PS Yes, people openly wept when Obama gave his speech. I teared up, I’ve got to admit. Why? Because of adoration for him? No. I’ll vote for him, but I don’t idolize politicians. My tears were for this reason only –that in this country with its history in regard to race we have achieved something–a moment for which many good people sacrificed. 45 years after the I Have a Dream Speech to a day! 40 years after Martin Luther King said he would might not reach the promised land but we as a people would. What other political event is more worthy of tears?

Yossi Beilin has a distinguished career of service to the State of Israel. He will easily survive your caricature of his views. Here is a link to the Meretz USA website: http://www.meretzusa.org/
If you read some of the posts, you will get to know what I really think about Israel, instead of making me up with a series of “I imagine that[s]” as you go along.

I think that McCain is unsuited for the presidency. He is intemperate, bellicose, dogmatic, rigid, reactionary (and recative) and extremely condescending towards women; as his recent vice presidential choice shows.

Moreover, why would I trust Sarah Palin, who has zero foreign policy experience, with the future safety and security of the state of Israel? McCain made this cynical choice and it shows very poor judgment.

As his reckless “joke” about attacking Iran shows, McCain has a “shoot first and ask questions later” approach to foreign policy.

By contrast, Barack Obama evokes the wise counsel of John F. Kennedy:

“We must never negotiate out of fear, but we must never fear to negotiate.”

That is the kind of thoughful approach to foreign policy that will protect the safety and security of the state of Isrel in a very complex world.

In regards to foreign policy issues, you say one of the many reasons that you’re supporting Obama is because you’re a Meretz/ Yossi Beilin style Zionist. (An oxymoron if there ever was one). I imagine that you fear that John McCain, with his solid 25 year pro-Israel voting record will actually be a president who will not coerce Israel to relinquish more territory to the Palestinians and might actually take a stronger stand against such Iranian terrorists proxies as Hamas and Hezbollah.

I imagine that you fear that McCain will not pressure Israel to divide its eternal capitol Jerusalem and will actually take concrete measures to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby signifying a US committment to keeping Jerusalem as the undivded capitol of Israel. I imagine that you fear that McCain will stand strong against terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and will persuade Israel NOT to keep releasing throngs of blood thirsty Arab prisoners who are murderers of women and children.

As a person who supports the extreme left political position in Israel, I certainly understand why you support Obama who is willing to reach out with a real live olive branch to such terrorist regimes as Iran; to sit down and negotiate with them, to recognize and acknowledge them as equal partners.

Of course, you must have realized that the one who scores the biggest victory here is Ahmadinejad, who smiles smugly and laughs with glee that his incendiary rhetoric and his unabated uranium enrichment program has brought the proverbial “Giant” to its kness. The “Western devil” now is so afraid of us that they are now cow-towing to us. “Our tactics have worked”, he exclaims with pride. There is no question that soon after President Obama’s first meetings with Iran, will the US consider removing Hamas and Hezbollah from the State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations and soon after that, the US will also sit down and negotiate with those who murdered innocent Jews in Sderot and other such places.

I believe you when you say that some (but certainly not all) Obama supporters have posted uncivil comments about Palin. It is certainly improper to make disparaging remarks about her gender.

However, I and the majority of Obama supporters who are critical of Palin are basing our criticisms on our disagreement with her far right political positions; which I and others responding to this post have outlined in detail.

Moreover, I think it will be a disaster for this country if McCain wins, and an even larger disaster if Palin has to step in as president. She is inexperienced and unprepared to lead. McCain’s choice of Palin shows how hypocritical it is for him to accuse Obama of being too inexperienced for the presidency.

McCain did not “outsmart” Obama by choosing Palin. Instead, McCain demonstrated his profound contempt for Hillary Clinton supporters (and anyone living in the 21st Century) by choosing a reactionary creationist who wants to put junk science into public schools by forcing science teachers to teach creationism.

Morevor, the majority of Hillary supporters are pro-choice and Palin would force pregnant rape and incest victims to go through with their pregnancies.

She is also anti-environmentalist, which is especially disturbing coming from a governor of Alaska as Alaska has so many natural environmental sites worthy of preservation.

Sarah Palin is totally great. And she has a hott husband, a quarter Yupiq Eskimo, who is an actual working fisherman, a member of a labour union, an oil patch worker AND now, looks after the kids; and hunts for moose. And cute kids (the oldest toting around Trig, the next older one toting the baby bottle) The oldest is in the Army, and going to Iraq this September 11th.

And is she tough? She took on one of America’s most inbred corrupt political machines, headed by the very powerful Stevens and Young… and WON.

As to foreign policy: Alaska is next door neighbours to both Russia and to America’s biggest trading partner (Canada!); and has signed a bill to put through a gas pipeline through Alaska, Yukon, and down to the lower 48.

Obama made a point of saying yesterday that the election was not about him, but about “you” – you being all of his supporters in Mile High Stadium and beyond.

That is quite the opposite of encouraging “a cult of personality.”

Of course, some people will be infatuated with him, as is common with well-known, charismatic personalities.

However, I feel confident that the majority of Obama supporters will vote for him because they agree with his positions and with the overall direction in which he would like to take this country after 8 years of corruption and malfeasance by Bush/Cheney.

In addition, one of the many reasons that I’m voting for Obama is that I’m a Zionist (of the Yossi Beilin/Meretz USA variety) and I’m concerned that McCain’s reckless approach to foreign policy would be dangerous for Israel.