Is it really so bad for Obama to have Palestinian support?

While numbers show that Barack Obama has much of the world rooting for him in tomorrow's election (take a look at FP's interactive map), it seems one young Palestinian campaigning from Gaza on behalf of the Democratic candidate is stirring up a mess of controversy this week.

Twenty-four-year-old Ibrahim Abu Jayab, a media student at Al-Aqsa University, has been calling random U.S. phone numbers via Skype, imploring Americans to vote for Obama. Not an English speaker, he's memorized the heart of the message: "I think the Senator Obama achieve the peace in the world and in my area. For the peace, please elect Senator Obama. Thank you very much."

Although Al Jazeera reported the story back in March, it seems the last days before the election are the prime time for extreme conservatives to finger this as evidence Obama has links to terrorists, Hamas, and haters of Israel. Among them Rush Limbaugh who, after adding to those charges, mocked Jayab on his show last week, said he finds it "interesting" that Jewish voters could support Obama.

Why are people insisting that Obama is bad for Israel? Even a Fox News anchor, Shepard Smith, chastised Joe the Plumber for saying as much. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are in serious jeopardy, but citizens from both sides are tired of stalled negotiations and are ready for peace. Even many Israelis recognize that talking to Hamas will be necessary. To make any progress, though, the next U.S. president will need to convince the Palestinians of the merits of any deal.

Against this backdrop, I just don't get what the critics are saying. How does one inspired Gazan youth -- in a region where support for the United States is hard to come by -- really work against Obama?