Ironically, Joe the Plumber starts this post off with an interview with Fox News’ Shepherd Smith:

Maybe Israel doesn’t have anything to worry about, what with Iran being such a “tiny” threat (original video of Sen. Obama followed by a McCain ad):

And while we’re figuring out exactly how Sen. Obama plans to “spread the wealth:”

…maybe someone can finally explain what’s going on Rashid Khalidi (via politico.com):

John McCain’s campaign is demanding that the Los Angeles Times release a video of a party for a prominent Palestinian activist that Barack Obama attended in 2003.

The Times described the going-away party for former University of Chicago professor, and Obama friend, Rashid Khalidi, in a story in April. The story reported that Palestinians thought they might have a friend in Obama because of his friendships in that community, despite the fact that his positions have never been particularly pro-Palestinian.

“A major news organization is intentionally suppressing information that could provide a clearer link between Barack Obama and Rashid Khalidi,” said McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb, citing Obama’s friendship with Khalidi, who is now a professor at Columbia University.

…

The campaign hadn’t previously demanded the video, though conservative bloggers have, and neither other reporters nor McCain’s researchers have been able to dig up a copy.

Khalidi is a controversial figure, reviled by pro-Israel activists, though not a marginal one. A former professor at the University of Chicago, he’s now Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia, and respected by many in academia. He’s been criticized most for saying that Palestinians have a right to resist Israeli occupation and has been described as a former P.L.O. spokesman, a label he has denied.

The paper hasn’t explained its unwillingness to release the video, and Peter Wallsten, who found the tape and wrote about it, declined to discuss it with me last night. He forwarded an e-mail that the paper has sent readers who have complained as conservative blogs raise the issue.

Fox News’ Britt Hume reports that the LA Times reporter won’t release the tape:

Go, blogosphere. Chalk another one up for “We the People.”

-Phil

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Update:

 

 

Jeff has a great update on the Rashid Khalidi story in his post, Bias Gives Way to Activism.