muslim, Asian.  Would they be willing to put America's interest first and put down other countries of their heritage if needed. 

I think all successful candidates need to be a "man/woman of the common people" and be able to make citizens "feel good"  Religion makes it easier to build Trust. 

Uh, Kerry was a Christian. Catholicism, together with Protestanism and Orthox Christianity, are different branches of Christianity.

Um, I think he means "evangelical." And if Kerry had been evangelical and had the same views, he would have had the same problem: he would have been not evangelical/Christian enough rather than not Catholic enough.

I just think Americans take religion a lot more seriously than they take race.  In elections, you try to create bonds with the average voter.  If you are a different race and a different religion, it makes it more difficult to find common ground with the voter.  If a person is Black, Hispanic, or Asian, yet he/she shares a religion with the voter, such as Christianity, it would be easier to win votes. 

I think most Jews don't have a problem with race, since many are from European descent and are considered Caucasian.  There are many Jewish Senators, congressmen, and governors than there have been Black politicians.  But in a national election, you have to appeal outside of your state to virtual strangers, and a quick route to that appeal is through religion.

I look at someone like John Kerry who should have been elected President based on his resume, but he just wasn't able to appeal to enough people.  He had significant drawbacks that prevented him from winning over the average mid-west American.  He was from a northern, liberal state. 

In order for a Jewish man or woman to win a presidential election, he would need to be from a heartland state, win over main street, and win the average American voter.  There are far more Catholics in America than Jews, and we've only had one Catholic president, so its still very difficult to cross that religious divide.

[milhouse24]

Well, I think every successful politician and president must convince that they share and can execute the concerns of his constituents.  Some politicians can succeed regionally like in the north or in the south.  But a lot of politicians are also driven by a selfish desire for power and adulation.  Look at GWB, he was a drunk who lived off his family's wealth and connections, then he became a born-again christian and won the White House by winning the moral argument against Clinton's indiscretions.  If he did not claim the born-again mantel, Gore would have done better.  But lets not lie about it, Dubya wanted the prestige and wanted to win the election, and his religious awakening helped him accomplish those goals.  John Kerry was a good liberal, yet he seemed too ambitious and power-hungry to connect to swing voters.  Gore had the same problems.  

Sure a lot of those anti-Iraq senators have done their home state proud, but I'm sure they would have a tough time in the Red and heartland states.  It would be interesting to see how Cantor does if he seeks higher office (can he win the Jim Webb constituency).

Joe Lieberman was the vice presidential nominee, but I doubt you'll find many Americans who would vote him for president now, certainly no Democrats.  I'm not sure what his reasoning is behind his foreign policy, but they certainly don't align with my interests.  Its really amazing that he could have been elected President in 2008 if Gore had won, would he have really turned on Democrats.

In human civilization there are many differences that have caused fighting.  You have racism, where different races cannot live together.  In the US, someone who is Asian, Middle-Eastern, and Black have just as or more difficult experience assimilating than Jewish citizens.  Jewish people are mostly caucasian and have had far more success financially and upward mobility than other racial minorities.  I would say there are biases and distrust of any Black, Middle-Eastern, or Asian politician until that person finds a way to win white voters over.  

I think that religion, not just in politics, but in society is a big deal in that Christians and Muslims still fight each other.  Hindus and Muslims still fight each other.  Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants.  So many religions face discrimination and harassment and persecution, everywhere.  I'm not opposed to Jewish communities, there are Asian-towns, Black communities, etc.  Its about finding a way to live with your neighbors in American cities, European cities, and Mid-east cities.   I never thought the Catholic countries in Europe were very tolerant of different religions, I'm sure Catholics and Protestant Reformers had their share of conflicts.  But in America, we take religious refugees and allow them to live here free from persecution.

Millhouse, you suggest a presidential candidate being Jewish would make you more suspicious of the motives of that candidate and you pretty much state it'd be more likely such a candidate was just hungry for power.  Many of congress's most progressive fighters whose motives have been fairly trustworthy have been Jewish (Russ Feingold, Al Franken, Bernie Sanders, Anthony Weiner, Alan Grayson and the late Paul Wellstone.).  Do Gentile presidential candidates come off as having pure motives generally?  

It's disturbing to say as you did starkly being Jewish would make a candidate more suspect?  Your kind of anti-semitism in the Christian majority countries of Europe is what created the massive volume of Jewish refugees without which Israel would likely never have happened in the first place.  As for Israel, your facts seem somewhat spotty.  But I will note that while obviously American Jews have an affinity for their cousins in Israel,  they tend to still be more flexible than fundamentalist Christians on the issue.  Huckabee for example does not support a Palestinian state. While the 3 American presidents since 1967 who have made the most serious effort for an independent Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza (Carter, Clinton and Obama) all got a higher % of Jewish voters than their % of Gentile voters.