Jews Keep Watch on Obama's Global Tour

Inherent risks in his world trip are intensified by the fact that he will visit the Middle East, a place where, for American politicians, every word counts and the smallest slip up will become a social blunder.

"On a trip like this, on a stage like this, there is no margin for error," Tad Devine, a Democratic analyst said. "Every bit of this trip needs to be choreographed. He needs to make sure every word is right, every setting is proper, and that he makes absolutely no mistakes."

While in Israel, Obama will meet with President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and the head of the opposition, the Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

"American Jews will be watching very carefully to see if he makes statements showing that he understands that the Arab war against Israel," said Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America and member of the Executive Committee of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

In a Washington Post/ ABC news poll, Obama has a long way to go before Americans believe he would make a good commander-in-chief. Results showed only 48 percent of registered voters trusted Obama's ability to lead the U.S, with an equal percentage saying he wouldn't. By comparison, 72 percent said John McCain would make a good commander-in-chief of the military.

The main purpose of the trip is to persuade the US public that he is ready to become the US commander in chief.

"The broad goals of the trip are to deepen, even further, important relationships and to exchange views with the leaders in several countries whose partnership with the United States is really critical to our national security," foreign policy adviser Susan Rice said on a conference call with reporters today.

"The trip will benefit his poor image of lack of knowledge or experience in foreign affairs by meeting with foreign leaders. But ultimately, all that matters are his policies in respect to foreign polices, his policies with Israeli allies and what positions he puts forth," Klein added.

Ira Foreman, Executive Director of the National Jewish Democratic Council said Obama's trip abroad will not only be closely watched by American Jews, but by the entire electorate as "there is a great unhappiness of the direction of the country and how America is viewed abroad."

A poll by Makor Rishon, an Israeli daily newspaper, showed that Israelis have some of the lowest levels of support for Obama of any country in the world. In France and Germany, both stops on Obama's tour, respectively 65 percent and 67 percent of the population said that they would vote for him if they could.

However, only 27 of Israeli's said they would like to see him become president, with John McCain being the preferred choice of 36 percent.

Jewish voters are likely to be critical in the campaign, especially in key battleground states such as Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The visit to Israel could help Obama make inroads among some Jewish voters, who have been wary of his candidacy. But the complexity of Middle East politics may also be a sensitive area for Obama. He attracted attention in June when he told a pro-Israeli lobby group that Jerusalem must remain Israel's undivided capital, only to change his position the next day to say the issue should be negotiated by all parties.

The 12,000-mile tour will take Obama to Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, Germany, France and Britain as he seeks to bolster his national security credentials, one of his greatest electoral liabilities. Obama will also meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Jordanian King Abdullah and several other foreign officials.

The main issues he will address with leaders in Europe and the Middle East include early withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq and an increase in troop levels in Afghanistan; climate change; nuclear proliferation; and the possibility of face-to-face negotiations with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Obama, who will not be accompanied by his wife Michelle, but will take US reporters, including three television news anchors, who are scheduled to hold prime-time interviews with him on consecutive nights.

Obama's visit to Europe, Israel and Jordan is a campaign trip, paid for by him. However, the visit to Iraq and Afghanistan is part of a congressional delegation which is paid for by taxpayers.