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CHICAGO (Islam online) - Two weekend polls put Hillary Rodham Clinton's support among Jewish voters at 70% and 52%, respectively, in her United States Senate race against Republican Rick Lazio. A New York Post poll released Sunday showed Clinton's support at 70% against 23% for Lazio, while a poll conducted for Albany's Times Union and the Buffalo News found Clinton leading 52% to 34%. "I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle," said pollster John Zogby, whose organization conducted both surveys. Zogby said the Post poll had been partially conducted on Saturday during the Jewish Sabbath, when observant Orthodox Jews are forbidden to use the phone. This could have led to an undercounting of Orthodox voters, who tend to be less supportive of the First Lady, he said. The First Lady has been actively campaigning to reach out to the Jewish community in New York, who tend to be Democratic voters. Analysts say she needs at least 60% of their votes in order to win the state's U.S. Senate seat. The Jewish vote comprises 12% of the entire New York state vote, making up a crucial voting bloc in the Senate race. In a meeting earlier this week, the First Lady received an award for arranging a meeting between President Bill Clinton and World Jewish Congress President Edgar Bronfman. Some critics questioned whether the award is appropriate, given that Bronfman is an adviser to her campaign. An estimated 50 individuals from the Jewish Human Rights Forum demonstrated outside the Pierre Hotel in New York. The group leader argued that Mrs. Clinton's effort to ask her husband to meet with the Jewish Congress was not deserving of an award, given that others had put years of effort into the matter. Republican Rick Lazio pointed out that he, too, played a role in lobbying for Jewish Americans efforts by introducing a bill that extended the life of a presidential commission investigating what happened to assets of Holocaust victims that came into American hands. Joe Lieberman, Gore's vice presidential running mate, is expected to give Mrs. Clinton's campaign a boost by showing up to give his support for her race in New York City this week, probably sometime on Thursday or Friday. The timing of the Lieberman-Clinton event is tied to a huge Democratic National Committee fund-raiser Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall. Hillary Clinton, boosted by the polls, won the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination for the state of New York Tuesday. |
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