Super-Zionist Peretz Defends Khalidi

Could you please comment on the relationship between McCain and Rashid Khalidi? I mean, I understand that McCain has provided Khalidi with tons more money than Obama, so why would he try to smear Obama with his relationship with Khalidi? Or it is just one of Palin's great ideas?

I have to say I'm incredibly disgusted with so-called Americans who have information at their finger tips, yet still feel it's okay to besmirch a man like Rashid Khalidi. A man who was born and raised in this country and is also CHRISTIAN (not that it should matter, but since we now live in a nation where people subscribe to the KKK way of thinking, someone who is Muslim is automatically guilty).

This is a man who has worked hard and has both been educated and taught, at some of the most prestigious universities in the world. Instead, you hold up a tax-evading, unlicensed plumber who's now trying to break into country music, as some folk American hero when all he is is the classic media ##### and phony.

You could only hope to have your children taught by Prof. Khalidi and to aspire to be a rational, non-violent human being. It is not a crime to be a Palestinian or of Palestinian descent, but when the media feeds into the image with its one-sided coverage and waits until the "Super Zionist" gives his *stamp of approval* not to smear this man, then that right there is why the US will never be taken seriously in the rest of the world. What a disgrace.

Summary: "SUPER-zionist" cool with major paper to helping cover up the facts of potential commander-in-chief's relationship with a profagandist *because the pal is 'almost Zionist.' Does Peretz leap tall buildings or just fix the leaks in them when not leading his IDF battalion?

Honestly, does anybody really know the people they interact with? For all I know my neighbor who I have good relations with could be a terrorist. The fact that I have a conversation with him and invite him over for dinner every now and then doesn't make me a terrorist or sympathetic to terrorism does it?

helen james, it's not the Democratic majority in Congress that has a 9% approval, or whatever it is, it's the Congress as a whole. If it was just the Democratic majority that people felt that way about, the polls wouldn't be unanimous in predicting major Democratic gains in Congress.

Obama supporters, say what you want. He ran a dirty campaign against Hillary Clinton when he was supposed to be about change. Because of intimidation, information about him has been buried. He squashes those that disagree. Actually I shouldn't say he does, he has it done. This is how he operates. He promises everything. I'm waiting to see how long it takes before the excuses start when he can't keep his promises.
Democrat for McCain/Palin.

It isn't hard to see past any of the b.s. if you took a look into how campaigning works. It is a persuasive device closely aligned with the advertising/marketing field in that the campaigner researches the needs wants fears etc. of the key demographic. With this information, the campaign attempts to hijack a voter's thought-process with simple idea's that play to the person's self-image. While the bs flows from both sides (that's just politics people), it has become increasingly easy to predict what comes from the mccain camp. They know "socialism" strikes the fear of god into American hearts. Same with "terrorist." At least Obama attacks on McCain, while still misleading, are somewhat credible. Conservatives: stop listening to talk radio. At least embrace smart conservatives.

What is happening here is typical of the past few months of the election. The buzz is completely about Obama's association with Rashid Khalidi at some obscure event in the distant past.

The pundits stress the association, but not the position Khalidi holds at Columbia, not the prestige of the Univerisity, not that Khalidi is a respected scholar, and of course not a serious discussion of any statements and positions and Rashid Khalidi may have made about the situation in Israel/Palestine.

In fact this is how the game is played.

Very similar to the media madness surrounding William Ayers. Forty years after those events the discussion is not only out of context, the context is not even mentioned - out of consideration for former prisoner of war John McCain?

By the way, Gentleman, history may judge the Reagan Revolution, Contract with America, and the Second Coming of a Bush as a group when discussing this period of American history. It might not be as pretty site in hindsight as you would like.

He and his wife WORKED for the PLO and some say he still does. Obama and his wife often had dinner with Khalidi and his wife. Khalidi himself said(before it mattered) that he spent time at Ayers while writing his book.(so did Obama) Khalidi got money from them. They are one big happy family. All this crap coming out and Obama, instead of admitting it, first buries information and when that doesn't work anymore uses the same stupid excuses. How many times can he say he never did, never knew, barely knew, is not the person I knew, don't have...etc. He needs to record his answer and just hit play.

If Khalidi is the reprehensible character that "Huey Long in Drag" has made him out to be, why did McCain, as Chairman of the IRI, give the guy close to $500,000?

Martin Peretz, editor of the New Republic, is an outspoken advocate for Israeli. Maybe he's as fed up with the Republican character assassination and "guilt by association" game as the rest of us are.

According to Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times, writing on June 9, 1982, Mr. Khalidi was at that time "a director of the Palestinian press agency." That would be Wikalat al-Anba al-Filastinija, or WAFA, the PLO press agency, where Mr. Khalidi's wife, Mona, was chief English-language editor in 1976-82. Mr. Friedman quotes Mr. Khalidi in his official capacity saying that the Israelis are out to "crush the P.L.O."

You know who hasn't come out in support of Khalidi? Barack Obama. Khalidi was just a fellow professor and a guy whose kids went to the same school.

Regardless, it is the entirety of the tape as reported that people want to see. There were supposedly very anti-Semitic things said there. Bill Ayres was there.

How did Obama interact? How did he respond?

Yes, all of Barack Obama's associates are merely tangential. Allow me to list just a handful:

Jeremiah Wright
William Ayers
Mark Rudd
Tony Rezko
Rashid Khalidi
Khalid al-Mansour
Louis & 'Mother' Khadijah Farrakhan:

John McCain - Sarah Palin are doing anything and everything to win. Neither care who they destroy or professionally defame!!

I hope both are sued!!

Actions are despicable!!

Its so sad that a politician like John McCain whom i have admired for so long has just made himself look so silly because of his desperation to become the next US President.

Its a shame to hear all the rubbish that has been said about Senator Obama. None of them is based on truth and when You hear Sarah Palin calling people terrorists, you wonder where she has left her morals and truthfulness as a christian.

Sarah Palin has betrayed all impotant fabric of morals and she has no knowledge of world experience.

Its a shame that Mr McCain has adopted the most disgraceful policy linked to Karl Rove, but the difference this time is, no one is buying it.
People have seen through the Republican Party that has been hijacked by those crooks, using it for their own selfish ends.

Mr McCain you have lost my respect and vote.

When the Historians get finished with George W. Bush, you will find he was one of our better Presidents. Why doesn't anyone ever mention he has had a Democratic majority in Congress who have a 9% approval rating. At least he has a 30% rating. PJ

The alternative headline could be:
"Liberal magazine editor defends Khalidi"

"Marty Peretz, editor-in-chief of The New Republic"

The New Republic?

Ron, Judging from the orignal source, my guess is that there is no tape. But if it puts your mind at rest, I think they had chocolate cake at the going away party.

This whole thing is flat-out weird to me. You people are afraid that Obama might have associated with Muslims. You're aware that we just spent trillions of dollars and 4000 American lives associating with Muslims, right? And that we put a Muslim government into power in Iraq that is EXACTLY like the Sharia, Muslim government in Iran, right? And that that was part of the surge - to take guns and power away from the Sunnis - who are now refugees, some in their own country, some in Jordan. And that those people - none of them -- are pro-Israeli? And that the last major battle, the battle of Basra, was not settled with American help? It was negotiated in IRAN through a MUSLIM cleric? This isn't from the Huff Post - I married into a militaryfamily and they actually follow military coverage of the war. So the entire upper command of the US government and the US mlitary are associating with the dreaded MUSLIMS - and none f them are very fond of Israel? But you are worried about who Obama had tea with ten years ago? WHen we have bankrupted ourselves to bring Iran and Iraq closer together than they have probably ever been?

IVOV: I don't know whether you simply switched names, or your post was intentional misleading - but you are completely off. Even if you go to the most conservative polls, Obama leads McCain among Jewish voters 74/22% (Gallup). Is Haaretz a good enough reference for that? (10/24). If not - Gallup shows the same numbers (10/23)

You are completely correct that Israeli voters have favored McCain. I can't wait to see the numbers from New York, which I believe has the highest Jewish population in the world, outside of Israel?. It didn't look too good for McCain this morning up on the upper West Side.