Comment by Ted Belman
Bloomberg does not try to disprove the “lies”, he just gives his opinion. He does everything in his power to smear the purveyors of the “lies” . He doesn’t make the slightest attempt disprove the alleged facts and to deal with the adverse facts which are not discredited by him. He accuses us of indulging in the “politics of ethnic and religious division” of using “slimy, low-ball tactics” and “whispers” and even accuses us of “pretending to be concerned about Israel’s security”. If that wasn’t enough he then purveys some very questionable facts of his own referring to “the enormous strides that Jews and Muslims have made together in this country — and the enormous strides that Jews and African Americans have made together. News to me.
By Keith B. Richburg, Washington Post
NEW YORK — In his effort to win over still skeptical Jewish voters, particularly in the critical swing state of Florida, Sen. Barack Obama today got an assist from a surprising source: New York’s independent Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
Bloomberg told a Jewish audience in Florida today that “demagogues” were engaging in a “whisper campaign” against Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and he urged Jews to “reject” such wedge politics — “loudly, clearly and unequivocally.” A transcript of Bloomberg’s remarks was released by his office here.Speaking at a breakfast meeting of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, Bloomberg said both Obama and the Republican’s presumptive nominee, Sen. John McCain, were both committed to maintaining Israel’s military security and to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Bloomberg said Jews, as voters, should welcome a spirited political debate “focused on the facts, and not let it descend into false rumor and innuendo.”
“Unfortunately, we’ve already seen that happen,” Bloomberg said. “As I’m sure many of you know, there are plenty of emails floating around the Internet targeting Jewish voters and saying that Senator Obama is secretly a Muslim, and a radical one at that. Let’s call those rumors what they are — lies.”
Bloomberg said those spreading the rumors were pretending to be concerned about Israel’s security, but in reality “Israel is just being used as a pawn, which is not that surprising, since some people are willing to stoop to any level to win an election.”
He said McCain had already denounced the whisper campaign against Obama “which speaks to his character as a standup guy and an honest leader.” He said McCain understands what it is like to be the target of such false attacks because when he ran against President Bush eight years ago, McCain “faced the same slimy, low-ball tactics during the 2000 South Carolina primary.”
Bloomberg added, “And in this election, we must all stand up to this whisper campaign against Senator Obama. That’s because it threatens to undo the enormous strides that Jews and Muslims have made together in this country — and the enormous strides that Jews and African Americans have made together.”
He later said in his speech, “It’s up to us to reject the politics of ethnic and religious division. It’s up to us to speak out against the lies and prejudice. It’s up to us to stand up for the truth.”
Bloomberg, a billionaire in his final term as mayor, flirted with the idea of running for president himself — taking extensive polling and meeting with a ballot-access expert in Texas — before announcing that he would not be a candidate. He has since been mentioned as a possible running mate for either McCain or Obama.
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