Palin Accuses Obama of ties to a "radical professor"

Gov. Sarah Palin on Wednesday said Sen. Barack Obama has ties to a Columbia University professor who she said is "a former spokesperson for the Palestinian Liberation Organization" (cnn.com). The professor has since denied he was a spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization. The U.S. and Israel consider the Palestine Liberation Organization a terrorist organization (cnn.com). Khalidi is actually a leading scholar of Middle Eastern studies at Columbia, and he was a contemporary of Obama's while on the faculty of the University of Chicago (cnn.com). Obama says that Palin's remarks are "another recycled, manufactured controversy from the McCain campaign to distract voters' attention from John McCain's lockstep support for George Bush's economic policies" (cnn.com)

Senator John McCain accused the LA Times of withholding a videotape of Barack Obama at a 2003 banquet for a “P.L.O. spokesman.’’ Then he asserted that the 1960s radical William Ayers had attended the same event (nytimes.com). In April the Los Angeles Times published an article about a dinner for Khalidi that Obama attended in Chicago (cnn.com). When the McCain campaign was asked why they are brining the matter up six months after the article appeared and aide responded "Because we are one week away from potentially electing Barack Obama" (cnn.com).




This is the same question I have. Why would the McCain camp choose to bring this up now? The McCain campaign has been running an increasingly negative campaign against Barack Obama. Instead of focusing on themselves and their own policies, they focus on attacking Barack Obama. Today his website focuses on attacking Barack Obama's TV ad buy for tonight. John McCain and Sarah Palin are intimidated by Barack Obama and have found no other alternative but to attack him. Barack Obama has exhibited incredible strength and grace during McCain and Palin's countless attacks. Barack Obama's ability to keep his campaign as clean as possible shows voters his maturity and integrity.

For more information:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/29/campaign.wrap/index.html#cnnSTCText

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/mccain-blasts-la-times-for-withholding-tape/?scp=1&sq=Rashid%20Khalidi&st=cse