EDITORIALS

The Collapse of Obama
If Senator Obama’s presidential campaign collapses, it will be not only because of his shifting explanations in respect of his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, whom he first said he couldn’t disown and then did. It will be not only because of his determination to run to the left of Senator Clinton on the tax issue, promising to raise the payroll tax and at the same time dismissing the idea of a summer suspension of the 18.4 cent a gallon federal gas tax. No, a large part of the explanation will be his decision to run to the left of Senator Clinton on the matter of an American response to Iran.

The Democrats Turn
A funny thing happened on the way to Senator Clinton’s primary win Tuesday night in Pennsylvania, her party started moving back toward reality on the war. It may not be all the way, yet. but it turned in the right direction. And it’s not just that the former first lady’s campaign ran ads asking whether Senator Obama was ready to handle international crises as a president and featuring, for the first time of any ads in the campaign, the image of Osama bin Laden. Mrs. Clinton herself began to come back to reality on the next front — Iran.

George H.W. Obama
For those Republican sympathizers who fear that Senator McCain is shaping up as the George H.W. Bush of this election — elderly war hero with little private-sector experience or interest in domestic policy — well, relax. Another candidate is stepping forward to embrace the legacy of the first President Bush. That candidate is Senator Obama, who said in Wednesday night’s presidential debate, “I think that when you look back at George H.W. Bush’s foreign policy, it was a wise foreign policy. In how we executed the Gulf War, how we managed the transition out of the Cold War, I think it’s an example of how we can get bipartisan agreement.”

Obama’s Reassurance
In enumerating the things that would qualify Iran for the “carrot” of improved relations with America, Mr. Obama yesterday mentioned ending support for terrorism, recognizing Israel, and ceasing its nuclear weapons program. He made no mention of allowing freedom of the press, religion, assembly, or genuine elective democracy in Iran.

Obama’s Interest
Senator Obama, in his remarks in Ohio this week to a gathering of Jewish leaders, went a long way toward allaying any doubts that may have lingered in the community about his Israel policy and, more broadly, the spirit of goodwill and friendship that he had for American Jews. In our view, as we have made clear previously, those doubts and concerns were always ill-founded and, in fact, were being stoked by Mr. Obama’s political rivals.

Hagar on the Loose
These columns have given Senator Obama the benefit of the doubt on concerns that he’s anti-Israel or worse (please see the editorials “Primary Colors” of January 18 2008, and “Obama and Israel,” of January 9, 2008), but the candidate himself is starting to make it difficult. Feature Mr. Obama’s little-noticed interview with Jonathan Alter in the February 4 number of Newsweek, in which, asked “Would you have Republicans in your cabinet?” the presidential candidate replied, “No decisions, but Dick Lugar embodies the best tradition in foreign policy. Chuck Hagel is a smart guy who has shows some courage, even though we disagree on domestic policy.”

Primary Colors
A Clinton is running for president, it’s weeks before the primaries in New York, Florida, and California, where the Democratic electorate is heavily Jewish, and all of a sudden there is a subtle but discernible campaign accusing the Clinton rival of being bad for Israel. If it sounds familiar, it should. The scurrilous and false e-mails circulating to Jewish and other voters linking Senator Obama to the anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, and suggesting he is a secret Muslim are not without a precedent, as our contributing editor David Twersky reminded us this week.

Obama and Israel
New York Republicans, according to an article in the New York Post yesterday, are preparing to attack Senator Obama for his supposed lack of support for Israel. “Obama’s commitment to Israel is open to question, and that would help us with Jews,” the Post quotes a “prominent New York Republican” as saying. We’re no shills for Mr. Obama, but these Republicans haven’t checked their facts. At least by our lights, Mr. Obama’s commitment to Israel, as he has articulated it so far in his campaign, is quite moving and a tribute to the broad, bipartisan support that the Jewish state has in America.

NATIONAL

Obama Promises Undivided Jerusalem as Israeli Capital
In a speech that drew standing ovations at the annual policy conference of the largest pro-Israel lobby in America, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president says he supports Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital.

Obama in Florida Tells Synagogue: Ignore Rumors
Beginning a courtship likely to last until November, Senator Obama came to a large synagogue here with a clear message of support for Israel and a plea to the Jews of Florida: Ignore the rumors and judge me by what I say and do.

Obama: Jewish Writers Roth, Bellow Are Influences
Senator Obama counts among the writers who have influenced his thinking two giants of Jewish American letters, Saul Bellow and Philip Roth.

Indyk Rushes to Ohio for Clinton
Jewish and Israel-related issues are bubbling to the surface of the presidential contest as senators Clinton and Obama tussle over the Jewish vote in Ohio and Republicans seize on Ralph Nader’s new claims that Mr. Obama until recently harbored “pro-Palestinian” views.

In Cleveland, Obama Speaks on Jewish Issues
Yesterday morning, Senator Obama of Illinois met with about 100 members of Cleveland’s Jewish Community at the Landerhaven function hall in Cleveland. The following is a partial transcript of the session, as provided by Mr. Obama’s presidential campaign.

Obama’s Brain Trust Taking Shape
When it comes to foreign affairs, Senator Obama’s inner circle of advisers includes a Swahili-speaking Air Force general he met on a trip to Africa; a 30-year-old speechwriter who helped draft the final report from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, and President Clinton’s first national security adviser, who in 2005 converted to Judaism under the tutelage of the Navy’s chief Jewish chaplain.

Obama’s Inner Circle
The New York Sun’s Eli Lake takes a closer look at the individuals advising Senator Obama as he tackles foreign policy issues in his presidential campaign.