The Jewish paradox

We Jews think we are a clever people. Oh, we don't come out and say it
directly, that would be too "rude," too conceited. But, it is noteworthy
how in most of the commentary I get from American Jews about the current
Presidential election, they point out how "stupid" President Bush is. That
is, of course, stupid in comparison to them. It never seems to have
occurred to them that being "intelligent" is not the prime requirement for a
leader, especially "THE leader" of the free world.
I think of the good Jewish liberal icons, such as Philip Roth and Woody
Allen who have no doubt that to vote for a "fascist" like Bush is a
contradiction of their Jewish identity, except that there is very little
that is really Jewish about them at all. They interpret being anti-Israel
with being "progressive."
The Jews have made so many mistakes and been hoodwinked so often. There was
the great Jewish idol Franklin D. Roosevelt, who only agreed to the "War
Refugee Board" in January 1944, after 4 million Jews had already been
murdered by the Nazis in Europe. Although he knew about the massacres of
Jews from 1940 onwards, he deliberately did nothing and went along with the
anti-Semitic State Department's policy of preventing Jewish escape from
Europe. Yes, the WRB saved 200,000 Jewish lives, but far too little, far too
late.
Adlai Stevenson was our "ideal" candidate, intelligent, urbane,
sophisticated. He didn't stand a chance. Then JFK, who was a disgusting
womanizer and a fraud, whose father was a fascist who bought him the
election, and we all went along. And then there was Johnson, a great
liberal, who did nothing when Israel was surrounded by enemies in 1967. Add
Jimmy Carter, the most well informed President, who was paralyzed by
indecision, and who lost Iran, one of the greatest defeats for the West.
I consider myself an intelligent Jew, and I have made so many mistakes in
choosing the "better" candidate. I chose to support Sen. Scoop Jackson and
look what happened to his Presidential bid, it lasted 5 minutes. And
Clinton, who was prepared to sacrifice Israel for his great friend Yasir,
who he was sure must want to "deal." "Peace in the Middle East" would
certainly have taken the focus off his little problem with Monica. Finally,
I voted for Gore, and was I glad destiny had not chosen him when 9/11
occurred and Bush was in place.
Leadership is not a matter of intelligence. It requires guts, clear
thinking, faith and commitment. So we sophisticated and well-educated Jews,
all of us much cleverer than our President, are not really well qualified to
choose him.