Barack Bashing Chronicles

Why is the Los Angeles Times withholding a video of Barack Obama meeting a Columbia University professor (Rashid Khalidi) five years ago. OK, Rashid is known to be a Palestinian rights advocate. So what?
Even if this is meeting was known to all in the media for the last six months, we know the McCain camp will dredge the last drop of s*** in trying to slime Obama. The LA Times should just release the video. Of course, five days before the election might not be the greatest timing, but then opportunism is what the McCain camp is all about...

From here: The video shows a gathering in Chicago for Rashid Khalidi, a teacher, writer and Obama friend who is critical of Israel. Mr. Obama spoke at the dinner, where other speakers likened Israel and Israelis to terrorists. The McCain campaign said the tape could show how Mr. Obama reacted to anti-Israel remarks. Mr. Khalidi, now a professor of Arab studies at Columbia University, opposes Israel’s occupation of territory it seized in the 1967 war and has defended Palestinian resistance to the occupation. He advised a Palestinian delegation at a 1991 peace conference and has written several books on the Middle East.

Of course, the conditions under which this newspaper obtained the video is also important to consider: The LA Times obtained it from a source on the express condition that the video itself not be released. The LA Times did run a story disclosing the contents of the video, presumably with the permission of the source, but they have stated that "the Times keeps its promises to sources."

Update: A Reader points out the following (source here):

John McCain served as Chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI), hich gave out grants to different organizations including the Palestinian Research enter, which was headed by, wait for it, wait for it - Rashid Khalidi. In 1998, a tax filing from IRI shows $448,873 that went to Khalaidi’s group. The relationship existed for at least 5 years as in 1993 IRI funded several of Khalidi’s studies on “sociopolitical attitudes.” No one is calling John McCain a terrorist. No in is calling into question John McCain’s patriotism. And the same should be true for Barack Obama.