Or rather upcoming smear campaign.
Blogger Larry Johnson–whose authority on Technorati is a whopping 450 something (ours is 4, Bwogs is somewhere in the mid-150s)–fears that the right is going to take a supposed Rashid Khalidi-Barack Obama connection and run with it. Of course there is no real Obama-Khalidi connection, as the Edward Said professor of Arab studies has absolutely no ties to the Obama campaign and has never gone on the record as supporting him. They apparently knew each-other from their U Chicago days, but it would take an astonishing amount of spin to paint Obama as a secret, dyed-in-the-wool PLO sympathizer.
So why is an influential left-leaning blogger even bringing up Khalidi in the first place? Johnson seems to believe that Obama’s future, hypothetical failure to deal with his Khalidi problem reflects a lack of candor on the candidate’s part; however this disingenuously suggests that 1) there is a Khalidi problem and that 2) it’s big enough for Obama to have to publicly acknowledge one of these days. This could just be a ridiculous scenario dreamed up by a rabid Hilary supporter, and this post probably belongs in the “make the bastard deny it” school of political trickery.
But there’s the distinct possibility that the right-wing spin machine actually will start drawing unsavory Khalidi-Obama connections. Since former PLOniks simply aren’t very sympathetic figures for most of mainstream America, it’s really a no-lose move–if Obama repudiates Khalidi, it means he’s acknowledging some kind of a past relationship with him. If he doesn’t, the smear will hold true, at least for some people. Not sure what Obama does in this situation, but here’s to hoping that the ugly side of presidential politics stays the hell out of Morningside Heights.
[...] friendship with Rashid Khalidi, which is at the center of this report in the LA Times. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again (and keep in mind that I’m generally supportive of Isreal and [...]
Said Very Bad Journalism: Obama-Khalidi conspiracy theory connection edition, part 3-ish » The Commentariat | SpecBlogs.com,
On February 18, 2008 at 6:04 pm:
[...] professor Rashid Khalidi, ties that were last relevant (albeit barely) when they were deployed as a subtle anti-Obama smear by desperate Hilary supporters. It isn’t surprising that Khalidi is being brought up in the thick of this [...]
Said …And we’re back. So is Rashid Khalidi » The Commentariat | SpecBlogs.com,
On February 18, 2008 at 6:29 pm: