One of Paul Ryan’s first acts after being anointed by Willard Romney as putative GOP heir to the presidential throne was to make a pilgrimage to the Las Vegas gambling palace of Sheldon Adelson, the casino tycoon. And he went there neither for the floorshows nor the roulette; he went to the Nevada desert to kiss Sheldon’s ring.

When Romney earlier voyaged to Israel in search of some foreign policy experience, Sheldon was there to break bread with him in warm companionship – and to help him raise money.

Adelson has certainly used political influence for his gambling interests in the past. In 2001, when China was making a pitch to host the Olympics, its leadership was worried about a resolution pending in the U.S. House that would oppose China because of its “abominable human rights record.” Mr. Adelson called Tom DeLay, the House majority whip – another recipient of his campaign generosity – and Mr. DeLay quickly promised the bill would never see the light of day. He was true to his word.

An observer might wonder about a presidential campaign that wraps itself in the righteous togas of Mormon and Roman Catholic morality, cozying up to a gambling saloon mogul whose business is under multiple investigations by the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the FBI and the United States Attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Even the Chinese have fined Adelson’s Macau operation for violating foreign exchange rules.

This time, Shel’s interests are not on roulette. Even the $10 million he gambled on Newt Gingrich during the Republican primaries (which turned up snake eyes) matters little; there is something that overrides such picayune concerns as a crap table or a few million.

The answer, dear Dorothy, is politics. While there are only about 6.5 million Jews in the United States, they exercise fearsome elective power especially in key swing states like Florida.

At a fundraiser while in Jerusalem, Mr. Romney demonstrated his understanding of this political fact when he announced, “When it came to Israeli policy – as president, I’d get on the phone to my friend Bibi Netanyahu and say: ‘What would you like me to do?’” (Mr. Netanyahu, dear Dorothy, is the very aggressive Israeli prime minister who is openly considering a bombing run or two on Iran.)

Shel Adelson and his obscenely moneyed friends are only one arrow in the Israeli quiver.

The American Israel Education Foundation has sponsored 733 expense-paid trips for members of Congress in the past seven years, trips larded with comfort and luxury. (“We call it the Jewish Disneyland trip,” said a Washington insider.) Members get to meet with the prime minister, the Israeli president and top diplomats, and bed down in top-tier hotels like the King David in Jerusalem. (Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Republican leader, has been on five of these trips since 2003). In the most recent of these soirees, House Republicans followed the typical “educational” itinerary, but added their own twist by holding an impromptu nude swim party in the lake on which Jesus is said to have strolled.

America is ill served by a president or a presidential candidate willing to subcontract our foreign policy to another state – especially one that seems inclined to egg us into a war quite possibly waged with nuclear weapons. While American politicians of all stripes have long kowtowed to the Jewish vote, the current GOP candidates are setting a new low as a standard for groveling.

There is, however, hope. Since God has denied Mr. Romney the adventure of alcohol, there would be no Israeli wines served in the White House.

Thought for the week

CEOs of the top five military defense contractors were paid combined salaries totaling more than $107 million last year – about equal to the annual pay for between 5,000 and 7,000 GIs (depending on rank). As far as can be ascertained, none of the executives was wounded in any hostile action.

Rodney Quinn, a former Maine secretary of state, lives in Westbrook. He can be reached at rquinn@maine.rr.com.

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