Thursday, October 30, 2008

Obama: LA Times Should Release Khalidi Tape

Barack Obama on Thursday criticized the Los Angeles Times for refusing to release a videotape which allegedly shows him praising Rashid Khalidi, a spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization when it was a U.S.-designated terror group.

Obama - speaking at a campaign fundraiser Thursday at the home of Monir Edwan, a prominent T-shirt distributor in the affluent town of Rafah Georgia - said that the Los Angeles Times "made an egregious error by not releasing the tape," but he said, "I respect their decision and I will not demand they release the tape anytime soon."

Obama said that while attending the farewell party, he nearly fell off his chair when one of the speakers compared Israeli settlers to Osama bin Laden.

"I was so full of anger," he said, "that I grabbed a cream pie from the head table, and threw right it in Khalidi's face! Unfortunately, the LA times is under pressure from the McCain campaign not to release the video. Sen. McCain doesn't want you see all that gooey whip-cream dripping down Khalidi's chin because he knows it would put me way over the top."

Obama also denied reports coming out of the Conservative blogosphere that allege he accused the Israeli government of committing "genocide against the Palestinian people" while speaking at Khalidi's farewell party.

"If that were true," he asserted, "then how come I never threw a pie in Olmert's face?"

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Obama campaign today defended Obama's decision to attend Khalidi's farewell party.

"Senator Obama has consistently said that he would meet with Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," the spokesman said. "And to be perfectly honest with you, I don't see any difference between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Rashid Khalidi. They're both a couple of thugs......"

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