Friday Open Thread [3.2.12]

Below you will see an odd entry in our general election polling round up. Now, if you listen to any Republican or the Conservative Media, you would think Israelis thirst for war with Iran, and that they hate President Obama with the intensity of a thousand white hot suns.

Wrong again. As you will see below, a third of the Israeli electorate likes the President just fine and would vote for him, and generally a quarter of them like the Republican. The rest are undecided or don’t know or don’t care. The poll result below shows the results for all Israelis polled, which includes Jewish Israelis and Arab Israelis. Yes, there are non-Jewish Israelis. Ironically, among only Jewish Israelis, the President’s margin increases! For example, among Jews, Obama leads Romney 32% to 29%. Among all Israelis (including Israeli Gentiles and Arabs), Obama and Romney are tied at 29.

And their thirst for war?

19% of Jewish Israelis support a strike against Iran even without the backing of the United States.
42% say they support only if there is US support for the move.
32% say they don’t support it under any circumstances.

So while the Government of Israel is a neocon experiment in lunancy and fascism, the people of Israel are just as pluralistic and divided as we Americans are, and it is high time broad brushes were laid down.

REPUBLICAN PRIMARY — PRESIDENT. The big prize on Super Tuesday will be Ohio.

OHIO (Quinnipiac): Santorum 35, Romney 31, Gingrich 17 and Paul 12.

Said pollster Peter Brown: “At this point, the Buckeye State is too close to call and is clearly a two-man race between Sen. Rick Santorum and Gov. Mitt Romney. A third of the electorate say they still might change their mind. With five days until Super Tuesday, they certainly will be exposed to enough negative television ads to provide fodder for those who might want to switch — or switch off.”

WASHINGTON (PPP): Romney 37, Santorum 32, Paul 16, Gingrich 13. The Washington caucuses are on tomorrow night.
NATIONAL (Gallup Tracking): Romney 35, Santorum 24, Gingrich 15, Paul 11
NATIONAL (Rasmussen): Romney 40, Santorum 24, Gingrich 16, Paul 12
NATIONAL (YouGov): Romney 29, Santorum 28, Gingrich 19, Paul 12
VIRGINIA (Roanoke College): Romney 56, Paul 21 (Santorum and Gingrich: Failed to Qualify)
WISCONSIN (PPP): Santorum 43, Romney 27, Gingrich 10, Paul 8

GENERAL ELECTION — PRESIDENT

ISRAEL. Yes, ISRAEL (Saban Center): Obama d. Santorum (33-18), Obama d. Gingrich (32-25); Obama d. Paul (32-21); Obama and Romney tie at 29.
NATIONAL (Rasmussen Tracking): Obama d. Romney (46-43); Obama d. Santorum (46-42)
NATIONAL (YouGov): Obama d. Paul (48-39); Obama d. Romney (49-40); Obama d. Santorum (50-41); Obama d. Gingrich (52-38)
NEW JERSEY (SurveyUSA): Obama d. Romney (52-38); Obama d. Santorum (57-33); Obama d. Paul (56-31); Obama d. Gingrich (61-27)
WISCONSIN (PPP): Obama d. Santorum (49-43); Obama d. Romney (53-39); Obama d. Paul (53-37); Obama d. Gingrich (55-37)

GENERAL ELECTION — SENATOR

WISCONSIN (PPP): U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) d. Fmr. Gov. Tommy Thompson (R), 46-45; Baldwin d. Mark Neumann (R), 47-41; Baldwin d. Jeff Fitzgerald (R), 47-39
MASSACHUSETTS (Rasmussen): Sen. Scott Brown (R) d. Elizabeth Warren (D), 49-44