Did Lieberman Drop Out Due To Jewish Anti-Semitism?

Did Joe Liberman have to end his run for the Presidency due to the Jews turning their collective back on him? That is the theory being put forth by Jewsweek.

While I find the Jewish anti-Semitism argument interesting, I really don't think that it holds too much water. I don't deny that Lieberman's Orthodox beliefs may have turned off some people. I don't deny that there is a large segment of the US population that would have trouble with electing a President who was Jewish.

But I believe that the real reason behind Lieberman's failed candidacy lies in his relative moderateness. This campaign is becoming more and more defined by extremeism. Why was Dean successful? Is there anyone who really believes that it was because of his consensus building? What about Clark? Sharpton? Kucinich? Even John Kerry? Doesn't he have one of the most liberal voting records in the Senate?

This is developing into an election of extremeism. Liberman, being a relatively classy act, was completely ill-equipped to thrive in such an environment. More than any other factor, it was his personality, his congeniality, that kept him from succeeding in this election.

The media likes the outlandish. The media likes the anger. Lieberman's even-keeledness really served to keep him out of the national spotlight, He was too much Michael Jordan; not enough Dennis Rodman. In the circus environment of today's politics, that was the effective kiss of death.

Surely Lieberman's religion played a part in the events that led to his failure, but I don't think that it was the deciding factor. I also don't believe that the reaction of the Jewish community in the United States was a big factor. It was the lack of momentum, which was caused by his lack of lunacy on the campaign trail.

It's time to face facts, Liberman lost because he was, well, normal. He was soft-spoken, reasonable, moral, and religous. In short, he was much like a large swath of America.

Unfortunately the electorate just doesn't seem to be ready for a normal candidate, yet.