Obama Snafu, McCain Campaign Demands Video

The funniest story from the campaigns today came from NPR this morning. The Obama campaign had put together a package for early voting for one of the Midwestern states, including a ballot, a picture of Obama, some literature for the local candidate, and a phone number for the Democratic Hotline. Unfortunately, the phone number actually went to a phone sex number. So if you called, not only were you charged over $5 per minute, but you could get really hot and bothered, just not for the candidate. Unless you used Obama's picture while you called?

John McCain's campaign issued a demand that the La Times release a video they had obtained from 2003 showing Obama with Rashid Khalidi,a Pakistani scholar and activist, whom they branded a radical. The Times had already reported the details of the tape back in April, and they said that they obtained it after agreeing not to release it to the public. So what is the big deal? Besides, Pakistan is supposed to be an ally of ours and we are trying to have better relations with them. There are just as many people in the Pakstani military willing to squirrel away billions of dollars in aid just like Pervaz Musharraf did.

 Khalidi is supposed to be a harsh critic of Israel and supporter of Palestine, therefore he is dangerous, never mind that Obama has always supported Israel. That he's willing to listen to both sides and supporters of an issue is a good thing, not something to be demonized.

Jeez, what this big brouhaha about who supports radicals or not, anyway. We were all radicals back in the sixties, and then we grew out of it. Using this argument as a scare tactic or threat that you don't support out country is hollow and bogus. People were radicals because they passionately cared about the direction our country was taking, and they disagreed with the older adults who ran things. When you are young you are supposed to challenge the beliefs of your fathers so you can forge your own; its how you mature. To brand the process as wrong shows a lack of depth and understanding, all reactionary emotions and anger, which is the wrong foundation for life and is the underliying problem with right wing politics.