The Israeli Perspective

So I am fortunate to have gone on Birthright and gotten to know (at the time, current) former Israeli soldiers very well. Their lives are so different than the lives of 18-22 year old Americans - we're off being useless (ok, "learning") at liberal arts colleges while they are required to spend those years defending their tiny nation. It is a necessary evil in my opinion, but it strongly forms their identities and it is therefore no surprise to me that most of the Israelis I know who live there and have served in the army were pro-McCain; I think they have a "pro-military" bias because Israel is constantly at war...and they serve in the military and see it's value and potential. Anyway, my friend Eyal asked me "what do you think of the new pres, why Obama?" I responded with a generic "Loves! He's so amazing!" And then here was the facebook correspondence that follows. My verbose final response is not as well worded or thought out as I'd like, but I like that Obama inspires that passion in me and that I did not dogmatically vote for him, I thought about a variety of issues:

Me:
HE IS AMAZING I HAVE VOTED FOR HIM 4 TIMES IN THE PAST 4 YEARS (two primaries, two general elections) and I think America was saved from potential disaster. He managed his campaign nearly perfectly - if that's not leadership I don't know what is. What are they thinking in Israel? American Jews, by the way, voted 77% for Obama, 23% for McCain. LOVES. hahaha.

Eyal:
Well Israel is full of hypocrites, during the primarys most said Obama isn't good for Israel (talking about the press) and preffered Clinton or McCain. Suddenly, now that hes elected, everybody here is for him.Personlly I was for McCain, Obama stills seems a rookie to me, being a senator for only 4 years. He did run a good campaign, but Jacob, I see you as a smart person, don't tell me you love him or that he's amazing, tell me what made you vote for him, on which issues do you agree with him? Why do you think he's better for America? Leave the Israelis issue out, I'm interested in your intake as an american, not a jewish american.

Me:
OH! Ha! Well I would be curious why you were for McCain (even to the end?), and specifically for McCain/PALIN - because you have to remember you couldn't have one without the other - he chose her, which in my opinion was a pathetic, ROOKIE mistake and made him lose all credibility, not to mention the fact that during one of our most significant economic crises, Obama (the "rookie") held his cool while McCain freaked out and first said he would "suspend" his campaign but then took it back. Throughout this process, Obama was certainly greener to politics but proved himself to learn quickly and adapt to the situation at hand; he survived all the attacks against him and he slowly tacked toward the center without compromising his core values, therefore appealing to the broadest number of Americans on all levels and ultimately, truly winning the election convincingly. Personally, and many people here agree with me, Obama is going to be better for Israel because he believes in a more stabilizing, less belligerent foreign policy and building America's strength at home - and America is not strong abroad unless we're first strong at home. (By the way, I'm not a 'jewish american', i'm an American Jew, you may think i'm horrible or whatever for not moving my ass to Israel but i know damn well where my priorities lie and i'm a Jew before I'm an American, I just happen to think America is the greatest country in the world and we finally re-proved that fact by electing Obama). Here's why he was better than McCain:-Foreign policy: McCain would be a repeat of Bush, ruining our good name in the world. A lot of morons argue that we elect an American president for America so what do we care what the rest of the world thinks, but we should because part of how we stay the most powerful country and leader of the free world is by commanding the respect we deserve for being as thoughtful and efficient and thorough as possible in our dealings with the rest of the world. A McCain America, in my opinion, was only going to further lose the respect of the rest of the world, making it even more impossible for us to regain our status as a world leader that generally seeks world peace. Fuck China, fuck Russia - we are a true democracy and when we want to change we can (sorry i'm on a bit of a pedestal right now about america - ironically since the supposedly more "patriotic" party lost ive been more patriotic than ever)-Economy - This was my #1 issue. McCain doesn't get it - you cannot cut taxes and expect the richest people in this country to get us out of this mess. They are who fucked it up in the first place - the people on this great island of Manhattan were greedy motherfuckers and without regulations they helped create the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Obama gets this and while he isn't going to make us a socialist country by any means, he is going to regulate the economy again and us the tools of government (taxing and spending those taxes) to pump life into the economy. He understands that during the Great Depression the way we got ourselves out of it was by spending an enormous amount on our infrastructure, which proved to help us tremendously. WIth better roads, trains, hospitals, schools, even military, airports, etc. - we will thrive. And McCain barely understands economics.I don't know if Facebook messages have a limit so i'm going to send a part 2.

Part 2 :
Energy - Global warming is here and it's real and we need a president who will make us, the laziest, fattest, most energy-consuming nation on the planet learn how to wean ourselves off Middle Eastern oil produced by "terror-loving terrorists" (as Palin would put it) NOT by producing more oil here. Yes, America has a love affair with the car, we invented it and we're the first country to really develop around it. But screw that, we not only need to build better public transportation but we need to lead the world in finding alternative energy sources and "going green" because Al Gore isn't talking bullshit, the planet is seriously doomed if we keep up our bad habits. And how can we expect horrible polluters like India and China to curb their pollution if we won't even ratify the Kyoto treaty? Obama wants to make us a leader on energy - not lag behind Denmark and all the other little European nations who understand that green energy is the wave of the future and will build jobs and give them a leg up, even if we have to sacrifice in the short term.Social Issues - McCain is anti-gay, anti-woman. So the anti-gay thing - fine, that's me being totally selfish because McCain supports a FEDERAL ban on gay marriage and Obama thinks it should be left to the states - so what, i want to get married someday and McCain would've been a step backward not forward. As for women - McCain may have had the power to overturn Roe v. Wade and make abortion illegal, which is stupid. Women are going to get abortions regardless and I'd rather them do it under the auspices of a real clinic rather than some back alley and as someone who has known girls my age need to get abortions, this is especially personal, and it is none of the government's business.Health Care/Education - Again, Obama wants to regain America's strength - we can't do it unless we're healthy and smart. Our education is what, #14 in the world? That's ridiculous it should be #1. We spend like $10 billion a month in Iraq - how many schools and teachers and books is that? So dumb, smarter people = better country. As for health care, same deal - as we are one of the most obese nations on earth and as we live longer we are going to have soaring health care costs and if we ignore that, we're going to be in serious trouble 20 years from now. McCain will be dead 20 years from now, but Obama understands this so he wants to make a (nearly) universal health care plan.VP Choice - This is another of my biggest issues against McCain - someone who spent the whole of the primaries attacking Obama for being a rookie as you say chose an even BIGGER rookie to be his VP - the choice of a vice presidential running mate is a president's first major executive decision, and McCain fucked it up big time. He had only met her twice before! He did it to appeal to evangelical Christians and other right wing crazies, which is not a "maverick" thing to do at all that is catering to the worst and most extreme sectors of the Republican party. McCain is 72, has had 4 bouts with cancer - how fucking IRRESPONSIBLE of him to pick someone like Palin who could have likely been our president if he died in office. Can you imagine that dumb bitch running this nation? Not a chance. She is such a horrid human being with such fucked up values I can't even get into it it makes me so mad. On the other hand, Obama went with Biden - yes he says things that get him into trouble, but ultimately he is a good man with decades of experience and you know what, Obama recognizes that as the first black president his personal safety is probably going to be a huge issue - so GOD FORBID something should happen to him, I trust that Biden would run this nation well. but poo poo poo god forbid that would be the most awful thing to happen to the world right now.Have I made myself abundantly clear? Senator John McCain is a good man of good character and potential leadership quality - a man we have not seen since he started running his campaign until his concession speech Tuesday night. He became Candidate McCain, an unpredictable, "rookie" candidate who could not control his campaign and made bad decisions at crucial moments. Obama, the "rookie," made excellent decisions and always maintained his calm. I love him, he's amazing - and all these reasons are why. I wish him the best of luck - he's realistic, he's probably not going to achieve everything he wants to do, but he has the tools to do it and I trust that he'll surround himself with the right people to make it happen. Rahm Emanuel, an Israeli from Illinois I might add, has accepted the position as Chief of Staff - that's a great first start. I can't deny that race played a factor for me, sure. My mom grew up in Jacksonville Beach, Florida - blacks weren't allowed on the beach or to go to the same schools or drink from the same water fountains when she was a kid. And in her lifetime she got to see a black man elected president. But guess what, that black man was the best man for the job, and I hope he becomes one of the greatest presidents we've ever seen. And he knows it isn't just HIM; it's the "change" he represents as corny as that sounds and the personal responsibility all Americans need to take for fixing what's wrong in this country and chartering a new course that will help us strengthen our status and earn back the respect we deserve for being a huge messy democracy of 300 million people with one of the highest standards of living anywhere, a place, the ONLY place in the world where a son of nobodies can become president based on his ability to convince us he's the best choice. On Wednesday morning, itwas like I woke up in a new country. Have I made myself clear? You're right Eyal, I'm a smart boy, in fact so smart I saw this coming 4 years ago when I saw my about-to-be-elected senator from Illinois make the speech that made him famous at the 2004 Democratic National Convention - I thought to myself...wow...he's going to be president someday. Holy shit. Now I'm just scared because everyone expects so much of him. So we'll see...but with McCain...I would seriously be considering ditching this country right now (is that why you wanted him to win? So I would make aliyah???).


OY, this whole tirade made me late for work.