Posted on 10/29/2008 11:36:58 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Sarah Palin was just in Toledo, Ohio this morning and talked about the LA Times protecting Obama by refusing to release the tape it’s holding of him enjoying himself while anti-Semitic comments were made at a dinner honoring Palestinian Rashid Khalidi in 2003.
It feels to us like the pump is being primed for something to break on this tomorrow.
It also seems like FOX anchors know more about what’s on that tape than humanly possible without actually seeing it.
We personally believe tomorrow morning that tape will indeed be released, to steal the thunder of whatever Obama’s doing tonight on his big TV special. The exact same way McCain stole Obama’s thunder from the last night of the Democrats’ convention by announcing Sarah Palin as his VP the next morning.
Nobody talked about Obama’s speech the next day, because they were all talking about Palin.
Our hunch is nobody’s going to be talking about the Barack Obama Variety Half Hour TV Extravaganza tomorrow morning because they are going to be talking about the Khalidi tape instead — and quite possibly showing Obama nodding, laughing, and maybe even cheering as anti-Israeli remarks are made by Palestinians at this dinner.
Palin’s remarks today were very well crafted, and expertly delivered. Her choice of words was careful, deliberate, and somewhat out of normal syntax for her. We can usually spot the lines in a speech a candidate’s been given by campaign writers — and those the candidate incorporates from her or his own personal style. Everything to do with the Khalidi tape and the LA Times was straight Steve Schmidt. The rest of the speech was Palin being herself.
So, something is up with that. The speech in Toledo was on energy needs, which is not a natural point of departure for Palin to go off the reservation and start talking about Khalidi on her own. Plus, she’s too good of a politician to do that anyway, and we’ve seen her in person a handful of times (as well as watching her speeches on TV), and she’s never veered off script before. She’ll toss in little jokes to the crowd that are spontaneous and of the moment that she’s in, but she’d never just start talking about Khalidi because she suddenly felt like it.
So, we expect FOX to start airing the tape tomorrow. But, in the public’s mind, the tape’s 100% associated with the LA Times. There’s also been offers of rewards for the tape circulating the last day or two, with the price tag on that up to over $125,000 from what we last saw.
To us, that looks like great cover for someone to bring that tape forward without it smelling like an “October Surprise”, when that’s exactly what the Khalidi tape is.
There are two other possibilites that we can think of as well, which are both less likely, though plausible:
(1) There’s nothing on the tape at all, and the Republicans know it; they also know the Times won’t release it, so they are making noise about the tape just to plant doubts about both Obama and the media in the public’s imagination. Horror movies from a generation ago are more terrifying because they didn’t have the budgets to show you the aliens or monsters that lurked in the closet or deep in the woods: your imagination took care of what could be out there, and it was far worse than anything the director could have shown you. That’s why today’s CGI-fests are so unfulfilling…there’s nothing left to imagination anymore. The unreleased Khalidi tape, however, is a great mystery — it sticks in your craw and won’t go away; you’re left wondering how bad this tape could REALLY be for Obama if the Times refuses to release it because it will devastate him. So, not only do you imagine Obama doing all sorts of terrible things at this dinner, but you also resent the media for once again protecting their favorite candidate. All of this inspires negative feelings towards Obama, and a net positive for McCain the underdog. It’s brilliant strategy, really…and watch, this is what’s going to end up being the most likely explanation for pushing the story about the Times and its mystery tape.
(2) The other possibility is that there is nothing bad on the Khalidi tape, but the Republicans want people to just think about tapes in general, which might either make them remember Reverand Wright or focus more intently on the Chicago audiotapes of Obama advocating socialism and maligning the US Constitution. Obama does not want his name appearing in the same sentence as “tape”, not when there are thousands of YouTubes out there of Jeremiah Wright damning America and talking about chickens coming home to roost. So, once again the motive behind pushing the LA Times story is for psychological gamesmanship, focusing the public on all the various tapes out there that reveal Obama for who he truly is.
Somewhat on a tangent, but we don’t see how the LA Times ever recovers from this — at this point, it should really be held in the same regard as a high school or college newsletter, and not an actual newspaper. We bet it ends up being the first major daily to end its printed run and go 100% online in the next 5 years. Because after this, people probably won’t want to even wrap fish with the LA Times. On the airwaves, MSNBC will be the first to share a similar fate. When the books are written on this campaign, the LA Times and MSNBC will be recorded as the two biggest cheerleading protectors of Obama — and we think, two of the main reasons he loses next week.
Well, then... it should be “bombs away” with this breaking-news October Surprise at precisely 15 minutes before “the 0ne” gives his infomercial.
ping
Nothing on tape? Well, why wouldn't the Times release it?
Something on tape? LA Times is a newspaper no more. There won't even be much trust from the left left.
I believe it is quite possible that there is more than one tape out there. Stands to figure.
The pressure on the LA Times will be to point out the fact the LA Times was hiding this, but it doesn’t matter, there is another.
Yeah, I agree. What about the birth certificate, Michelle’s tape, this tape, Ayers...blah blah blah. None of this does any good if the American people can’t see it. Of course the MSM will do their best to keep it all under wraps. I’m not hopeful unless it gets out. It does no good just sitting there not getting out.
I understand being skeptical after all the wild goose chases but the Republican ticket are actually talking this one up. That in itself makes a huge difference to me.
Yes there’s a tape but we don’t have any idea what’s on it. It could be nothing. We’ll never know if it’s not released.
Pass the popcorn; it’s gonna get fun!
Pass the popcorn; it’s gonna get fun!
Hitlery HATES Obama but she won’t commit political suicide for him. She will keep her mouth SHUT. Just wait and see. She would be DEAD in more ways than one if she thwarted the Obomination’s chances.
Do we know for sure that this is the Poet!
Also does he have two informercials planned. One now and one on Sunday or Monday?
The punditry should keep this up.
If the tape is not released, they should just describe what they think is on the tape, and let the public soak on that as if they actually saw the tape.
Only the LAT releasing the tape can "correct" any incorrect imagery that pundits place in people's minds.
-PJ
Wouldn’t it be cool if the API tape ran during or just after Obama’s infomercial?
Except a lot of us will be watching ABC or cable or DVD’s tonight instead
This is the same newspaper that published the Schwarzenegger 20-year-old grope story on the "Thursday before the Tuesday" of the recall election that got everybody so mad.
-PJ
I have been swamped with other things. Is this tape one of those purported Mel Gibson irrational moments of the candidate? Is that all the fuss?
Frank
That's not happening ...
The bounty on the LAT tape is now at least $200K
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