Israel Matzav

'Israel factor' rates both Romney and Gingrich ahead of Obama

Our panelists were asked this question: “In the following head-to-head races – which candidate is the one better from Israeli perspective? Please give each of the two 1 (bad) to (5)”. The result:

Barack Obama Mitt Romney
3.56 4

Barack Obama Newt Gingrich
3.56 4.11

What does this tell us about the candidates and the panel?

As regular readers of the Factor should know by now, our panel is not necessarily representative of the Israeli public’s point of view. The Factor’s panel has a centrist streak and doesn’t always follow the rule of “more hawkish is better for Israel” that many Israelis with no deep knowledge of American politics might adopt. We have panelists from the right, the left and of centrist views, and these panelists have different visions of what makes a candidate good for Israel.

However, the average we present here does tell us some interesting things:

While some of our panelists have positive view of Obama’s attitudes toward Israel, others have a very negative view of his Israel-related policies. In other words: When it comes to the Factor’s panel, Obama is a contentious candidate. Mitt Romney is not. Some of the panelists like him more, others like him less, but all in all, the panel finds him agreeable and, well, good for Israel. With small panels like the Factor’s, a candidate that isn’t controversial will almost always be the one with higher marks. That is why Romney gets better marks than Obama, and he also gets better marks than Gingrich: Gingrich is very well-liked by some, but is not at all liked by others. Both Gingrich and Obama get marks ranging from 1 to 5. Romney is pretty much a solid 4, with little deviation.

In other words: Panelists more eager to see a President that is heavily invested in the peace process don’t think Romney would be disastrous in that regard, and those wanting a President with other priorities aren’t afraid of a President Romney. Those wanting a tough American position towards Iran, believe Romney would be tough enough, and those wanting to avoid war with Iran see Romney as reasonably moderate and cautious.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Israel, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:20 PM