Bagel and Ballots — Monday
–The Jewish Wife Gambit: Gov. Charlie Crist, the independent in the three-way race for Florida’s senate seat, is gunning for the Jewish vote. In front of a crowd of 600 mostly Jewish retirees, he called his wife, Carole, a “nice Jewish girl who grew up on Long Island.” (Sun-Sentinel)
–Rahmbo’s Running … Fast: Politico reports that Rahm Emanuel is expected to leave the White House ASAP — perhaps this Friday, even — to jumpstart his stab at Chicago’s City Hall, where he would be the Windy City’s first Jewish mayor. The New York Times holds out for the possibility of a more decorous exit, saying merely that Emanuel could “make an announcement as early as Friday.” Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo finds the first possibility “unseemly and almost bizarre.” “Chief of Staff is usually considered a pinnacle job rather than a stepping stone,” he writes. “You do it until the president is done with you or you burn out, neither of which usually takes very long. And five weeks before an election? On very short notice? It just doesn’t seem right.” (Politico)
–You Are Getting Very Sleepy: Rand Paul, ophthalmologist and Republican candidate for Kentucky’s senate seat, is part of a physicians’ association that argues on its website that Obama won the Jewish vote by recourse to “covert hypnosis intended only for licensed therapists on consenting patients” in his speeches to Jews. The group also believes that HIV does not cause AIDS. His opponent, Democrat Jack Conway, is using the revelation to swipe away, and hosted a conference call highlighting Paul’s statements about the Jewish community. (Mitzvote)
–All By Himself: Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey attended a debate all alone, since Democratic opponent Joe Sestak missed the exchange, chalking it up to a scheduling conflict. (The Morning Call)
–Fun Fact — Bam’s Tunes, They Are A-Changing: What’s on Barack Obama’s iPod? Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, and the Rolling Stones. And aide Reggie Love is trying to bring POTUS up to date. (Associated Press)
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