Post-Primary Politics

While the final results were not available before this page went to press, Pennsylvanians appear to have turned out in record numbers for this week's primary election. And so, after six weeks of the state being in the spotlight, the Democratic Party's presidential nominating circus will move on to the remaining contests, leaving the Keystone State behind.

Partisans will view the events of the past 42 days solely in light of how it affected their candidates and their political fortunes. The bruising contest between Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton will, in the end, have a winner and a loser. But aside from the relief that many of us will feel at the temporary cessation (until the general election this fall) of the intense barrage of ads that has been thrown at us recently, what did the primary accomplish?

The answer to that question is far from clear. The differences between the candidates on the issues did not appear to be great, certainly not in comparison to the divide that will exist between the winner and Republican nominee John McCain. But the clash of personalities was clear.

Nevertheless, for all of the flaws and the frustrations associated with our political system, we can take satisfaction in the fact that over the course of a tough election fight, important issues can be aired, and the candidates' characters and beliefs are inevitably put on display for the voters to judge.

That was particularly true whenever the candidates were brought before Jewish audiences. While it was hard to find many differences between their positions on issues, such as support for Israel or opposition to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, what was important was that they were put on notice that their statements, and those of their supporters, were not taken for granted.

There are those who see this process as mere pandering. But we view it differently. The fact that both Clinton and Obama felt obliged to make their positions on Jewish issues clear is a matter of accountability, not pandering. While Jewish voters do not cast their votes only on Israel-related issues, it was incumbent on anyone who wanted the support of the majority of the community to show that he supports the U.S.-Israel alliance.

While we can expect the fall campaign to be every bit as intense as the primary, we believe that it's vital that the process by which all candidates, of both major parties, will continue to be accountable on important Jewish issues will not be pushed aside in the name of mindless partisanship.