Huffington Post “reporter” Sam Stein comes right out and says it: Does Obama Even Need The Jewish Vote?

Does the Jewish vote really matter all that much for the Illinois Democrat? The topic, perhaps surprisingly, carries no clear consensus among some academics and analysts.

There is relative consensus on three reasons why the Jewish vote matters. Despite lacking overall numbers, Jews participate in the political process in large percentages, representing some of the more high-profile activists. They also have, historically, been major fundraisers for both political parties. And they tend to reside — for one reason or another — in some of the country’s most significant “swing states.”

For Obama, two of those three may not be major political concerns. The senator’s ability to drum up grassroots support provides him with a robust activist base, somewhat but not entirely irrespective of opinion makers. And his fundraising apparatus, which relies on more than 1.5 million donors — many of them of the low-dollar variety — means he doesn’t have to lean on major financiers. As one prominent Jewish Democratic fundraiser told The Huffington Post, “Obama doesn’t need me and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.” Indeed, Obama’s success in bringing in campaign cash, longtime political observers say, has fundamentally altered the relationship between candidate and constituency group.

Wow.

And please note that the administrators at HuffPo have already closed the comments for this one, because they know exactly what will happen if they don’t: a deluge of vicious antisemitic hatred.

(Hat tip: reelcobra.)