National elections have long caught the attention of both domestic and foreign populations, and nowhere has this been more evident than in U.S. presidential elections. The man or woman that Americans vote into office can have a significant impact on the policies of countries around the world. America's adversaries, in particular, have been aware of this reality for quite some time. Examples abound, and include Ayatollah Khomeini and Jimmy Carter, Nikita Khrushchev and JFK, Kim Jong Il and Bill Clinton, and of course, Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush. But rarely has an election played such a significant role in the policies of an American ally. For the first time in recent history, the presidential elections are playing a momentous role in the decision-making process of one of the United States' strongest allies, Israel.
