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Should the Los Angeles Times Reveal the Khalidi Videotape?
Fox News thinks it has discovered -- or invented -- the October surprise that will change the outcome of the election in John McCain's favor. It is a dud! They have been devoting hours of television time to publicizing John McCain's demand that the Los Angeles Times release a video purporting to show Barack Obama at an event with a rabidly anti-Israel Palestinian academic named Rashid Khalidi. I admit that I would myself like to see the video. But the LA Times obtained it from a source on the express condition that the video itself not be released. The LA Times did run a story disclosing the contents of the video, presumably with the permission of the source, but they have stated that "the Times keeps its promises to sources."
It is important to remember that without this promise of confidentiality stories like this one might not find their way into the public dialogue. This point illustrates the complexity of the relationship between a newspaper and its sources.
A simplistic view of freedom of speech would favor full and timely disclosure of all relevant information regardless of any promises made to a source. The more complex view of freedom of speech holds that unless newspapers keep their promises (and unless the law allows them to keep their promises) there will be less not more information available to the public. Reasonable people can and do disagree about whether the source privilege furthers or hinders the marketplace of ideas. Most experts agree that the First Amendment empowers newspapers to make decisions about this matter. The LA Times has made its decision, whether one agrees or disagrees with it.
The more important point is that the Obama campaign, to my knowledge, has played no role in the decision made by the Times. Indeed, I believe that Barack Obama would be better off if the videotape were released so that the public could actually see it rather than imagine the worse case scenario that Fox is now pushing. I hope we get to see the videotape before the election, but if we don't we should at least understand the considerations that have led the LA Times to make its decision.
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If I were Jewish this Khalidi scandal would be deal-breaker for me if I were considering voting for Obama!
Mr Derschowitz
Do you really think there is a tape?
Maybe. Know what I think?
The article the L.A. Times ran in April doesn't have a whole lot to do with the tape. It is based on the works of others. I don't want to use the "P" word here, and I won't. But the L.A. Times has a golden threshold, and when they run articles which are loosely based on the writings of eg. Debbie Schussel (she has even claimed credit), then it doesn't make the paper look that great.
I am not fully aware of the facts, but have read enough to get a fairly good idea of what has happened.. Of course if I am right and the L.A. Times admitted that the story was largely cannibalized from the writings of others - especially since the authors of those writings are ultra right-wing - the likes of Fox, Drudge and the McCain campaign would huff, "Yet another excuse!".
See Jayne Lyn Stahl's Profile
Shame on you, Mr. Dershowitz, for dignifying the rants of a sensationalistic, and egregiously biased television network like Fox News.
Logic 101: all this footage may establish is that Obama was in the same room at the same time as someone you call a "rabidly anti-Israel Palestinian academic Rashid Khalidi." Khalidi is not on Obama's short list for cabinet, nor is he on Obama's campaign staff. And, for the sake of argument, let's say Obama was at the same event as Khalidi, what would that prove? And, what if Obama were to say that he acknowledges, and will work for an independent Palestinian state? Would that make him anti-Israel?
These considerations aside, let's take a quick stroll down memory lane and revisit some of the dubious types other presidents, or presidential hopefuls, consorted with. George H.W. Bush's campaign staff included Laszlo Pastor who allegedly served in the pro-Nazi Hungarian government embassy in Berlin, and a number of others who were said to be pro-Nazi types. We know who enthusiastically endorses Sen. McCain.
What's more, a president McCain refers to repeatedly----Ronald Reagan---counted as among his associates Hekmatyar, an Afghan warlord, who reportedly threw acid in the faces of Afghani women who defie that country's tradition of wearing scarves.
My point-----let's leave the past squarely where it belongs, and fast forward to November, 2008.
Shame on you, Dershowitz.....you didn't do your homework and jumped right on to blog about Barack....not even knowing about McSame's donation.....soooo A-typical.
Rev. Wright, Father Pfleiger, William Ayers, Acorn and now Khalidi! When will this ever stop? Just how far to the radical left can you get? These are all people or organizations with an anti-American agenda one brand of Communism or another. Only the flavor changes.
The tape will come out, sooner or later. The LA Times keeps it's promises on a selective basis. There obviously is a fear of what is on this tape.
Standards have dropped enough in this campaign, if the LA Times gave their word not to release it and only to print what was in it and they then go back on their word under pressure from the Gop and Fox would mean that any credibility that they have would be gone and they would be forever distrusted.
I'm still not convinced it's fabricated. The LA Times is owned by a huge GOP donor and it would be just like them to make it all up and sensationalize without there ever being a tape to begin with.
They do not need any more trash to send around. I am a senior (Democrat) living in rural Missouri. Everyday the RNC and the Missouri RC fills my mailbox with anti Obama hate mail. All out of context lies and total bull. They don't need any more red herrings (pun intended) to scare us seniors with. Dear RNC: We are smarter than you think.
Keith Olberman reported last night that McCain provided funding for the same man some years back (ten or twenty). A lot of funding. THAT is the tape I'd like to see -- McCain's endorsement/funding of the fellow.
Exactly what I was thinking. Why hasn't this been picked up by the media for what it is, a blatant, continuous attempt by the McCain campaign to tie Obama to any and all terrorists that have ever and will ever be? It's kind of sad. Next thing you know, they'll come out and say that Obama somehow helped Oliver North arm Iran while posing as a "community organizer." Good grief, it's getting ridiculous.
Obama sure has a lot of questionable people and organizations in his past. ( I hope it is in his past)
The liberal media has done a great job of protecting Obama and if republicans try to question him we are called mean. We are about to elect a man with very little experience and that we still don't know enough about. Very scary!!
6 degrees of separation. We know that pin heads can't comprehend that as people make their way through life they interact with other people. Maybe something else idiots can't comprehend is the inability to prove a negative, one can not prove that something that is non existent is non existent. As with the basis of our entire system of law and the fundamentals of individual rights something must be proved and not simply accused to be true. (R)eprobate's prefer ignorance over reason, that is why, until the Bush administration we had the rule of law in this nation.
Obama's curiosity and willingness to listen to more than one opinion are qualities that make him such a good candidate. Just because he listens to all sides doesn't mean he agrees. We have had enough of the "my way or the highway" mentality of the Bush years.
I don't think this would be an issue if Obama had not disengenuously downplayed his relationship with Bill Ayers ("He's just a guy that lives in my neighborhood"). If the LA Times refuses to show the tape, the next best thing is for Obama to set the record straight. Especially since Ayers and his wife were at that dinner too.
I have a better idea. Why don't you and Fox news spell out specifically why you feel Rashid Khalidi should be demonized. He was born in the United States and an American citizen. He has risen to the top of the academic profession. There is not a shred of evidence that he has ever had anything to do with any terrorist acts or broken any law of the United States in his entire life. Finally he was considered safe enough for McCain to give him money and lots of it in the 1990's. As nearly as I can see the only thing you have against him is his arabic sounding name and that he supports the Palestinian cause. Guess what. In the United States of America it is not illegal to support any cause as long as you do it lawfully and peacefully.
It is not that difficult to find the original LAT article that was based on the video. I did it last night. It was published way back in April. There is no doubt that, unlike Ayers, Obama did have a personal friendship with the Khalidis. The association is real and has been known for a very long time. What is desperate and ridiculous is the attempt to demonize Khalidi. Unlike Ayers, he has never bombed anything and he has had in the past a professional and not just personal relationship with McCain. The McCain camp are badly overplaying their hand again.
Excellent retort. Why doesn't Obama say that? Especially to the Jewish voters in Florida.
I am sick to death of this "you can't criticize Israel" crap. This notion that criticizing Israel is anti-semitic is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. I have great sympathy for the trauma that has been inflicted upon Israelis, but to ignore the trauma that has been inflicted upon the Palestinians out of fear of being called anti-semitic is to ignore reality.
Yassir Arafat blew it at the end of the Camp David meetings. He should have taken the deal. I despise the suicide bombers that have made their way into Israel over the course of the Intifada. But one must also consider what must have been done to a people to drive them to such extreme measures. The Israelis enjoy the full support of the US military, especially in the case of hardware. We're talking F-16's and Apache gunships versus AK-47's and stones.
Israel is equally responsible when it comes to terrorism. In their case it is state sponsored/sanctioned terrorism, but no one calls it that. They are guilty of the crimes they accuse the Palestinians of, except they have a multi billion dollar budget for their operations.
But I digress. Let's see the video of Barack with a professor highly knowledgeable in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The only way a consensus or peace will ever be achieved is by understanding both sides of the issue, and I believe it is people like Khalidi that can help foster such understanding.
It actually wouldn't be in McCain's best interest to have the tape released. With all of his and Palin's inferences of "Just WHO is Barak Obama?" and all the other innuendos, if the tape actually was released, McCain can't feign his pseudo-concern about Obama's ties and hype up, "Just WHAT is on that tape?" McCain has nothing on Obama. NOTHING. Not ACORN, not Ayers, and so now he's trying to drum up some sort of psuedo-something with this oh so mysterious tape.
Because it wouldn't be in McCain's best interest to have the tape released, I hope it is released. To show what a conspiracy-theory crazed loon that McCain is and have his innuendos about just WHO Obama is put to rest.
Actually, the Times should release graphic images of Israeli atrocities carried out with US funding and weapons in voilation of treaties signed by them, as candidates all promise more loyalty to them than the youth of the US.
Well, yes, I think it should be shown. It should be shown right along with a certain John Sidney McCain III, our Sid, presenting that large Republican check to that terrorist malefactor.
Khalidi is not a terrorist.
He is a professor at Columbia.
Do you think all Plasetinians and all Muslim are terrorists?
And last I heard there was till something called Freedom of Speech in America. And it has been taken advantage of by some of the most lunatic right wing fantasists I have ever heard.
So I would hope it would apply to American college professors as well.
Durango - Please turn on your sarcasm detector. Thank you.
This is pretty standard in journalism. Not only that, the source generally requires the original material to be returned and not copied. The original material is turned over temporarily primarily for verification/authenticity purposes. One more thing: McCain has exercised this same control (with his health docs).
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