Palin blasts Obama for ties to Palestinian professor
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/29/palin6.jpg caption=" Palin's criticized Obama's ties to Palestinian professor Rashid Khalidi."]
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (CNN) - Sarah Palin thrust Barack Obama’s relationship with a Palestinian academic into the national spotlight on Wednesday at a rally in Ohio - a tactic reminiscent of her repeated attempts to tie Obama to former radical William Ayers.
Palin kicked off her rally in Bowling Green by stressing, as she always does, that “it is not negative campaigning to call someone out on their record.” In recent weeks Palin has used that line to open up an attack on Obama’s tax plans. On Wednesday, she tried something different.
“It seems that there is yet another radical professor from the neighborhood who spent a lot of time with Barack Obama going back several years,” Palin said. “This is important because his associate, Rashid Khalidi, he, in addition to being a political ally of Barack Obama, he's a former spokesperson for the Paliestinian Liberation Organization.”
Khalidi - whose name Palin mispronounced - is currently a leading scholar of Middle Eastern Studies at Columbia University, and was a contemporary of Obama’s while on faculty at the University of Chicago.
Khalidi has been a stern critic of United States foreign policy towards Israel and has accused the country of “occupying” Palestinian territories, but he has denied acting as a spokesman for the PLO.
The Los Angeles Times reported in April that Obama praised Khalidi at a 2003 going-away party for the professor when he left Chicago. The McCain campaign has pressured the Times to publicly release a videotape of the event, but the newspaper has refused, citing the request of a source.
Palin said the public has a right to know what Obama said at the event.
“And the twist here is that there's a videotape of a party for this person, back in 2003, a celebration of him, and Barack was there, and we know some very derogatory things were said there about Israel and America's support for that great nation,” Palin said.
“And among other things, Israel was described there as the perpetrator of terrorism instead of the victim. What we don't know, what we don't know is how Barack Obama responded to these slurs on a country that he now professes to support, and the reason is the newspaper that has the tape, the Los Angeles Times, refuses to release it.”
Palin accused the Times of being Obama’s “pet newspaper” and said the paper would win a Pulitzer Prize for “excelling in cow-towing.”
The Republican vice presidential nominee was joined at her Ohio rally by Joe Wurzelbacher, known to the world as Joe the plumber. It was the first time the celebrated small business owner has appeared with Palin on the stump.
Palin described Wurzelbacher as “a fellow Alaskan” because he once lived near Fairbanks.
Palin,
You have tied Obama to all kinds of people(Bill Ayers & Palestinian Professor), almost all of whom are highly intellectual than you are because you are still a third grader. You have been critical of Ted Stevens, an indicted corrupt Republican Senator from your won state. He deserves the criticism. Remember your turn will come and the world will tie you to your own corruption with a leash and be critical of you indeed.
Do McCain or Palin ever talk about what they want to do?
I have never ever seen a campaign solely focused on tearing down an opponent while never actually talking about your own platform.
What a sick campaign McCain/Palin have run. Plain Sick.
There is an interesting story out on the Huffington Post about how while McCain was on the board of directors of some organization (forget the name, sorry), this organization funded this same academic's work to the tune of almost half a million $.
Tie to a professor...
That's not something can Palin can claim for herself...
Go away sleazy people. You have brought shame on the republican party which was fairly respectable in the last century. Bush is beginning to look really nice right about now compared to the likes of you. How much lower can you stoop. Your party is already making robocalls saying election is on the 5th NOV for Obama supporters and even calling registered democrats saying you can text or call in your votes american idol style.
Pitiful Palin.
Palin is NOT lying, there is prooff of this friendship on tape, but of course the media is HIDING the truth about Obama.
Obama is the liar hiding behind fancy words and smooth talk.
What a broken record!
SHUT UP ALREADY, NO ONE CARES, GIRLIE....
Find an actual ISSUE to talk about. Even after it's been shown the usual GOP lies and smears aren't working this time, the idiots can't come up with anything new.
GO BACK TO THE TUNDRA, GIRLIE.
Could the McBush\ImPalin campaign be any more desperate and sleazy? Could this woman be any dumber?
"It is not negative campaigning to call someone out on their record.”
That is exactly what negative campaigning is. I knew she was dumb, but holy cow.
omg why can't this woman learn from her own mistakes. it didn't work with ayers
The better question is WHY-do we continue to support the middle east and especially Israel?
If we closed the "checkbook" and didn't keep providing bigger and better weapons to Israel (many at US taxpayer expense)–mabye they would feel a little more necessity in coming to the negotiating table?
Slander, Cry, Whine, Complain. Republican tactics. No real solutions only sleazy accusations and finger pointing.
This is America, land of the free, home of the brave. This is the 21st Century. We don't need ignorance like Palin and McCain in office.
America is ever changing and diverse in culture. McCain/Palin would make our image even worst abroad. Don't vote for yourself, vote for your nation, vote for the World. Choice is clear. Obama/Biden.
BTW everyone, Joe does NOT own a business, makes $43,000 a year and would get 3xs the tax breaks under Obama than McCainn, isn't named Joe, and isn't a licensed plumber. Straight Talk Express, right....
Sarah palin is lower than a whales belly.If you don't have a plan, attack the man with a plan. I hope when she gets home, she is impeached for the crooked dealings she has had in Alaska.
Joe Wurzelbacher is NOT a small business owner. Get the facts straight.
Will they never get it? She has as many, if not more, ties to people the Democrats could label as terrorists and anti-American, one of them sleeping with her every night! So I guess if it's not negative campaigning to bring it up, someone should! She really should look to her own cache of videos too, because there is one out there of her admitting proudly, that in Alaska, they "all" own the resources, and "all" share the wealth, and that Alaska is "the most socialist of the 50 states." Does that make her a communist, too? And I do wish the MSM would look into the AIP and Todd's ties to that...since she is so worried about people being terrorists, and the electorate knowing everything about a candidate. Hyprocrisy, your name is Sarah!
Since when is Joe the Plumber a "small business owner"?
Joe Wurzelbacher is an unlicensed plumber not a small business owner. Both liars and grifters. They belong together, two opportunists. McCain and his tragic picks. Bad judgment.
Sarah, go help fellow-corrupt Alaskan, Ted Stevens.
Here we go again!!!!! WOW ... this campaign has shown it's stupidity!!!!!!!
Palin needs to be held accountable for her outright lies.
I hope the next person that interviews her, calls her out on it!
THANK YOU Cambell Brown for telling the truth,,,
IF Obama wins, it will be because he lied,,,,,,
Clearly Palin doesn't understand what it means to have a diverse group of friends or colleagues, much less that you can actually be friends with someone who disagrees with you. She also is clearly ignorant on the many nuances of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I hope she'll be out of the news soon!
It has been confirmed that McCain also had financial ties to Khalidi. The Repugnican slur machine does not fool anyone any longer.
As for Sarah "Dick Cheney with lipstick" Palin and Joe the Wannabe Republican candidate... after November 4th, thankfully, we'll never hear from either one of them again.