CNN's Bill Schneider asserted that "[t]here are some Jewish voters who still have questions about Barack Obama," and that Sen. Joe Lieberman's speaking role at the RNC “could be a way of drawing some Jewish voters over to the Republican ticket.” But Schneider made no mention of a poll released in mid-July that found that 48 percent of Jews have a negative opinion of Lieberman, with 37 percent holding a favorable view. In contrast, the same survey found that 60 percent have a favorable view of Obama, while 34 percent view him unfavorably.
CNN's Schneider asserted that Lieberman speech at RNC could draw Jewish voters, but did not mention polling showing low approval among Jews
Written by Meredith Adams
Published
On the August 20 edition of CNN Newsroom, senior political analyst Bill Schneider asserted that "[t]here are some Jewish voters who still have questions about Barack Obama," and that Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) speaking role at the Republican National Convention “could be a way of drawing some Jewish voters over to the Republican ticket.” But in speculating on the possible impact on Jewish voters of Lieberman's appearance at the RNC, Schneider did not note that a survey released in mid-July by the Democratic polling firm Gerstein Agne for the progressive group J Street, a self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace” organization, found that 48 percent of Jews have a negative opinion of Lieberman, with 37 percent holding a favorable view. In contrast, the same survey found that 60 percent have a favorable view of Obama, while 34 percent view him unfavorably. According to a J Street press release (available through the organization's website), the findings were the result of a “survey of 800 self-identified adult American Jews, conducted June 29-July 3. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent.”
From the 11 a.m. ET hour of CNN Newsroom on August 20:
COLLINS: Yeah. And also, we just got a little bit of news about Joe Lieberman. People probably wondered which convention he'd actually be going to this year.
SCHNEIDER: Yeah. Well, he was on the ticket with Al Gore in 2000. He was the Democrats' nominee for vice president. And here, eight years later, he's going to give a speech at the Republican convention. That is certainly a very rare experience.
This could also be a play to get more Jewish voters. Lieberman is, of course, an orthodox Jewish senator, and this could be an appeal by McCain to get more Jewish support. There are some Jewish voters who still have questions about Barack Obama, wonder about how staunch an ally and supporter he is of Israel, even though he's said many, many times that he's fully in support of Israel.
But with Lieberman on the dais, on the podium, giving a speech at the Republican convention, that could be a way of drawing some Jewish voters over to the Republican ticket, and that could affect the race in some key states, like Florida and Pennsylvania.
COLLINS: Absolutely. All right, our Bill Schneider, standing by there in Denver. Thank you, Bill.