Mofaz accuses PM, FM of leading the country irresponsibly; Kadima campaign echoes Johnson commercial using mushroom cloud.
By LAHAV HARKOVMofaz Kadima press conference 370(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Kadima launched its election campaign Thursday night, which revolves around a mushroom cloud and the slogan “Bibi will endanger us.”Strategist Moti Morel admitted that the campaign’s focus is similar to that of former US president Lyndon B. Johnson’s successful 1964 campaign, including the “Daisy” commercial, which begins with a little girl counting to 10, and ends with a countdown to a mushroom cloud explosion.Morel says he came across “Daisy,” after he had formulated his own concept for the campaign. He screened the infamous commercial – which was pulled from American television after being aired only once – for Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz.At a press conference at Kadima headquarters Thursday night, Mofaz said several times that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is focused on Iran, while ignoring other issues.“He had opportunities to deal with equality in the burden of national service, to talk with the Palestinians, to bring social justice, to change the system of government, but he only cared about Iran,” Mofaz said.Click for full JPost coverage“Netanyahu and [Foreign Minister Avigdor] Liberman have no control. They are irresponsible, and irrational. They are dangerous to Israel’s future.”According to Mofaz, every citizen should be afraid to live under Netanyahu’s “obsession” with Iran, which he said he saw up close when Kadima joined the coalition.
Mofaz called for Israel to choose who it trusts to protect the nation’s security, citing his 40 years of experience in the area.“I have been through five wars, and I know wars have no winners,” he warned.The Kadima leader dodged reporters’ questions about using fear tactics to counter what he called “Netanyahu’s fear tactics.”After Mofaz spoke, senior Kadima MKs addressed the crowd, focusing on the faction’s experience and denying the low numbers polls have given the party.“No party has the experience we have,” Kadima faction leader Dalia Itzik said. “The State of Israel cannot be a field for experiments.”MK Ronnie Bar-On hinted at Labor, saying, “This election has been focused on people without experience. People who can’t ride a bike want to fly a jumbo jet.”“Kadima was eulogized in the 2007 and 2009 elections, but we’re here to stay, and we’ll win,” Bar-On said.A Smith Research Poll for The Jerusalem Post showed on Thursday that Kadima could get three seats in the 19th Knesset. However, if former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni forms a new party, Kadima would not pass the election threshold.Mofaz mentioned rumors of Center- Left politicians attempting to unite, saying that his party could not wait any longer to start campaigning.
