g4.
Advice
and Consent
A number of Jews
are key officials and advisers
in the presidential campaign.
Most are in the Clinton camp.
KIMBERLY LIFTON
AND JAMES D. BESSER
Jews can be found at all levels of involvement in the
presidential campaign. Here's a rundown on Jewish aides
and advisers working for Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton,
President George Bush and Ross Perot.
CLINTON'S CORNER
oing to work for Bill Clinton's presidential
campaign was an easy decision for Sara
Ehrman, who drove the former Hillary Rod-
ham to her wedding date with the future
Arkansas governor and Democratic presi-
dential candidate.
"This is a critical and defining election for the Amer-
ican Jewish community," said Ms. Ehrman, deputy
political director and national coordinator for the Jew-
ish vote for Clinton/Gore '92. "This (Bush) adminis-
tration is a disaster for American Jews."
Ms. Ehrman, a former lobbyist for AIPAC (the
American Israel Political Action Committee), has a
long history of involvement with politics and Jewish
causes. She is affiliated with the Labor Zionist move-
ment in the United States and serves on the board of
Americans for Peace Now.
Nor is she unique to the Clinton-Gore campaign.
Several top campaign staffers are Jews, and Clin-
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Mickey Kantor is a veteran insider in Democratic Presidential
campaigns.
ton aides estimate the total number of Jewish cam-
paign officials may be well over 100. There are also
several Jews upon whom Mr. Clinton relies for ad-
vice, but who have no official campaign role.
"There are so many people who are Jewish at the
top of this campaign," says Marc Ginsberg, a D.C. at
torney who is advising the media on foreign policy af-
fairs. "We had an overflowing crowd in Little Rock at
our Rosh Hashanah lunch."
The list of these top aides includes campaign man- 1
ager Mickey Kantor, chief of staff Eli Segal, pollster
Stanley Greenberg and finance director Raham
manuel, 32, who is Israeli.
Some notable Jewish political names have also been
traveling the nation to campaign for Mr. Clinton. They
include Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman and New
York Rep. Stephen Solarz. Each reportedly is in line
for a job in a Clinton administration.
Mr. Clinton also relies heavily upon the advice of
Robert Reich, a Harvard University government pro-
fessor; Robert Shapiro, vice president of the Progres-
sive Policy Institute; Samuel Berger, former deputy
director of the State Department policy planning staff,
and Michael Mandelbaum, a professor and director
of American foreign policy studies at the Johns Hop-
kins University School of Advanced International 7-'1
Studies in Washington.
Campaign manager Michael "Mickey" Kantor, a
Los Angeles lawyer, has known the Clintons since '-
1978, when he served with Mrs. Clinton on the board
of directors of the Federal Legal Services Corp.
Early in the race, he was a distant adviser. But in
the days before the New Hampshire primary, after
talk spread of alleged Clinton extramarital affairs and
draft dodging, Mr. Kantor came to the rescue. He flew
to New England, reorganized the campaign, and got
the candidate out before the public and the press as
often as possible. He then took on the role of CEO.
Mr. Kantor, 52, is a veteran insider in Democratic ,
presidential campaigns. He headed Jerry Brown's
1976 campaign, worked as state chair for President
Jimmy Carter's reelection bid and served as Califor-
nia chair for Walter Mondale's 1984 defeat.
His pet project is one he helped create — the Los An-
geles Conservation Corps, an organization for ur-
ban youths. He also serves on the national advisory
council for AIPAC and on the executive committee for
the American Jewish Committee.
Chief of staff Eli Segal comes to the campaign with
a myriad of political experience. The president of Bits c
and Pieces, Inc., a direct marketing toy company, and
publisher of Games magazine, he was the national fi-
nance chair for Sen. Gary Hart's quick-lived presi-
dential bid and served as Sen. George McGovern's
assistant presidential campaign manager. In 1968,
he was a campaign organizer for Eugene McCarthy.
He also serves on the advisory board for Peace Now.
In the world of Democratic research and commer-
cial polling, Stanley Greenberg, the Clinton-Gore poll-
ster, is a household name. His work is extensive, and