Via TPM: Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the chairman of the Cordoba Institute - and a person whom Fox "News" has regularly labeled a "radical" - appears to have another interesting tidbit in his background: In March of 2006 he traveled with Bush's former press secretary Karen Hughes as a "Partner for Mideast Peace." Apparently, the Bush administration thought enough of his standing as a patriotic American that he should be included in Hughes' effort to improve U.S.-Muslim relations around the world. Now, of course, he's a radical Islamist intent on defiling America's Holiest of Holy sites.
Imam Rauf's resumé includes such scary nuggets as "(healing) conflict between Islamic and Western communities by developing youth leadership, empowering women, and engaging Islamic legal scholars in addressing the implications of contemporary Islamic governance." To the Teabag community, this is a butt-puckering message obviously designed to make America a Marxist-Fascist-Islamist state unsafe for Christian habitation.
To thinking Americans, however, it is rather a hopeful sign that there might be Muslims who are a lot like us and who would prefer to live in harmony with people of all faiths. Oddly enough, this included not only the former President, but also the former President's friend and confidant, Karen Hughes. Hughes, who went out on a speaking tour that included Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, was tasked by Bush to mend fences with Muslims around the world. While her mission predictably failed, it's notable that the former administration thought enough of Rauf's credibility to include him in the endeavor.
In short, he was good enough for Bush. But now there's a Democrat in the White House and political hay must be made, so he must necessarily be transformed into a scary, bearded, brown-skinned terrorist.
The naked hypocrisy of Liz Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, and nearly every member of the Fox "News" bench is profound if unsurprising. However, the most disturbing aspect of this is that the MSM have let them get away with it. This information is readily available and any reporter with a computer could have picked it up in a few seconds; adding it to the story could change the conversation, and isn't that what news is supposed to do?
Keith and Rachel - if you're listening - please spend a few minutes on this story and maybe it'll grow some legs. If we wait for NBC or ABC News to do the job we'll be waiting a very long time.