Trusting polls in general–and polls of Israelis and Palestinians in particular–can be problematic. However, the latest poll conducted by The Palestinian Center for Public Opinion offers this interesting nugget: 33.5% of Palestinians are “in favor of John McCain as a presidential candidate in the US elections.” Democratic rival Barack Obama, supposedly the better friend of the Palestinian cause (a partisan claim that I do not particularly like, as I am not convinced it’s true), is only getting 27.7%. More than 30% want neither of the two.

This may be due to one or more of the following causes:

1. Palestinians, as always, will not miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

2. Palestinians are influenced by Israelis to an extent that is constantly underappreciated. They are, at the moment, the only two national groups in the world who think McCain is preferable to Obama.

3. Obama learned a lesson when he was endorsed by Hamas, and his effort to reverse the trend by making many pro-Israel statements succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. The question is: will he use this poll against McCain?

4. Palestinians believe that only a strong American leader can force Israel into making concessions, and hope a McCain administration will follow the path of Bush/Baker and not Bush/Cheney.

5. It’s actually McCain’s achievement: he worked so hard to convince Americans that his tenure will not be “four more years of Bush”–that he succeeded in convincing the Palestinians.

6. Maybe it’s because they really like Joe Lieberman?