assume that my Zionist credentials are not in dispute. And I have written more appreciative words about Khalidi than Obama ever uttered. In fact, I even invited Khalidi to speak for a Jewish organization with which I work.
Moreover, the Israelis are trying to live cooperatively and in peace with Palestinians whose unrelenting positions make Khalidi almost appear like a Zionist.
So posted Martin Peretz in his New Republic blog, The Spine, Thursday (h/t Andrew Sullivan). Let me add a very few observations of my own below the fold.
Peretz begins by writing
Excuse me. But the Jews of America have already decided—and by lopsided margins—that they want Barack Obama for president. They are convinced by his committed liberalism and by his committed Zionism.
He goes on to describe the McCain campaign as trying to seed "completely insubstantial doubts " about the Democratic nominee and his position on Israel, only to see McCain's support among Jews sink to near historic lows.
First, if there is anyone you know who might be wavering on supporting Obama because of his position on Israel, send them the link and/or the text from Peretz's posting, because it is doubtful there is any more high profile supporter of Israel in the US.
Second, some observations. So far every attack that the Republicans have run have seen to blow back. It might be worthwhile to assemble a list of all the negative - and usually untrue - attacks made by McCain and his supporters on Obama. Then remind people of McCain's commitment to run a positive campaign. How can he expect people to believe that he will change the way our politics are being done if he attempts to gain power by the same old politics of attack and slime and divide and demean?
Ever more thoughtful Republicans are coming out for Obama. Palin cuts on many issues: she is not ready for national security challenges as we known, and her religious associations positively scare much of the Jewish community, despite McCain's support by Lieberman and his own long track record of support for Israel. Now she scares people on the environment, since yesterday we saw former EPA administrator, William Ruckelshaus, endorse Obama.
Of course, Ruckelshaus was also a former number 2 at Justice who was booted in the Saturday Night Massacre when he would not fire Archibald Cox. He is a believer in transparency, and thinks Obama would be better on national security and energy issues (wait - isn't Sarah Palin, according to McCain, one of our great energy experts?). And BTW, Ruckelshaus is a native Hoosier - wonder if he will be campaigning with the Bidens when they appear in state this morning?
But Excuse Me - let us return albeit briefly to what we can learn from Peretz, who is NOT a Republican (and IIRC was the supervisor of Al Gore's senior thesis at Harvard): people increasingly resent having politicians trying to manipulate them by fear. This is especially true of independents. It is true of most thinking people who do not react on a knee-jerk basis to the latest partisan dog whistle.
The McCain campaign and its supporters will keep throwing mud from now until the polls close, and then try to delegitimize the results they know are forthcoming.
The political talking heads are still trying to see a contest. The McCain campaign is spinning like crazy - did you know that the reason the Obama campaign is now contesting in AZ and GA and SD is because they cannot see their way to victory by a conventional path. Don't laugh - that is what McC's campaign manager Rick Davis put out :-) And people like Julia Elpirin of the Washington Post unfortunately simply repeats his bloviations and assertions without any data to support it, as you can see here. But what the heck, this is all noise.
So let me bring this to a close. Thoughtful people are increasingly rejecting McCain-Palin. Some are doing so for her lack of readiness, others because of the nastiness of his campaign, and many more for the positive qualities they see in Obama-Biden.
IF someone tries to insult your intelligence, as the entire brouhaha over Rashid Khalidi illustrates, call them on it.
Bluntly.
As Marty Peretz just did.
With a simple two word expression.
Excuse Me
Peace.