Convenient Timing
by Dan tdaxp ~ May 11th, 2008
Remember just two days ago when Obama slurred John McCain, because McCain noted that Obama’s foreign policy was more compatible with Hamas’s ends with his owns.
John McCain had at least one person inside the Obama campaign who agreed with him: Robert Malley.
Barack Obama sacks adviser over talks with Hamas - Times Online
One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama’s Middle East advisory council.
The timing — just days after the North Carolina and Indiana primaries — would be suspicious if one didn’t realize that Barack Obama was a “typical politician.” But if one accepts that he is, disclosing these ties when they can hurt the least (after the media declares the Democratic Nomination over, but before the general election gets in gear) is a smart move.
(Obviously, most candidates haven’t associated with the people — Robert Malley, Jeremiah Wright, etc. — and said the things — unconditional direct negotiations, etc. — to get themselves so associated with Hamas in the first place.)
Relatedly, also Obama refuses to meet with the President of Iran. Obama won the nomination on the feathers of the left wing of the Democratic Party, and now that he has won, no longer stands by his foolish but original foreign policy vision.
May 11th, 2008 at 5:09 am
In a perfect world, Malley’s association with Obama would be a benefit, not a drawback. Someone who actually knows what they’re talking about! Better kick them to the curb immediately.
Yglesias:
“Robert Malley has a job at the International Crisis Group where he, among other things, writes analytical reports about the situation in the Middle East. In the course of doing such work, he has spoken with leaders of Hamas. Naturally, this equals “connections with Hamas” and “palling around with terrorists.”
I guess by this standard Jeff Goldberg’s a Hezbollah operative or something.”
http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/smear_jobs.php
May 11th, 2008 at 6:09 am
Adrian,
Are you arguing that Obama showed poor judgment by dismissing aids for doing their jobs?
May 11th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Lol Adrian, look at Dan’s response, formed typically in the TDAXP style of a question which searches for a new angle but one that would be just as bad for Obama. Always the spin.
Dan,
Why not give equal time, and equal innuendo, to McCain/Goodyear?
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-mccain11-2008may11,0,269058.story
Or is this Star Wars, with Obama covered in black vs the Luke SkyMcCain?
May 11th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
To follow Curtis’s Star Wars analogy, Obama is the new Mace Windu played by Samuel L., who I heard had ‘Bad M$@*>$f#@!#@’ engraved on the hilt of his lightsaber.
In reference to the previous posts, Obama is the only candidate black enough to be President. I hope to have something on this in the near future…
May 11th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Curtis,
Not spin, just an illustrative point.
There has been some hype surrounding the personality of Obama, that he somehow has unique personal attributes that will help the country. To quote Obama, “we are the ones we have been waiting for.”
This is dubious.
Given the apparent dilemma between Obama being an outstanding politician and sacking a supporter for being a covert Hamas supporters, and Obama being an outstanding politician and sacking a supporter for doing his job, I’d go through the horns and predict Obama is a typical politician who sacks a supporter when it becomes politically expedient to do so.
To answer your question regarding Doug Goodyear, I’d answer the same.
I’ve given my reasons for supporting John McCain [1]. They do not pining for politics-as-unusual.
Stephen,
Provocative!
[1] http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2008/04/06/why-i-support-john-mccain.html
May 12th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Well, it seems that it isn’t only John that thinks that the election of a Democrat, presumably Obama, is compatible with Hamas, a proxy for Iran. In Al-Zawahiri’s last audio message on April 18, 2008, he believes that the Democrats will pursue the following course of action:
“As for the Democrats, they are trying to deceive their
people by claiming that they will withdraw their forces
from Iraq by reaching an understanding with Iran in order
to concentrate on Al-Qa’ida and the Taliban in Pakistan
and Afghanistan. Iran’s aims are clear; namely, annexing
southern Iraq and the eastern part of Al-Jazirah [area
between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers] and
expanding to establish contacts with its followers in
southern Lebanon.”
It’s hard to know if this is really what will happen, but promises by Barack to pursue talks with Iran and to withdraw mmediately from Iraq should make us all a little apprehensive.
May 12th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
“Or is this Star Wars, with Obama covered in black vs the Luke SkyMcCain?”
Now, that is a YouTube parody I want to see! Which politician would be the wookie?
May 17th, 2008 at 8:44 am
[...] show is the increasingly pedestrian fact that Barack Obama is just another politician, willing to betray friends, fail to condemn bigotry, and deceive in order to win [...]