Posted January 4 2008 by Rachel Krich
“They’ll like us when we win”
That line is yet another West Wing quote. Toby Ziegler says that to his ex-wife, Congresswoman Wyatt, in a discussion about radical Islamists in the Middle East. I heard almost the exact same line last night, however, while watching CNN.
After Obama was announced the winner of the Iowa Caucus last night, a talking head on CNN was retelling a part of an interview she had with Barack Obama. She asked him, “Why does the black community not support you?” He responded, “They have to see me win first.”
In other words, they can’t just vote for him because he is also African American, he has to be the smartest and the best all around before his own community feels that they can vote for him without scrutiny. They want to avoid “you voted for him because he is black, not because he is the best.”
Then I started thinking about how Jews act in similar situations. For the past year, buzz has been going around that New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg may throw his hat into the ring as an Independent. He has until June to do it, so he has been keeping people on their toes. Of course it is also a brilliant strategy to not become a lame duck mayor; make people think that you are running for president and you will still be taken seriously.
However, as many people have pointed out, Bloomberg has a bigger handicap then even Mitt Romney. Bloomberg is well….Jewish (”canaJew,” as Jon Stewart has called him). He might not be a practicing Jew, he might not even have a Mazuzah on the front door of his house (yes, I know this as a fact), but he is the quintessential Jew in the eyes of most Americans. He looks Jewish, has a lot of money, and runs New York city and one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. He has also given millions and millions of dollars to Jewish charities in the US and Israel. He is not so low key about his support of Israeli institutions, since many of them are named for his father and mother. But even with all of that “against” him, how much would you want to bet that the Jewish community would rather back Clinton or Obama before a Jewish guy from New York (actually Boston, but who’s counting)? Jews are just as embarrassed of their successes as the African American community is. And almost for similar psychological reasons, I think.
In the African American community there is a “don’t draw attention to yourself” mentality. And who could blame them? I wouldn’t want to have been an African American living in the South 50 years ago. It was a world of “don’t look anyone in the eye.” And whenever they did draw attention to themselves, something bad would happen. Being so repressed creates a communal neurosis. The repression becomes internalized to the point that those being repressed believe they deserve it.
The American Jewish community suffers a similar neurosis, even though I am sure many would like to deny it. But it is inevitable. Look what happened in Weimar Germany. Jews were on top! The Foreign Minister was Jewish, there were Jews in the Bundenstag, and the Jews were really the most prosperous group in a failing economy. Look how well that worked out. The Holocaust was the mother of all communal psychological damage. Even those who were born after to survivors, had parents imparting the “stick with the community, don’t trust the government” mentality. Why do you think you see so many issues with corruption in large Survivor communities like Brooklyn (that’s for another post)? Jews have communally said “thanks, but no thanks” to being huge political figures. However, time is passing, and now there is a generation that does not have first hand Holocaust trauma, and things are different. My husband and I both fall in different places in the generational line. I am much farther away from Europe then my husband is, and I can see the difference in our parent’s views on political life. One side feels that being Jewish is not an impediment to political life, and the other finds it ok on a local level, but thats where the comfort zone ends. It is an amazing show of Americanization. Bottom line, however, is this . . . Jews won’t vote for a Jew until he or she has dominated every other group, similar to how the Obama campaign sees the African American community. They’ll like you when you win . . . so you better have broad appeal.
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4 Comments currently posted. 
Dave Weinberg says:
Rachel Krich says:
I just read this ( http://www.nysun.com/article/68964 ) in the NYSun that projects that Bloomberg would pick McCain as a running mate. Which if you want to win I would think is the logical choice.He can’t pick Rudy because they are both from NY and having Schwarzenegger would create a whole new road block to winning (due to the way people would view having a VP who can’t take over for the President). This way Bloomgerg could get his endorsement and win CA and AZ.
Benji Rosenzweig says:
It feels like there are many more candidates today then there were in previous elections. Or its possible that I am paying attention more. Do you know of a non-partisan website that lists all the candidates, their policies, and their history. I am imagining a March madness type bracket system. Let me know what you think
Rachel Krich says:
I have been looking but have yet to find anything. In theory I could type one up, but I am not sure that I have the time to finish it before Nov.
Normally presidential campaigns do not last this long or have close to as many people. This is the first time in a very very long time that there is no airer apparent, because Chaney is not running, so it is an open playing field. I will keep looking for more info, and if not I will try to start posting the major players info one by one before Feb 5th, the date of the most primary’s. However your in MI, so I will try to get those up sooner for you.
I would love to see a Bloomberg/Schwarzenegger ticket. It would usher in a new technocratic age.