Life

Obama and Bush: A Rosh Hashanah Double Standard?

By Daniel Treiman August 20, 2009

Comparisons of President Obama to Hitler by health care town hall protesters have drawn widespread ridicule and outrage. Some conservatives though see a double standard: Where was all this outrage when President Bush was being compared to Hitler by some on the left?

But that’s not the only double standard that has some conservatives exercised nowadays. There’s also the Rosh Hashanah double standard.

U.S. News and World Report blogger Paul Bedard reports:

Washington Jewish Week and Politico tell us that Obama today reached out to about 1,000 Jewish leaders in his expanding campaign for healthcare reform. One of those on the call, Rabbi Jack Moline, tweeted through the call about what the president said. His Twitter page noted: Obama: “shanah tovah to all of you.”

That’s a reference to the Jewish new year, or Rosh Hashana, which starts at sundown September 18. It means “Have a sweet new year.” An associate said that the president was just being polite with the rabbis, and spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Obama was invited by the rabbis to join in on the call “as they get ready for their important holidays.”

But in September 2007, when Bush issued a holiday greeting a week early, he was roundly ridiculed for jumping the gun. The Washington Post said that there was “quizzical reaction” from even Bush’s friends.

A former Bushie who remembered the spat said: “Strange. When GWB sent out Rosh Hashana greetings a few days early, he was mocked. Obama is an entire month too early, and no big whoop.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO