# Could a Jew get elected POTUS? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 16, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552 "2006-03-16T01:46:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/41 "2006-03-16T19:15:53Z")
To be fair, I think “Feingold” is a relatively normal-sounding name in America _now._ And that’s interesting. Franklin Roosevelt got his name Germanized to “Rosenfeld” by enemies who thought making him sound Yiddish hurt him. But that sort of thing was a provincialism even then. Politicians _got in trouble_ for assuming WASP majorities even 120 years ago. Much of the urban East Coast, & lot of Middle America, is not WASP. My hometown, for example, is heavily German & Scots-Irish, there are Irish Catholics almost everywhere, & there are all those Scandinavians in Minnesota. “Feingold” cracks me up because I recognize it as an almost absurdly self-flattering ornamental name. Like “Goldberg” or something. It is stereotypically Jewish, & it’s part of a goofy legacy of over-the-top family names. But the funny thing is, in an America full of people whose ancestors spoke German &/or Yiddish, where guys with similarly Germanic names like Eddie Rickenbacker, Dwight Eisenhower, & Bruce Springsteen are great Americans, many people, like our friend Ludovic, won’t even think it sounds “ethnic” nor get that it’s Jewish. As for anti-Semitism, I wonder how far that goes. I confess that I worried about Lieberman becoming President after Gore were elected & assassinated (20-year curse, you know [& what’s up with that? Bush yet lives?])–for two reasons: One, I didn’t like Lieberman himself that much (Big Pharma ties, etc.) (I guess he was still better than Cheney, which is faint praise). Two, I thought a blatantly Jewish President might cause troubles for the US in countries with strong anti-Israel sentiment. In hindsight, I think a blatantly Jewish President might be just the person to draw a line between American interests & Israeli interests. And the serious Jew-haters will draw Stars of David on their caricatures of us anyway. Because, in politics & pop culture, the USA is already pretty Jewish compared to other countries. At least Fine-gold’s a Reform Jew. I found it hard to respect a guy who ropes his Gentile friends into flipping light switches for him on the Sabbath (yeah, like that’s less work). ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/42 "2006-03-16T21:31:34Z")
Both of Wisconsin’s U.S. senators, Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, are Jewish. The secret to getting elected in Wisconsin: German names! Governors Kohler, Schmedeman, Heil, Rennebohm, Schreiber, Dreyfus . . . ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/43 "2006-03-16T21:33:19Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Both of Wisconsin’s U.S. senators, Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, are Jewish. The secret to getting elected in Wisconsin: German names! Governors Kohler, Schmedeman, Heil, Rennebohm, Schreiber, Dreyfus . . . After Paul Wellstone’s death, Garrison Keillor did a piece on him: “The Norwegians voted for him because he wasn’t Swedish . . .” ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/44 "2006-03-16T22:06:33Z")
foolsguinea: > [@](#): > > I found it hard to respect a guy who ropes his Gentile friends into flipping light switches for him on the Sabbath (yeah, like that’s less work). That’s a misunderstanding of the “Sabbath Goy” concept. There are only specific circumstances under which an Orthodox Jew will ask a Gentile into doing something he or she is not allowed to do himself. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/45 "2006-03-16T22:17:55Z")
Wonder how a Jewish candidate would play with people like Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/46 "2006-03-16T22:34:23Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Wonder how a Jewish candidate would play with people like Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan. > > Regards, > Shodan If the candidate were a Dem, I expect Jackson would bite his lip and work for the Jew’s campaign. Farrakhan would just sulk. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/47 "2006-03-16T22:38:29Z")
Jessie Jackson supported the Gore-Lieberman ticket and who gives a shit what Farrakhan thinks? It’s not like he’s a political leader of any sort. Most of his views are ultra-conservative as far I can see (anti-abortion, anti-gay, pro-gun, anti-drug, anti tax, anti-welfare, racist) but I don’t think he’s aligned with the GOP or anything and they hate him anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/48 "2006-03-16T23:33:59Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > JMost of his views are ultra-conservative as far I can see (anti-abortion, anti-gay, pro-gun, anti-drug, anti tax, anti-welfare, racist). You’re describing about half of the electorate. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/49 "2006-03-17T00:10:58Z")
I think it could only happen if the Jew in question had a strong record, and was in the public eye before running for President. This wouldn’t have to be in politics, a career in the military leading to high rank, being the world’s greatest neurosurgeon, or a nice history of fighting his way onto the Fortune 500 would do. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/50 "2006-03-17T01:39:33Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I think it could only happen if the Jew in question had a strong record, and was in the public eye before running for President. President Franken! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/51 "2006-03-17T01:49:38Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > President Franken! 🙂 Franken D. Roosevelt? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/52 "2006-03-17T01:54:57Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > President Franken! 🙂 Al Franken for President. I think I would vote no. Jim ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/53 "2006-03-17T01:57:11Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > Al Franken for President. I think I would vote no. > > Jim I just hope you get the chance! ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/54 "2006-03-17T01:57:37Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > Al Franken for President. I think I would vote no. > > Jim Yeah. A far better choice would be James Caan. People would think they were electing an Italian Catholic. By the time they learned the truth, he’d already be sworn in. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/55 "2006-03-17T02:59:43Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Yeah. A far better choice would be James Caan. People would think they were electing an Italian Catholic. By the time they learned the truth, he’d already be sworn in. Well, I would know. Boy a NYC raised Hollywood actor that people think is Italian but is really Jewish and he used to hang out at the playboy Mansion. I might vote for him just for the shear absurdity of it all. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/56 "2006-03-17T03:35:31Z")
Yes, “Caan” is a well-known Italian surname. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/57 "2006-03-17T03:43:05Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Yes, “Caan” is a well-known Italian surname. But so many people think of him as Sonny Corleone, you know Caan is probably just his stage name. Helps him get parts with all those Jewish Directors like Coppola. 😉 Jim {If he ever took a job from Shatner, would Bill Scream “CAA[SIZE=5]AAAAAAN!!!”[/SIZE]?} ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/58 "2006-03-17T05:05:21Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > I might vote for him just for the shear absurdity of it all. No, that would be Ross Perot . . . ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/59 "2006-03-17T08:35:26Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > Jim {If he ever took a job from Shatner, would Bill Scream “CAA[SIZE=5]AAAAAAN!!!”[/SIZE]?} Hey, Shatner’s Jewish! Wouldn’t that be cool! Damn. Forgot about the whole “Canadian” thing. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552/60 "2006-03-20T02:28:55Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Hey, Shatner’s Jewish! Wouldn’t that be cool! :eek: _Star Trek_ is a Jewish plot! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-jew-get-elected-potus/348552.md?page=2)