I just want to clarify something because I didn’t [by] any means want to infer or imply anything about Jews and finances and things. ~Tommy Thompson 

Good grief.  Abe Foxman’s talking points are already written for him here.  This is one worthy of Biden.  I mean, what was going through his mind?  There’s something to be said for not trying to lamely pander to every group you speak to in the course of a campaign.  Just consider Romney’s disastrous “patria o muerte” moment down in south Florida as an another example of trying to play to the crowd way too much.  Here’s the thing about ethnic audiences: they know what their traditions are, and they want you, the candidate, to respect them.  They do not want to hear about how you “understand” or “share” their traditions, because, unless you come from that group, you don’t.  Don’t even try to pretend that you do.  It’s embarrassing, and it’s liable to get you a lot of bad press coverage to boot.