Poll: Obama has less Jewish support than previous Democratic candidates

Lack of support comes despite overwhelming unhappiness with the Bush administration.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
obama 88 (photo credit: )
obama 88
(photo credit: )
American Jews are less supportive of Barack Obama than previous Democratic nominees, a new poll has found. The lack of support comes despite overwhelming unhappiness with the Bush administration. The survey, commissioned by the Washington-based advocacy organization J Street, found that only 58 percent of American Jews said they would definitely vote for Obama. Another 4% said they were leaning toward the presumptive Democratic nominee. In contrast, Al Gore and Bill Clinton both drew approximately 80% of the Jewish vote in their respective runs for the presidency, while John Kerry garnered about 76% in 2004. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they would vote for Sen. John McCain, with 3% saying they were leaning toward the presumptive GOP nominee. That would represent a higher showing among Jews than the 24% President George W. Bush drew in 2004. The poll, conducted by Gerstein/Agne Strategic Communications, was based on interviews with 800 respondents. It has a margin of error of 3.5%. Even as American Jews appear to be displaying some reservations about Obama, they are highly critical of the current White House. According to the poll, 90% of American Jews believe the country is on the wrong track. Seventy percent said they strongly disapprove of how the president is handling his job, with another 14% saying they somewhat disapprove. Bush scored a disapproval rating of 79% of his handling of the Iraq war and 71% for his handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.