The Jerusalem Post leans to the right and bares little resemblance to the diverse attitudes of Israelis at large. Though I don't recommend it, navigating around their website will reveal an offensive disdain for Obama. So, naturally, the JPost was the first place I checked this morning for an uproar over the Obama-Khalidi ties that John McCain has been trumpeting. Unfortunately for the desperately reaching McCain campaign, even Israel's equivalent of the Washington Times isn't biting.

Although the Jerusalem post covered McCain's manufactured story, its unusually objective reporting is sure to spark a tantrum by Steve Schmidt. For example:

The Obama campaign has faced questions about the candidate's associations throughout the course of the campaign, but the McCain camp has ratcheted up the pressure on some of these relationships in the past few days as the race enters the home stretch.

So far, the strategy doesn't seem to be paying off, as John McCain is trailing significantly in most national polls, and surveys released Wednesday suggest that even in his home state of Arizona, he only leads his rival by a couple of points.

Wow, JPost just had to throw in the Arizona knife twist, did they? To a McCain campaign that thrives off of the angst of right-wing knuckleheads, that's gotta hurt. The article proceeds to a discussion of Obama's popularity among American Jews, citing a level of support nearing 75%. And it follows up with a reassuring plug by Dennis Ross:

Ross, holding one of the final forums to woo Jewish voters before Tuesday's vote, stressed his strong belief in Obama as a supporter of Israel, a smart negotiator when it comes to Iran and someone who he thinks would reinvigorate America's relationships with its allies.

In response to questions skeptical of Obama's ties with Khalidi, Ross replied that Khalidi is:

"a Palestinian-American who has a strong set of views" who doesn't advise Obama or influence his views.

"He's someone that he has known. I know him too. Because I know him does that somehow reflect on me?" he asked.

He then stressed his own Israel bona fides, arguing that Obama "gets" the shared values and strategic importance of the US-Israel relationship and that if he didn't, Ross wouldn't be supporting him.

The article studiously notes how Ross's remarks played with some members of the audience:

His remarks satisfied Leslie Hecht-Leavitt, a Democrat more impressed with Obama's association with Ross than his connection to Khalidi, even though she abhors the latter's views on Israel.

"These people don't live in a vacuum. They associate with all people. It's the nature of politics, Hecht-Leavitt said of politicians. "

"To try to portray them as evil people because they've spoken with a person they absolutely disagree with is absurd. If he's appointed Dennis Ross as his senior advisor, that means a lot more than someone he's spoken to or had lunch with."

I doubt that's the sort of rational thought the McCain camp was seeking with the Khalidi flail, but they must by now be accustomed to the disappointment that goes hand-in-hand with being so remarkably out of touch.  Of course, the JPpost can't venture too far down the road of objectivity without losing its zealot cred, so it throws in a token anecdote by an Obama naysayer:

But Marcie Waranch, who asked the question, left feeling less than reassured about Obama's true convictions.

"I have questions" about where Obama stands on Israel, she said. "I know where McCain is."

Sure you do, Marcie. Sure you do. Shockingly, the Jerusalem Post punctuates its evasion of John McCain's dog-whistle with a closing section on McCain's own ties to Khalidi. Enjoy:

Today, the Obama campaign put out a statement charging, "This is just another recycled, manufactured controversy from the McCain campaign to distract voters' attention from John McCain's lock-step support for George Bush's economic policies."

Khalidi turned down a request for comment from the Post. But he referred the newspaper to a story in Wednesday's Huffington Post that McCain headed the International Republican Institute when it gave grants to an organization co-chaired by Khalidi.

McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb confirmed the veracity of the report, but said that it was beside the point.

No, Mr. Goldfarb, you're beside the point.

How these stories are covered by the Israeli press is salient beyond the many Jewish voters in the bluing state of Florida. In the 2004 election, Americans living in Israel constituted the third highest number of voting expatriates behind the UK and Canada. In all likelihood, we can add them to the long list of voting groups with whom McCain's gambits are landing with a loud thud.

cross-posted elsewhere