• sfsooz

  0

  Oh, Goldfarb. Back to pundit school!

  Posted 11/3/2008 respond (flag)

And Lower...
Swampland — Here we have the McCain campaign's execrable Michael Goldfarb slinging around accusations of anti-semitism--a favorite pastime, as we've seen this year, among Jewish neoconservatives. I've never met Rashid Khalidi, but he is (a) Palestinian and therefore (b) a semite, so the charge of anti-semitism is fatuous. Khalidi is also a respected academic, the sort ...

In Which Michael Goldfarb Has A Bad Day
Eschaton — Though Sanchez shouldn't have internalized the premise of Khalidi being anti-Semitic. Just because the McCain campaign says something doesn't make it so.

Pure McCarthyism
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — Michael Goldfarb, McCain spokesman, accuses Barack Obama of hanging around with anti-Semites - plural - on CNN. Asked to name one other anti-Semite other than his allegation about Rashid Khalidi, he can't. He won't. But he leaves it hanging, refusing to disown or retract the charge. This is pure McCarthyism. And it is the rotten core of McCain. ...

The association that dare not speak its name
Jonathan Martin's Blog — McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb isn't "lying." But his hands are tied by the candidate. Jeremiah Wright remains off-limits.

Fail Fail Fail Faaaaaaaaaail
I Am TRex — Many people think that the historical legacy of the McTrainwreck 2008 campaign will be the laughable and totally inappropriate injection of Sarah Palin into the national political arena.  Me, I tend to think that this will go down in history as the year of the most spectacular surrogate failures in television history.  It’s gotten to be something we expect now, that every McCain spokesmoron who arrives on the scene of whatever show we’re watching will at first grin lamely as they attempt to offload whatever paper-thin talking points they were fed by the campaign an hour ago, and then inevitably go down of an awe-inspiring blaze of ...

Video: McCain Campaign's Khalidi Head Fake Exposed on CNN
MoJo Blog Posts: mojo — The McCain campaign is pushing hard on the Rashid Khalidi story. Khalidi is a public intellectual and a professor of Arab studies at Columbia University. He has a history of critical statements about Israel and has been accused of serving as a PLO spokesman decades ago. He denies that charge. He also happens to be a friend of Barack Obama's. They were both at a function that the LA Times has video tape of, which the McCain campaign now wants to see released. The campaign is painting Obama's ties to Khalidi as another example of Obama's "unsavory" associations. But wait. First of all, John McCain has some awfully bad judgment if Khalidi ...

Amateur Night for McCain Spokesmorons.
Blah3 Feed — Most. Incompetent. GOP. Spokeman. Ever. This is the best they can do? Really? It's fucking embarrassing.

McCain Blogger Michael Goldfarb Caught B.S.ing On Video
Oliver Willis — Tucker Bounds, meet your co-pilot in suck.

Rick Sanchez V. Michael Goldfarb: McCain Spokesman Wusses Out On CNN
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — Oh, dear. Michael Goldfarb, who's clearly better off blogging about ABBA and criticizing people for playing Dungeons and Dragons, just pooped his pants on national television. The McCain campaign is making a last ditch effort to make SCARY MUSLIM NOISES at Barack Obama, and since Goldfarb doesn't have any sort of reputation worth salvaging, it figures that he'd be doing duty here. But CNN's Rick Sanchez calls Goldfarb out for the hypocrisy of hyping a sinister connection between Obama and a guy that McCain funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to, and from there, Goldfarb goes right off the rails, refusing to answer Sanchez's questions with anything ...

Rick Sanchez V. Michael Goldfarb: McCain Spokesman Wusses Out On CNN
The Huffington Post | Full News Feed — Oh, dear. Michael Goldfarb, who's clearly better off blogging about ABBA and criticizing people for playing Dungeons and Dragons, just pooped his pants on national television. The McCain campaign is making a last ditch effort to make SCARY MUSLIM NOISES at Barack Obama, and since Goldfarb doesn't have any sort of reputation worth salvaging, it figures that he'd be doing duty here. But CNN's Rick Sanchez calls Goldfarb out for the hypocrisy of hyping a sinister connection between Obama and a guy that McCain funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to, and from there, Goldfarb goes right off the rails, refusing to answer Sanchez's questions with anything ...

Don't say 'Jeremiah Wright'
Ben Smith's Blog —   McCain aide Michael Goldfarb is clearly not allowed to speak the name of Obama's former minister.

Goldfarb: Obama has a ‘long track record of being around anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American rhetoric.’
Think Progress — This afternoon, CNN’s Rick Sanchez confronted the McCain campaign blogger Michael Goldfarb about its hypocritical criticism of Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) links to Rashid Khalidi. After Sanchez noted that McCain, as chairman of the board at the International Republican Institute, had also given Khalidi nearly $500,000, Goldfarb brushed him off, saying that Obama had a “long track record of being around anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American rhetoric”: GOLDFARB: Look you’re missing the point again Rick. The point is that Barack Obama has along track record of being around anti-Semitic, ...

McCain: Slander First
Wonk Room — In one of the more shameful episodes in the recent history of campaign flackery, Team McCain sent its blogger/spokesperson Mike Goldfarb out to shovel dirt at Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. After casually conceding that Khalidi received almost half a million dollars from the International Republican Institute back when it was headed by John McCain, Goldfarb proceeds to smear Khalidi as “unsavory” and an “anti-Semite” based on the fact that Khalidi happens to be an American of Palestinian descent and a critic of Israel’s policy of occupation and settlement in the West Bank. Watch ...

For Argument's Sake...
INSTAPUTZ — Let's say I took a shit. And then, just for good measure, that shit took a shit. That shit would conduct itself something like this: [via]

Profiles In Douchebaggery
Balloon Juice — Michael Goldfarb, lead McCain Report blogger on loan from the Weekly Standard: Joe Klein is not impressed: Here we have the McCain campaign’s execrable Michael Goldfarb slinging around accusations of anti-semitism—a favorite pastime, as ...

Remainders: Code of silence
Michael Calderone's Blog — Cillizza writes on Drudge's influence in '08, and Media Matters feels neglected. Conservative media group finds Palin coverage overly negative. Gibbs won't talk about Obama's aunt. Goldfarb won't talk about, well, "we know who we're talking about." Blitzer will talk with 3D hologram correspondents. Portfolio cutbacks reports in The Observer, Silicon Alley Insider, and of course, Portfolio. And apparently, some media reporters can keep secrets.

Sanchez v. Goldfarb
Matthew Yglesias — Rick Sanchez carves a “B” in Michael Goldfarb’s face: Couldn’t have happened to a more loathesome operative. At the same time, I have no idea why we’re conceding the premise that Rashid Khalidi is motivated by anti-Jewish racism. I suppose their might be some evidence for that, but one would think that being a Palestinian would be a perfectly sufficient reason for being a Palestinian nationalist. ...

Another McCain spokesman smiles and nods while called on the carpet
Greatscat! — CNN Rick Sanchez discussing Rashid Khalidi with McCain Spokesman Mike Goldfarb. Rick catches him lying and "SHUTS HIM DOWN." -Diane Stumble Upon Toolbar Stumble It! on Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 4:16 PM | | | Permalink [image] [image]

The McCain spokesman and the phantom antisemite
Majikthise — McCain spokesman Micheal Goldfarb embarrasses himself on CNN while attempting to insinuate that Barack Obama's friend Prof. Rashid Khalidi is some kind of antisemitic terrorist. Khalidi is, in fact, the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University. He's a thoroughly mainstream scholar, a popular ...

The Rashid Khalidi, Iran, Anti Israel Bogeymen
Taylor Marsh — BY TAYLOR MARSH Let’s start with Juan Cole’s "McCain Racism, Hypocrisy on Khalidi Issue." He gives an explanation that is continually ignored no matter how many people point it out. ...

Video: Michael Goldfarb On The Tightest Leash
Perfunction — My God --- for those of you holding out hope that McCain would somehow carpetbomb Obama into oblivion with a re-introduction of Rev. Jeremiah Wright in these final days, forget about it: To have a campaign spokesman painfully twist in the wind like that demonstrates exactly how ...

I’m Glad Joe Klein Could Do Research On Rashid Khalidi
Pirate's Cove — I’d ask “what is with the MSM,” but, we all know the answer: in da tank Herewe have the McCain campaign’s execrable Michael Goldfarb slinging around accusations of anti-semitism–a favorite pastime, as we’ve seen this year, among Jewish neoconservatives. I’ve never met Rashid Khalidi, but he is (a) Palestinian and therefore (b) a semite, so the charge of anti-semitism is fatuous. Khalidi is also a respected academic, the sort of person who is involved in foundation work that John McCain, for one, was willing to support financially. I’d say that if we have a bigot here, it’s Mr. ...

I’m Glad Joe Klein Could Do Research On Rashid Khalidi
Stop The ACLU — I’d ask “what is with the MSM,” but, we all know the answer: in da tank Here we have the McCain campaign’s execrable Michael Goldfarb slinging around accusations of anti-semitism–a favorite pastime, as we’ve seen this year, among Jewish neoconservatives. I’ve never met Rashid Khalidi, but he is (a) Palestinian and therefore (b) a semite, so the charge of anti-semitism is fatuous. Khalidi is also a respected academic, the sort of person who is involved in foundation work that John McCain, for one, was willing to support financially. I’d say that if we have a bigot here, it’s Mr. Goldfarb who, if he’s intent on calling people antisemitic–or any other ...

The Note: McCain Caught in Old Pull Between Center, Right
Political Radar — Previous | Main The Note: McCain Caught in Old Pull Between Center, Right October 31, 2008 8:53 AM ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Friday's Note: So as October is set to pass without a surprise . . . Sen. Barack Obama wants us to be scared of something in the rearview mirror . . . While Sen. John McCain wants us to be scared of something coming into view through the front windshield . . . Both candidates are a little bit scared when their running mates get behind the wheel. . . Republicans are mildly haunted by a ghost whose name cannot be mentioned . . . Democrats are counting on certain ghosts in Florida ...

The GOP Race to the Bottom
The Mahablog — For some reason this reminds me of “The Prisoner,” except the Prisoner wanted the identity of Number One, not Number Two. Does that make all the rest of us Number Six, or whatever number Patrick Mcgoohan was? But Number One isn’t anti-semitic either, according to Joe Klein: I’ve never met Rashid Khalidi, but he is (a) Palestinian and therefore (b) a semite, so the charge of anti-semitism is fatuous. Khalidi is also a respected academic, the sort of person who is involved in foundation work that John McCain, for one, was willing to support ...

You're Missing the Point...Which Is That You're Not Supposed to Challenge Anything I Say, No Matter How Ludicrous!
Shakesville — This has already been all over the blogosphere, but just in case no one's seen it yet, or anyone needs to have another laugh at it, here's video of McCain spokesperson Michael Goldfarb engaging in wanton fucknecky during an interview with CNN's Rick Sanchez yesterday. I really don't understand why the media doesn't require such a basic qualification of wild assertions like this all the time. It makes for great TV, apart from anything else—like truth and accuracy, those little things. (Transcript is below, and thanks to Shaker Juliemania ...

Lords of Undiscipline
Hit & Run — This gruesome CNN exchange with John McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb (on loan from The Weekly Standard), highlights something I've long observed but rarely written about: The McCain campaign's stunning lack of discipline. First, take a look at Goldfarb missing an opportunity to paint Rick Sanchez as a rabid Obama fan by instead turning the entire segment into a bizarre Obama-consorts-with-known-anti-Semites-who-we-all-know-but-I-won't-name: Goldfarb may be a swell guy in private (I've heard rumors to that effect), but you don't win elections by deploying non-professionals who aren't ready for the ultimate prime time of a ...

Smirky McGoldtard
Firedoglake —  From the Phillips Foundation: Tomorrows Wingnuts, Today™:  Michael Goldfarb Part-Time Fellowship Project: “The Upside of Global Warming.” Michael is online editor at The Weekly Standard where he has worked since 2003. He also works as a research associate at the Project for the New American Century. He ...

Taylor Marsh: The Rashid Khalidi, Iran, Anti Israel Bogeymen
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — by Taylor Marsh Let's start with Juan Cole's "McCain Racism, Hypocrisy on Khalidi Issue." He gives an explanation that is continually ignored no matter how many people point it out. The rightwing American way of speaking about these issues is bizarre from a Middle Eastern point of view. Lots of real living Israelis have close ties to actually existing Palestinians. There are 12 Palestinian members of the Israeli Knesset, and they have helped keep the Kadima government in power. Here is PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas with current Israeli Prime Minister Tzipi ...

McCain’s Racist Attacks on Khalidi A Tough Sell
Firedoglake — Small surprise that McCain continues to run a McCarthy-esque campaign.  Juan Cole: McCain's and Palin's attacks on Khalidi are frankly racist. He is a distinguished scholar, and the only objectionable thing about him from a rightwing point of view is that he is a Palestinian. There are about 9 million Palestinians in the ...

The Most Excruciatingly Awkward Television Moment You’ll See All Day
Say Anything — Here’s McCain blogger Michael Goldfarb wanting desperately to scream things like “It’s Rev. Jeremiah Wright!” or even “How about Louis Farrakhan!” at Rick Sanchez but not being able to because of McCain’s insane refusal to talk about Obama’s associations with those people. Sometimes it seems like John McCain doesn’t even want to win this election. ...

Disgrasian: Michael Goldfarb: We All Know Which Anti-Semite I'm Talking About
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — Dudes -- nothing gives us more tingles than watching somebody get busted for being unprepared and/or sensationalist and/or poorly informed while on split-screen live TV. It's painful. PAINFUL. Remember Kevin James's massive "appeasement" stumble on Hardball? Shouldn't the imminent shame resulting from such incidents be enough to scare some studying into anybody with a booking agent? Why-why-WHY does this continue to happen? Oh, and we're talking to YOU, Michael Goldfarb (this is not our fellow HuffPo compatriot, by the way, but the on-leave editor of The Weekly Standard and McCain's paid megaphone): ...

Morning Links
The Agitator — Mississippi death investigation system moves slowly, kicking and screaming, into the 1980s. Cop tasers undercover alcohol control agent he mistook for a robber. Should be interesting to see whose side of this story comes out on top. McCain campaign flack Michael Goldfarb gets flummoxed. More bad Halloween costumes (link NSFW–or good taste). Noted without comment. The dog ate it. So this is the kind of thing it’s helpful to keep in mind when some politician tells you why we need to track more things in government databases. Like health care records. Finally… ...

Spooky Halloween Stories
The Democratic Daily — They aren’t connected, you know, except that I have three observations of an electional nature, and those are them. Or, rather, them are these. Or somesuch. Happy Halloween! Three tales of misery and the magi nation. i. Logick I guess I’m astonished that the “closing argument” in election races panning the breadth and width of this great land is, from the Republicans. Here in Oregon, Gordon Smith (alternately, either the “Pea Pickin’ Polluter from Pendleton,” or, “Who knew that Gordo was a Moderate Democrat? WHO KNEW?”) is fighting to hold ...

McCain Keeps His Pledge on Rev. Wright:
The Volokh Conspiracy — Here is McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb just dying to bring up the Rev. Jeremiah Wright when asked whether Obama has any anti-Semitic connections, but adhering to McCain's order that Wright is off the table. (And, for the record, while there are reasons to be suspicious of Wright's attitudes toward Jews, including his closeness with Farrakhan and extreme hostility to Israel, I haven't seen any hard evidence that he's ever publicly crossed the line into anti-Semitism.) Exactly why McCain has been so resolute in refusing to use what strikes many people as not just a legitimate issue, but a strong issue for him, is an interesting question.

Saturday Morning Links
The Agitator — Mississippi death investigation system moves slowly, kicking and screaming, into the 1980s. Cop tasers undercover alcohol control agent he mistook for a robber. Should be interesting to see whose side of this story comes out on top. McCain campaign flack Michael Goldfarb gets flummoxed. More bad Halloween costumes (link NSFW–or good taste). Noted without comment. The dog ate it. So this is the kind of thing it’s helpful to keep in mind when some politician tells you why we need to track more things in government databases. Like health care records. Finally… ...

Sanchez asks Goldfarb a Question
Informed Comment — CNN's Rick Sanchez asks McCain campaign flack Michael Goldfarb to give specifics when he claims that Barack Obama pals around with antisemites; Goldfarb crashes and burns. Some have criticized Sanchez for stipulating that Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi is antisemitic for the sake of the argument; but I saw the whole thing and Sanchez points out at the end that Khalidi and his supporters would challenge the characterization in the first place. (People like Michael Goldfarb define antisemitism as disagreeing with the Zionist Far Right.) Incidentally, Joe Klein's ...

Oh My
Eschaton —

Nobody Wants To End The War More Than Joe Lieberman
Eschaton — Nobody Wants To End The War More Than Joe Lieberman It is true that Joe Lieberman has made some terrible choices. If not for his deeply dishonest 2006 Senate campaign I might even give him a bit of credit and say he stuck to his principles. He gambled on the straight talk express, and is probably going to lose.

Battleground States
Eschaton — Nobody Wants To End The War More Than Joe Lieberman It is true that Joe Lieberman has made some terrible choices. If not for his deeply dishonest 2006 Senate campaign I might even give him a bit of credit and say he stuck to his principles. He gambled on the straight talk express, and is probably going to lose.

Predictable As Sunrise
Eschaton — Predictable As Sunrise Indeed.

Evening Thread
Eschaton — Evening Thread Out for awhile. No blog for you until I return.

Open Thread
Eschaton — Open Thread I had to leave my costume party early. My "Admiral Stockdale" outfit just doesn't go over that well anymore. UPDATE: Nice phone bank workers the McCain campaign is hiring, wow!

More Thread
Eschaton — More Thread It's nice that John McCain is getting that historical punchline thing out of the way early. How Maveriffic!

Poll Porn
Eschaton — Poll Porn CNN sez Hagan up 53-44 over Dole. ...McCain losing ground in Gallup.

Goldfarb: ‘PNAC=Mission Accomplished; New mission begins’ with Foreign Policy Initiative.
Think Progress — Last November, Weekly Standard super hawk Bill Kristol hinted that he would be starting up a new “think-tank” modeled after the neoconservative Project for a New American Century (PNAC). PNAC provided much of the ideological framework for the invasion of Iraq and many of its members and sympathizers lobbied heavily for it. Today, Kristol is officially launching PNAC 2.0 — or as it is now called, “The Foreign Policy Initiative” (started with fellow neocons Robert Kagan and Dan Senor) with an event in Washington D.C. on the future of the Afghanistan war. The Wonk Room’s Matt Duss recently observed of FPI: ...