October 31, 2016

My first day of the final stretch in toss-up land. Driving from Charlotte to Sanford, North Carolina. 15 electors hang on the balance, 15 electors without which Trump cannot win. A senatorial race that could tip the Senate. A good place to start, if you don’t mind the politicians.

I’m driving from the city in which Bill Clinton, a prospective husband-in-chief, made an appearance yesterday to the city where Tim Kaine, a prospective vice commander-in-chief, will make an appearance today. Clinton’s show was on Pence Road. But the real Pence – Mike Pence, another prospective vice commander-in-chief – was nowhere to be found. He had arrived at North Carolina the day before, crashed a football game, moved on to a rally in Jacksonville, and was gone by the time Clinton got here. I will surely catch up with him later.

Halloween is a fitting background to this year’s somewhat scary political ball. Behind every pumpkin lurks a candidate, or a celebrity that roots for one, or a reporter that’s looking to get a quote from one, or an activist ready to shout at one, or a voter hiding from one.

It is noisy here in North Carolina, and the noise doesn’t seem to be leading to a satisfying crescendo next week. One of the most sobering, and even sad, nuggets of data I’ve encountered as I was traveling here appears in PEW’s new survey, headlined ” target=”_blank”>her numbers in North Carolina are solid according to ” target=”_blank”>are working, mostly, in support of Clinton’s effort to defeat Trump, including in this state. There are not  that many Jews here – about one and a half percent of the population. But they live in influential areas and vote in great numbers and are active in the political arena. And – this must be said – many of them show a high level of intolerance and a low level of respect for Trump voters. In this they are not unique: PEW reports that “most Clinton supporters not only take a dim view of Trump, but say they have a hard time respecting the people who support the Republican nominee.” A clear majority of close to sixty percent of Clinton voters say that they “have a hard time respecting someone who supports Donald Trump for president.” That is another reality that should be saddening to Americans – and to all those who like America as I do. 

Respecting a political opponent in a time of a highly charged election is not an easy thing to do. Clearly, Trump makes it even more difficult. The respect that Obama voters could have for Romney voters (not that all of them did) Clinton voters have a harder time having for Trump voters. Talking to Jewish voters makes this vividly evident. Many of them feel that Trump voters are not just their political rival – they are a dangerous antagonist. Many of them are startled by manifestations of anti-Semitic sentiments among Trump’s supporters. Yes, they say, these manifestations are the work of the few, but they seem to be stomached by the many.

And yet, finding a path to respecting the voters of Trump is an essential task for Clinton voters, including Jewish activists. It is essential, because Trump is not – as many hoped he would be – a negligent curiosity. He is not a fringe candidate. If polls are to be believed, he will probably lose the election, but will probably get almost half the vote. More than a hundred million Americans support him. More than a third of the population want him as their next President. Having so little respect for all of these people is not a good thing for Clinton’s supporters. It’s not a good thing for America. By the way: It’s also not a good thing for the Jews.