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Meir Sheetrit / Even in hometown, support is lukewarm By Yuval Azoulay Meir Sheetrit did not let the gloomy poll results ruin his good mood: With surveys predicting only 6 percent for the interior minister in the Kadima primary, far behind Tzipi Livni and Shaul Mofaz, he started election day yesterday at the commercial center in Yavneh, his hometown. Smiling and well-tailored as usual, receiving hugs and kisses from his supporters, Sheetrit said before voting that he felt great and was convinced the big defeat everyone around him was talking about would actually be that of the pollsters. Advertisement "The question of who will be the next prime minister will be decided by the voters and not the newspapers or polls," he said. "We have seen in the past how pollsters have been incredibly wrong. We saw what happened between [Amir] Peretz and [Shimon] Peres, and between [Ehud] Barak and [Ami] Ayalon, and that is what will happen this time, too. Tonight it will turn out that the pollsters made a mistake, once again." In Yavneh, 488 residents have joined Kadima. Sheetrit, who has lived here since he was 10 and started his political life as the head of the local council, is proud of his accomplishments. He turned a development town into a flourishing city with one of the country's best education systems. "I will do for the country what I did for Yavneh," he announced in the city center. But you could have expected that in Yavneh more people would have joined Kadima. Sheetrit claimed he was not worried; even with only 488 voters in the city near Ashdod he could win. "I need for 40,000 people out of the 74,000 registered [Kadima members] to come and vote today, and for 12,000 of them to vote for me. That is enough," he said. To a reporter who questioned that statement, Sheetrit responded: "It is very likely that you are interviewing Israel's next prime minister." Accompanied by two bodyguards and his spokesman, Sheetrit jumped into his car and took off for his next stop on the long list of places he had to visit - as in any proper election. The next stop was Ashdod, which only three years ago was one of Likud's staunchest bastions. Many Likud members in Ashdod have crossed the line - the number of Kadima members there is 3,000. The heat and humidity were oppressive, but Sheetrit was not deterred: He insisted on speaking to his supporters, pressed the flesh with undecided voters, and said a few words to party activists. Later he visited other polling places in the center and south, and of course did not forget Qassam-stricken Sderot. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Criticizing the world Desmond Tutu suggested the West does not admonish Israel because of the Holocaust. Ahmadinejad attack Ahmadinejad lashes out against Israel again, saying it won't survive in any shape or form.

Read & React Livni declares victory, says 'will approach this job with great reverence' Responses: 108 Gideon Levy: Arabs who back Kadima, Likud, and Labor are sellouts Responses: 89 Ahmadinejad: Israel won't survive in any shape or form Responses: 112 Neri Livneh: Tzipi Livni is Israel's Barack Obama Responses: 58 Israel Harel: How Israel caused the Oslo Accords to fail Responses: 60 More Headlines 23:48 Day after losing Kadima race, Mofaz announces 'time out from politics' 00:03 Netanyahu: Israel's citizens, not Kadima voters, must choose PM 01:48 Mofaz supporters blame disqualified Rahat votes for loss to Livni 02:05 UN official urges next Israeli government to stop settlement expansion 02:19 Obama wishes happy Rosh Hashanah to 900 rabbis 00:23 Pope Benedict: Pius XII 'spared no effort' to help Jews during WWII 00:24 Tutu: World doesn't criticize Israel because of the Holocaust 23:14 General Assembly chief: UN must adopt 1947 resolution on partition of Palestine 21:04 ANALYSIS / Tzipi Livni is Israel's Barack Obama 17:38 Police, IDF complete evacuation of illegal outpost of Yad Yair 18:31 500 Palestinian security force members head to Jordan for U.S.-funded training 18:58 Ahmadinejad: Israel won't survive in any shape or form 22:55 Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton congratulate Livni on Kadima victory 20:39 Danish T-shirt company convicted of supporting Palestinian terror group Previous Editions Select Day 18 sep 17 sep 16 sep 15 sep 14 sep 12 sep 11 sep 10 sep 09 sep 08 sep 07 sep 05 sep

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