Nota Bene, preferably before watching the video, this bit from BtB May 22, 2008:
.... The inconsequential facts are that Obama sat on the board of the Woods Fund (with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers). The Woods Fund in 2001 gave 20% of their grant money to the Arab American Action Network. The AAAN mourns the establishment of the state of Israel as a catastrophe, a "nakba" [But seriously, who doesn't these days? Even progressive Boulder CO had a nakba parade this year. It's all the rage.]The AAAN was founded by Rashid Khalidi, who is a "distinguished professor" at Columbia University and probably worked for the PLO (Khalidi's wife did work for the PLO's official press agency - in Beirut for six years as an English translator), but what's wrong with working for the PLO? Abu Mazen has worked for them for decades and he's President Bush's new best friend!
Now there are some minor linguistic similarities between Obama and Khalidi, but to my knowledge Obama hasn't yet accused Israel of apartheid, ethnic cleansing of Arabs or being a "racist state" (as has Khalidi). And the two did teach at the University of Chicago together, but so did a lot of other people, right?
Khalidi stated in a radio interview that he supports Obama for president "because he is the only candidate who has expressed sympathy for the Palestinian cause," but being a sympathetic person is a good thing. Obama has also said that "Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people," but that could be true, right? I'm mean, it's hard to quantify exactly.
And Obama probably HAD to attend that big farewell party for the Khalidis moving from Chicago, just to be polite, know what I mean? Does it matter that the party was "a celebration of Palestinian culture"? Nah. And Obama, already being there, probably just HAD to speak to the crowd, you know, waxing nostalgic about eating meals prepared by Mrs. Khalidi and there having a "conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid's dinner table," but around "this entire world."
Politicians love to sit around the kitchen table with American families, and maybe Obama had one drink too many. These things happen. And besides, palestinian suffering was already being discussed around this entire world, whether Obama participated in it or not. So what's the difference?
And what was Obama supposed to do when some of the other guests bidding farewell to Khalidi just happened to accuse Israel of terrorism and equate Jewish settlers with Osama bin Laden? I mean, he couldn't just walk out, could he? That would be so rude. And just because Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn were there, and some folks from Not In My Name and the Electronic Intifada, you can't just assume the crowd was anti-American. I mean, those are Obama's friends and neighbors and his constituents. Besides, I party with those people all the time, don't you? And I'm sure McCain does. No big deal there.
I thought Obama's kids went to school at the Ayers kids' school. Rashid Khalidi also sent his kids there? They must have one hell of an "active" PTA.
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