Senator Joe Liberman will accompany the presidential candidate.
Senator John McCain (Rep. Arizona) will pay a lightning visit to Israel on Tuesday in his capacity as a member of a legislative delegation on a trip to learn more about the problems in the Middle East. The delegation is also due to visit Jordan. But the fact that McCain is the Republican party's presidential candidate, also makes the visit to Jerusalem an internal-political move in the run-up to the presidential election in November. It also shows that he sees Israel as an appropriate tool to help him become the first Republican candidate to win the majority of the Jewish vote in a presidential election. According to a nationwide poll taken immediately after the Congressional elections in 2006, 87% of the voters who identified themselves as Jews voted for the Democrats and the remaining 12% voted for the Republicans.
Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition says the fact that McCain does not belong to the radical right wing of his party, makes him more attractive to Jewish voters. Whether by coincidence or not, one of the members of the delegation to Israel is former Democrat and now Independent Senator from Connecticut Joe Liberman, considered McCain's key adviser on all matters relating to the Jewish vote, and who is tipped to serve in a McCain administration, possibly as Defense secretary. Liberman's support will dispel any doubts about McCain's pro-Israel credentials.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 16, 2008
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