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.
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!".
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.