Obama struggles to attract wavering Jewish voters

One of those is Emily Cahn, a sophomore at George Washington University in Washington, who plans to sit down with her grandparents in Boca Raton, Fla. "I originally voted for Hillary [Rodham Clinton], but I'm now an ardent supporter [of Obama]," she says. "He's very competent and has the mind-set to take our country in the right direction."

The challenge Mr. Obama faces in Jewish enclaves such as south Florida stems partly from the fact that voters just don't know him, which has made it easier for the rumors to stick, observers say.

"There isn't the familiarity and long record in public life," so there is anxiety, Dr. Wald says. Many Jews worry he might harbor anti-Semitic sentiments they've heard from some other African-American leaders, and he "has a middle name that sounds Muslim, though he is a Christian."

Falsehoods, such as Obama being a secret Muslim or having ties to Hamas, have spread so widely that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg – who is Jewish and an independent – publicly denounced the smears during a June visit to Florida.

Last month, a phone poll sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) stirred anger among Jews in battleground states. The poll included questions asking voters' response to several negative statements about Obama. A writer for the New Republic who lives in Michigan and got the call described it as "ugly."

Matthew Brooks, the RJC executive director, insists the characterization of the poll as negative is not accurate: "Our survey was like any other that does test messages. We tested messages to understand why Obama has problems among Jewish voters," he says.

The Democrat's problems, Mr. Brooks adds, relate to "his positions on Iran,... his flip-flopping on the issue of Jerusalem ... his circle of advisers."

Brooks looks for the Jewish "undecided" to move more than usual into the Republican camp. Such support has inched up in each presidential election, from 11 percent in 1992 to 19 percent in 2000 and 24 percent in 2004.

McCain is doing better than previous Republican nominees because he's been seen as a moderate, says Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, in Washington. But Mr. Forman believes the vice presidential selection is already changing that. "The sheen of being moderate is going to be dissipated by the Sarah Palin pick," he predicts.

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