Sharon to Campaign for Jeb?

In a recent article in TNR, Ryan Lizza commented on the remarkable efforts underway to get Jeb Bush re-elected in Florida:

It is difficult to overestimate the importance the Bush administration places on Florida. It is the largest swing state in the country, the ground on which Bush won his contested victory in 2000, and a cornerstone of the White House's reelection strategy in 2004. But more than any of these things, it is the state in which the president's younger brother Jeb is running for reelection as governor this November. No matter what else happens at the ballot box this fall, if Jeb loses to the eventual Democratic nominee--either Janet Reno or Bill McBride--it will be seen as a humiliating defeat for the president and a vote of no confidence for his administration. As a result, it seems that no federal grant, no business loan, no tinkering with federal policy that might give Jeb a political leg up is too small to merit White House attention.

Now...on cue...from a story in Wednesday's Miami Herald:

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is planning to headline a rally in Miami next month to boost U.S. public support for his embattled country.

But, with his visit coming just two months before Election Day in Florida and possibly within a day of the Democratic primary for governor, Sharon is also stepping into the middle of one of the United States' most important political campaigns.

Although they insist politics is not Sharon's purpose, Israeli officials expect Gov. Jeb Bush to stand with the prime minister at the rally -- an image that political strategists in both parties say can only help the governor in his reelection campaign.

How convenient.

Beyond the obvious point that Bush is going out of his way to get brother Jeb elected, the more important subtext to Sharon's proposed Florida visit is the much discussed attempt to lure Jewish voters away from the Democratic Party. With the American Right showing a rock-solid allegiance to Likud's plans for continued subjugation of the Palestinian population, hopefully resulting in the eventual colonization of "Eretz Israel," it will be interesting to see whether this stance is a strong enough reason for Jews to jump aboard the GOP express.

Conservatives are salivating over the prospect of a potential "double victory," and for good reason: they stand to win a substantial voting block, and not from the ample reserves of non-aligned, middle-of-the-roaders. Crucially, they would be gaining votes which, historically, were sure bets for the DNC.