In Kinky We Trust

Kinky Friedman, probably the only famous Jewish cowboy, had a great line about why he is supporting Rick Perry for President over Obama:

It comes down to this: do you prefer a president who doesn't believe in evolution, or do you prefer a president that doesn't believe in Israel?

That counts for something.

It sure does Kinky, it sure does. Personally, I'd prefer a President who believed in both but as a President can't do anything about evolution but can do plenty about the existence of the State of Israel, my choice is clear.

And there's the rub.  When I mentioned that I liked Rick Perry here and on Facebook, some of my liberal friends started pummeling me with Perry's statements on evolution, prayer in school and the separation of Church and State.  My reaction was pretty much "so what?".  What power does the President actually have to impose religion on anyone in this country?  He can't force school to teach creationism or intelligent design, those decisions are made at the local and state level.  Pretty much the only thing he can do is make the Christmas celebrations bigger at the White House, but that has no effect on me (and anyway, that is not a non-denominational holiday shrub on the White House lawn during the holiday season, it's a Christmas tree). 

On the matter of Israel, however, a President has quite a lot of power.  Israel receives billions of dollars in aid from the United States every year, and in times of war, is dependent on the United States to re-supply it with both spare parts and ammunition.  Without these, Israel could be overrun or at least severely hampered in it's effectiveness on the field of battle.  Just consider for a second if there is a regional war in the Middle East (a distinct future possibility now that the Sadat/Mubarak regime has been overthrown) and Israel is in dire need of resupply.  Do you see Obama initiating a massive airlift to resupply Israel or calling for both sides to cease hostilities and doing nothing to help Israel in it's time of need?  There might be a chance he might do the right thing in his first term (when he needs Jewish votes and Jewish money) but my guess is all bets will be off in his second.  Perry, on the other hand, would not hesitate to come to Israel's support, there is no doubt in my mind of that.