Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman charged in an exclusive interview with Newsmax TV that “the Middle East is a mess and new leadership is needed.”
“This president started his term by talking about having daylight between the United States and Israel and Israel has suffered as a result of that,” Coleman told Newsmax, referring to President Barack Obama. “It’s finding itself in a perilous situation.
Watch the exclusive interview here.
“New leadership is needed — leadership that stands unequivocally with Israel. New leadership that says if Israel is attacked, that’s an attack on the United States. Mitt Romney will provide that leadership and, in doing so, will provide a greater opportunity for a diplomatic and peaceful resolution of the issues facing Israel.
“By having strength, you can ensure peace,” Coleman said. “Without strength, you increase the probability of unpeaceful resolutions. So Israel needs a friend who will stand with it without question. That hasn’t been the case over the last four years. It will be the next if Mitt Romney’s president of the United States.”
The former Republican mayor of St. Paul, Coleman is the chairman of the American Action Network and its super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund. He is also a Romney foreign policy adviser.
Coleman represented the former Massachusetts governor in a debate on Thursday against former Florida Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler in Palm Beach, Fla. The debate was sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County.
“It’s clear that Barack Obama’s not going to get the 78 percent of the Jewish vote that he got in the last election,” Coleman told Newsmax. “There’s no question about that.
“The reality is that, historically, Jewish voters have voted Democratic. We tend to vote Democratic. That’s what our grandfathers and parents did, but this is not your grandfather’s or your parents’ Democratic Party.
“In their platform, they take our reference to Jerusalem. The president of the United States’ communications director could not state what the capital of Israel is. The capital of Israel is Jerusalem. Mitt Romney understands that. This president can’t even say that. So it’s not your parents’ Democratic Party — and the president’s not going to get 78 percent.
“I can’t tell you Mitt Romney’s going to get a majority of the Jewish vote, but he is certainly moving in the right direction,” Coleman said.
Looking to the state races for the House and Senate, Coleman said that the American Action Network and Congressional Leadership Fund is spending heavily in these contests to ensure GOP control of both congressional chambers.
“We’re definitely going to keep the House,” he said. “There’s absolutely no question about that. In regard to the Senate, it’s going to be close. You have a close race here in Florida. You’ve got a close race in Virginia, a close race in Ohio. This is one of those presidential contests that will have an impact.
“Mitt Romney will carry Florida and carry Virginia – carry Ohio. We have a good chance to bring those seats in. But I can’t tell you at this point in time. We have a lot of close races.”
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