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Mighty Morphin’ Super Donor

Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers mastermind Haim Saban has an Op-Ed in yesterday morning’s New York Times defending Obama’s relationship with Israel. Saban, an Egyptian-born Israeli-American, wrote:

As an Israeli-American who cares deeply about the survival of Israel and the future of the Jewish people, I will be voting for President Obama in November. Here’s why.

Even though he could have done a better job highlighting his friendship for Israel, there’s no denying that by every tangible measure, his support for Israel’s security and well-being has been rock solid.

This is quite a departure for Saban. Last year, Saban criticized Obama for not visiting Israel: "I'm very perplexed as to why the president, who's been to Cairo, to Saudi Arabia, to Turkey, has not made a stop in Israel and spoken to the Israeli people." In 2008, Saban said he believed the Obama administration was "leftists, really left leftists, so far to the left there’s not much space left between them and the wall."

In the Op-Ed, Saban nonchalantly discloses that he has contributed to Democratic campaigns during this cycle but "not nearly to [the] extent" of Sheldon Adelson. However, Saban fails to mention that he did more than merely contribute to "Democratic campaigns." He also has given at least $333,333 to Priorities USA, Obama’s Super PAC, $325,520 to House Majority PAC, the liberal Super PAC dedicated to Democrat Congressional candidates, and $325,520 to Majority PAC, the liberal Super PAC dedicated to Democrat Senate candidates. In total, Saban has given at least $1,079,473 to Democrats and liberal groups during the 2012 election cycle.

Saban is ranked #128 on the Forbes 400 list with an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion. In 1998, the Screen Actors Guild declared Saban Entertainment "unfair to performers" for failing to meet standards for "pay, benefits and working conditions." In 2006, Saban was investigated by the Senate for offshore bank accounts used to evade taxes. He claimed he never understood the transactions.

It is unclear if the pink Power Ranger is Obama’s favorite.