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.

Comments

[Tobiason]

Obama camp should press LA Times to relsease the tape. I'm hopeful that Obama wouldn't say that would hurt his crediblity. So, Obam come on, speak out!

[EducatedObserver]

I reluctantly support your argument, Mr Dershowitz. In a perfect world, I would embrace it with enthusiasm.

The following thought however, should give us pause: Can we ever be certain that venal elements (even within august newspapers) never manipulate this privilege?

[jbgnyc]

McCain's huge money grants to Khalidi are all over MSNBC. What a joke. Does the GOP or RNC EVER fact check? Ever? And somebody better tell Palin that all her gushing about Obama and another " terrrerryst" is somebody McCain embraced with big, big b ucks. Laugh at loud.

[timinhi]

(Part 1) Oh come on! Even Fox News doesn't REALLY want the video to be released. It's move valuable if the public doesn't get to see it, because it probably doesn't show anything truly damaging to Obama. As long as the LA Times honors its promise and keeps it under wraps, Fox and McCain can use inuendo to imply that Obama attended the BIRTHDAY PARTY in a turban and shouted, "DEATH TO ISRAEL!," which of course, he didn't. In the meantime, you don't see Fox covering the story about the '64 car crash that then-Leutenant McCain was involved in, and maybe caused the death of another person, and which was covered up by the Navy, which still refuses to release the records on to the news media (His dad was a bigshot admiral at the time.). What about that?

[timinhi]

(Part 2) If they (Fox) are so interested in the "moral character" of the candidates, why haven't we seen more coverage about McCain's drunken violent binges in the Navy and the Academy--Why no stories on the fact that he had an affair with his first wife while she was still married to another man, broke up her marriage to marry her, then dumped her for Cindy (20 years his junior) after his first wife faithfully waited for his return from being a POW? Why no stories about the five (million-dollar) airplanes he crashed through wrecklessness or the fact that he deliberately disobeyed orders leading to his crash and capture in N. Vietnam? Why no stories about his close friendship to convicted Watergate felon G. Gordon Liddy, who advises his radio listeners as to the best methods of shooting ATF agents, should they come to your front door? And yet they'll milk this non-story for everything they can.

[CJsway]

hoorah !

[Marie9]

You are on point. Yell it from the rooftops!

[calbears]

Yes, I think we should see it, just so we can all be reassured that Barack Obama would NEVER EVER have anything to do with anyone who happened to be Palestinian. Because we know that being Palestinian and being American are of course opposed categories, unless the Palestinian submits to Dershowitz's loyalty to Israel test.
Yes, I agree with Dershowitz that the LA Times should release the tape, because then he can annoint himself the voice of what is beyond the pale, when it comes to Israeli policy, letting us know that Barack Obama would never befriend a Palestinian who had been associated with the PLO. Forget that the US and Israel have both recognized the PLO. And forget Israel is occupying Palestinian land and resources.
As for Rashid Khalidi? Who cares if he's one of the most brilliant scholars on the Middle East and has suddenly become the means to the ends of both candidate's? Middle Eastern Studies is just an anti-Semitic plot, and Khalidi's dubbing Israel as an apartheid state is just one more example of anti-Semiticism which as Dershowitz will tell you is widespread on university campuses. Like the "Far Left" he encountered at the University of California Press, where Dershowitz tried to stop publication of Finkelstein's book.
I'm wondering if we'll have a Colin Powell moment on McCain playing the Palestinian card? Because as anyone who knows Dershowitz knows, he sure isn't about to give us that kind of integrity or character.

[vippy]

Palestinian People are people too. I don't understand what is the big deal. And I bet the people
of Israel want this conflict to end as well. But somehow, someone is always putting money in it
and keeping this mess going. Let us follow the money and put an end to it.

[Serious Lee]

We all know this is a last ditch plot by the Red Party.

Think about it. Is the person that turned the video over for Obama or for McCain?

If they were Pro Obama, they would not offer the video. However, Pro McCain, makes the stipulation not to show it (He/She knows there is nothing damaging on the tape) they know, like any good horror movie director) the real fear is created by allusion and the unknown.

There they go again!

[ZenBastard]

This is the same Dr. Rashid Khalidi who was the keynote speaker at Americans For Peace Now's Capital Hill 2000 Conference Series. The one who whose keynote speech was about how uniting Palestine & Israel was the key to peace in the Middle East. Now, a scant week before the election it comes out that he's suppoesdly a PLO terrorist?

Sure, I'll buy that. Let me just have another glass or two of koolaid.....................

[USMC1980]

John McCain and the GOP have as big a history with this guy as Obama, actually bigger. Obama met with him a few times, McCain and the GOP not only met the guy, they gave him money. It would be nice if GOP sycophants like Andrea Mitchell and others would at least have the decency to bring that point up when discussing this "non-story".

[duze]

Andrea Mitchell does have a way of bringing up the point without really bringing up the point. For some reason, Rachel and Keith seem to be the only ones that tell both sides of the story.
Everyone else seems to just leave it hanging. Andrea on the other hand, has a talent for leaving out the truthful part of everything relevant. Like the fact that her husband, fed chairman, Alan Greenspan was one of the main players that led to the crash, resulting to this recession. He
admitted as much while answering questions before the panel. Therefore Andrea should be very careful strolling around ineuendo, she might trip and fall over a high interest rate.

[Marie9]

You are right! Sing it from the rooftops!

[BobSacomano]

How about taking a look at the Alaska Independence Party videos of Sarah Palin addressing their convention, or the video of one of their leaders saying Palin had to become a Republican to 'infiltrate' US government. how about that? These videos are on YouTube for cryin' out loud and the Media totally ignores their existence - it's incredible.

[cjgnew]

I am adding you to my fan's list.

Carlos Jean-Gilles
Saint Louis

[jad114]

What's so bad about Rashid Khalidi? He is a brilliant historian a graduate of Yale & Oxford, a professor at Columbia...Oops, I'm so sorry he published a book about the occupation of Palestine. He has been making the "case for Palestine" just like Dershowitz has been making "the case for Israel. "

BTW, he is an Arab (Arab-American) and a "descent man."

[grumpygranny66]

McCain/Palin will do anything to win this election. But, it will not work this time.

[forthepeople1]

You are right, McCain probably used his dwindling funds to generate this story. I don't care, and I think anything coming from FOX is faked, doctored, and are generally professional "hit pieces", and they are saving this as a last ditch DIRT- LOWER THAN SEWER WATER to try to continue his major platform which is attack-smear-spread-hate-spread-division-spread- lies if nothing else works! He has never had a platform or agenda. They have called Obama anti American, a Socialist, A communist, now I guess he is A Muslim. What a crock of crap!!!! WHO CARES!!!! It will do what it always has done, which is backfire!!!! BACKFIRE IN HIS OLD FACE!!!

[forthepeople1]

Absolutely anything, lies, hate-smearing- and more lies. WHO CARES??? He has spent more time attacking OBAMA than presenting his case, why? He never had a case to begin with.

[beherenow54]

I am really sick to death of McCains negative, smearing, snarlingly disgusting ads and insinuations. I don't think I've ever really witnessed a more pathetic candidate, with virtually nothing good to say about himself so needing to resort to these extremes. I honestly cannot imagine him winning, how depressing that would be. He needs to explain Sarah Palin's witchy pastor, his anti-semetic pastoral endorsements, Keating five, his donations to this same Palestinian, G. Gordon Liddy, and probably many, many more that I haven't thought of.

[cc]

I received this info today from truthfightsback.com:
"Another smear that has slipped from the press's coverage is this: The McCain campaign is blasting Obama for meeting with a Palestinian-American named Rashid Khalidi, while completely ignoring the fact that John McCain steered hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to Khalidi's organization."
More at: http://www.truthfightsback.com/site/smear/304/
So once again McCain's hoisted himself on his own petard. Tell everyone you know.

[stuckinohio]

I was channel surfing and came across Lou Dobbs speaking on the fact that McCain had given money to Rashid Khalidi himself. This is the most desperate and dispicable campaign I've ever seen.

[Laffy]

Is "Fair and Balanced" Fox reporting that McCain gave this guy hundreds of thousands of dollars?