The following article was written by Jay D. Homnick and appeared in The American Spectator:
A couple of weeks ago, I was on the phone with my friend, Rabbi Nathan Segal of Staten Island, the man Rush Limbaugh lovingly refers to as “my Rabbi.” Nate serves as the informal adviser for a number of prominent Republican politicians and is respected for his judgment on both sides of the aisle. “So who do you think McCain should choose for a running-mate?” my friend asked.
“It’s a no-brainer,” I said. “Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska.”
“Who told you I’ve been saying that?” Nate shouted. Apparently he had been pushing hard for Palin behind the scenes, and he was amazed that I had arrived at the same conclusion.
“Look,” I argued, although I knew I was preaching to the converted. “She takes away the woman issue, the historic glass-ceiling breakthrough element of the Hillary-to-Obama handoff candidacy.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“Furthermore,” I insisted, although my devil had no advocate. “She has a reputation for standing up to the corrupt old guard players from both parties. She filed ethics charges against a long-standing Republican powerhouse on that oil commission.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“Additionally,” I pressed, although the resistance movement was hiding in the forest. “She ran for Governor without a lot of big-money backing, and she really is not beholden to any machine.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“On top of that,” I bulled forward, although the matador had fled the arena in a swirl of red. “She has done very well in her early budget battles in Alaska, and people really respect her tenacity.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“Let’s not forget,” I hammered, although the walls had all caved in already. “She has been married for twenty years and has five children, a real family person who walks the walk.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“It is also important to remember,” I railed, although the train had long since left the station. “She is just forty-four years old, very energetic and vigorous, which offsets the fact that McCain has more rings around the trunk.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“Most powerful of all,” I surged, although the terrorists had surrendered their arms and legged it out of there. “She has a son who enlisted in the Army and is about to be deployed in Iraq.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
Sure enough, the Segal-Homnick prediction has been borne out. Sarah Palin was chosen and has delivered a delightfully balanced speech with a fresh exuberance. She praised Geraldine Ferraro for doing it first, she lauded Hillary Clinton for taking a shot, and then she promised to finish what they started. I think Rabbi Segal would use a moment like this to ask for an “Amen.”
(Source: The American Spectator)
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18 Responses
Nuchom Segal took Rush Limbaugh on a VIP tour of Israel one summer about 15 years ago.
Let’s hope it works for him..
That’s what I’ve been saying…
BTW the Rabbi Nathan Segal above is none other than Nachum Segal.
Editors Note: Rabbi Nathan Segal is the Director of Community Development at Torah Umesorah, and is the Rabbi at New Springville Jewish Center in Staten Island, NY. His BROTHER is Nachum Segal, the well-known Jewish Radio DJ.
When did Rabbi Homnick make this prediction? JewishWorldReview.com just reprinted an article by Nat Hentoff from a few months ago.
Thanks editor. I caught that a few minutes after submission. 🙂
He’s hardly the first. I’ve been pushing Palin for months too, and so have a lot of people. I just never thought that McCain would be smart enough to actually pick her. But for months I’ve been telling anyone who would listen that he should.
CNN headline – minutes ago
TEE HEE
Palin’s teen daughter is pregnant
* Story Highlights
* Bristol Palin, 17, is pregnant and will keep baby, VP candidate says
* McCain knew of pregnancy before choosing Palin as running mate
* Information revealed in effort to correct rumors that Palin’s baby is daughter’s
Left Brooklyn,
Don’t be so glib. Mark my words and quote them again on the eve of Nov. 8.
McCain will win and it won’t even be close.
Maybe he will but not with Palin as his running mate.
I think the Rabbi’s should declare a tannis for the dearth of suitable presidentialcandidates in this country. It is starting to look like Israel.
I get the feeling shes going to step aside. It all seems overwhelming for her. So far 3 scandals came up and Im afraid there is more to come (true or untrue) – I dont think she will be able to hold her own on the national stage with all that she has going on. Mccain will look silly but I kind of agree with Leftbrooklyn. Mccain will win – by more then bush beat Kerry.
Obama has peaked and its basically even
Yes, Obama is correct candidate’s (and elected official’s) children should be out of bounds.
But unfortunately, it is hysterical. The campaign was trying to portray this woman as espousing family values. What a zaddekes, she decided to carry to term a baby that she knew may have problems and she knows how to shoot a moose. But she is not bright enough to teach her 17 year old the facts of life. Big deal that the girl will marry the baby’s presumptive father. This is family values?? Maybe in Alaska, but in the lower 48 we calls this hypocrisy.
As to who I am voting for?? Don’t have a clue. I am angry that I am given such poor choices (and when you look at the independents and third parties) I am ready to book a flight to another planet.
Left Brooklyn,
Have a safe trip.
Antarctica is your type of place.
Been there in the Navy. Nice place, though friends who were there last year said it was still nice but smaller.
LeftBrooklyn,
If you are a religious Jew and I would assume you are as you’re posting on this website. Wouldn’t it be fair to call you a hypocrite for holding this lady responsible and blaming her for the actions of her daughter? Unless of course you’re saying that all of the Jewish leaders in history, and I bet you can think of a few cases where a child of a great tzadik did some pretty horrible things, should be blamed for their kids actions. If you’ve ever had kids or even known kids in you adult life you would know that teaching a kid right from wrong does not guarantee the kid will do what is right and there’s nothing you can do about it. Also for a goy to be considered a good person they don’t have to follow all of our halachos. Lastly you should know that no human can be perfect and you shouldn’t expect them to be.
Tina18, what 3 scandals? A bunch of nothing.
LeftBrooklyn, yes, actually this is the old-fashioned American family values: lechatchila a girl doesn’t get pregnant in the first place, but bedieved she marries the father and the child is born legitimate, and nothing more is said about it. You may not like it, but that is in fact what the shteiger has always been in America. So long as they get married a day before the baby is born, it’s considered kosher.
This article is ridiculous.
1. Many people were advocating Palin, so it is silly for anyone to kvel over her selection as it would be for anyone to do so regardless of McCain’s pick.
2. She fought corruption? It was my understanding she wanted a police officer fired who was divorcing her sister. When the Chief of Police would not do that, she replaced the Chief of Police.
3. A family woman who walks the walk? Evidently we don’t all walk the same walk. Her 17 year old daughter became pregnant and has decided to marry the man after the fact.
We all need a reality check and to keep strong footing before beaming over any of these candidates.
veryinteresting –
1. Interestingly, Rush Limbaugh advocated Palin for VP at least as early as February.
2. Canard. No evidence of that.
3. A mother cannot necessarily be held responsible for a grown child’s sins. (There have been many great people throughout the course of history, including our own, who have suffered with wayward child/children.
That being said, neither ticket is good. We must choose the lesser of the two evils, which CLEARLY is McCain/Palin.
Also, and you may quote this on the eve of Nov. 4, McCain will not only win, but it won’t even be close (as the pundits would have you believe either way.)
Joseph-
1. Nothing Rush can say is reality based but that has nothing to do with the article insinuating Rabbi Segal was the first to come up with the idea the Governor of Alaska would be a good pick.
2. Canard? Evidence is being looked into now, meaning there was enough evidence to seek if there is fire below this smoke. The jury is out.
3. If this was the case in the Obama or Biden household, maybe you would not bring up the matter or even come to their defense, but it would be an issue.
As a republican you may have chosen to bend WAY over backwards for this ticket. Others have not.
I can only assume that this ticket would not even be on your top ten choices, if you could have your drothers.