Who's the best American candidate for Israel?

It's been a year since we decided that we need to find a way in which to express an opinion about the American presidential election. We wanted to do it carefully, so we assembled a panel. We wanted to do it seriously, so we waited a while until it got closer to the actual race. And here it is: the panel, the expert pollster, the candidates, the rankings, the analysis, the two-year commitment, and the explanation.

In the introduction to our new "The Israel Factor" feature, I try to explain our motivation for the project. Why are we doing it? The reason is quite obvious:

As the U.S. is the sole world superpower, the influence wielded by the American president impacts way beyond the borders of the U.S. As a major recipient of U.S. aid and political support, Israel is one country for whom the positions and policies of the American president are crucial. Like the rest of the world, Israelis closely follow the race for the White House, acutely aware that the person who inhabits the White House will influence their future more that any other world leader - perhaps, even more than their own leaders.

Now, I'm going to make a daring prediction: Rosner's Domain might be the first one to do such thing, but it won't be the last. I can think of many other countries where people are almost as interested in the American election as they are in their own polls.

I can think of many countries where the election of an American president is a meaningful event. Think about Britain, Canada and Mexico, think about Iran, about Taiwan, about South Korea. They all have newspapers and experts writing and thinking about the U.S. They can all try and rate the candidates. And eventually, some of them will.

True, the citizens of these countries will not be able to participate, and actively influence the course of American politics. However, their voice will be heard, and that's a good thing. As they go to the polls, Americans understand well enough that the leader they choose will be the strongest leader on earth. That he or she will influence many nations around the world. They might even take it into account as they decide on the best candidate.

Today we begin a long journey, and we understand the risks, the implications, and the responsibilities. We know this first edition of the "Israel Factor" is not perfect, but it will get better, more accurate, more focused and more decisive. Our panelists are still studying the field, and I'm positive some of them will change their minds in the months and years to come.

We invite you to join us in this experimental project. Write to me to suggest improvements, to protest the outcome, to ask for more details. With the help of Professor Camil Fuchs I will be able to analyze the ratings in many ways, which I'll doing on a weekly basis. Once a month, however, the panel will have the floor, and they will be the ones who deliver their verdict.

Here are some useful links for those wishing to follow the project regularly:

The first major analysis on the ranking is here. Remember, the ranking is done monthly, but you'll get some fresh details and more analysis every week.

The monthly questions and ranking can be found here. Each month we will ask four different, issues-related questions, and the fifth will always be a general one about the panel members' attitudes toward each candidate. This month we asked about the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the emotional attachment to Israel, the problematic issue of dealing with Iran.

The panel page is here. If you want to send a message to one of the panelists, please email it to me and I will make sure they get it.

We also urge you to take a look at our other political feature, the Midterm Diary, which can be found here. This is a temporary feature highlighting stories and comments about the mid-terms, the Mideast, the Jewish voters and Israel.

Finally, the poll for the coming days is also dedicated to the topic we've been working on. We are asking you to choose which of the last five American Presidents you believe was best for Israel.