Forty years ago, four years ago, even four days ago, a Jew on a presidential ticket might have sounded like the start of a nervous joke, a political impossibility. Yet Joseph Lieberman as Al Gore’s running mate is being cast already less as Orthodox Jew, more as all-around mensch… a morally serious, moderately conservative Democrat whose religion just happens to be Judaism.
The media story about this Jewish “first” is that there may be no story at all; that yesterday’s taboo is today’s mere footnote. But do you really believe it?
Americans, 15 to 1, told the Gallup poll last year they could vote for a qualified Jew for president; but do we lie even to ourselves about bigotry? The Presidents of Waspy old Harvard, Yale and Princeton are today all Jews; but does the end of institutional anti-Semitism mean it’s over in hearts and minds, in the rust-belt and in voting booths?
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Alan Dershowitz, Professor at Harvard Law School
Jacob Weisberg, Chief Political Correspondent for Slate.com
Anthony Campbell, Professor of Theology at Boston University
Judith Shulevitz, Chief Culture Writer for Slate.com.