It would be interesting to see someone game theory the Israel Lobby phenomenon. Now I’m no econ-math major, but I imagine such a thought experiment would go a little like this: something of an anti-Israel nature seeps into the mainstream. Like AARP, CAIR or any group of concerned citizens that cares passionately about the ideas, policies and constituencies it represents, the Lobby goes into aggressive spin (or attack, as the case may be) mode. But Israel advocates are as self-conscious as they are sensitive, for reasons that have more to do with the historical fragility of Jewish political gains and the present-day fragility of the Middle East than it does with straight-up tribalism or neocon paranoia. Nevertheless, the lobbyists attempt to pre-empt their critics while a media fascinated with the very idea of the Israel Lobby tries to pre-empt the pre-empters. Inject a bit of presidential politics into the mix, and this PR-brinksmanship leads otherwise reputable news sources down the blindest of alleyways.
One such alleyway is Barack Obama’s 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 Israel and relatively lukewarm on Obama): this friendship says less than nothing about Obama’s stance on Israel, and even less about his fitness to be president.