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Rabbi Believes 'Obama Can Uplift The Country'


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Rabbi Believes 'Obama Can Uplift The Country'

By JOSH KOVNER October 29, 2008

 

WEST HARTFORD — - Rabbi Jim Rosen has been talking and thinking about politics since he was a kid growing up in Minnesota.

 

His father, a largely self-educated Russian immigrant who worked in a textile mill, and his mother, a saleswoman in a department store, used to lead lively discussions at the dinner table about local and national politics.

 

As a seventh-grader, Rosen, now the rabbi at Beth El Temple on Albany Avenue, worked on Hubert Humphrey's 1970 Senate campaign, which followed his loss to Richard Nixon in the presidential race of 1968.

 

Rosen, a trained social worker with a degree from Columbia University who has worked nationally on Jewish law, ethics, and standards, said that he's never seen another politician with Humphrey's ability to inspire, to influence, to be an optimist and a realist at the same time.

 

"I think Barack Obama can uplift the country," said Rosen, 52. "Obviously, righting the economy is the first order of business. But down the road, I see he him bringing forth American ideas and values."

 

"In my mind," he said, "the American president must not only be an effective commander in chief and policymaker, but he or she needs to be a visionary of American potential both here and abroad. I think Obama can be that moral voice."

 

Rosen, who leads a congregation of 1,000 families from Greater Hartford, said he was initially unsure of Obama's stance on Israel and the Middle East.

 

"Because he'd expressed a willingness to sit down with the leaders of a variety of nations, there was some concern about whether he recognized the centrality of Israel as a strategic partner of the U.S.," Rosen said.

 

Obama dispelled those concerns during a late-summer conference call with 900 rabbis, including Rosen.

 

"He's fundamentally supportive of the independence, security and well-being of Israel. He's taking a nuanced approach to the hot spots of the world while being very clear about condemning terrorism," said Rosen. "I don't believe he would shy away from using force to protect our mutual interests."

 

Rosen, a Democrat, said that he has been impressed by the focus on personal responsibility from both Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain. He said he respects McCain's "true heroism" and hopes that McCain is offered "a high-level position" in an Obama administration. He also said he was moved by Sarah Palin's pledge to be the voice of disabled children. Rosen's oldest son has special needs.

 

"I see a narrowing of differences in both parties," Rosen said.

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[Rosen] hopes that McCain is offered "a high-level position" in an Obama administration.

 

Not so sure about that, Rabbi.

 

"I see a narrowing of differences in both parties," Rosen said.

 

I couldn't agree less.

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