Patterico's Pontifications

5/10/2008

Another Obama Advisor Leaves Campaign

Filed under: 2008 Election — DRJ @ 12:42 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Robert Malley, an “informal Middle East advisor” to Barack Obama, has left the campaign after a British newspaper asked him about meetings with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Obama is particularly sensitive on the subject of Hamas after the Hamas Prime Minister endorsed Obama for President. The US government lists Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization.

Without knowing more about the nature of Malley’s contacts with Hamas or whether he has been an advocate for the organization, this seems like an overreaction on the part of the Obama campaign. Either Obama is getting advice from people who hold extreme views or he’s spineless when it comes to standing up for his advisors. Neither option is encouraging.

— DRJ

25 Responses to “Another Obama Advisor Leaves Campaign”

  1. For a candidate whose candidacy is predicated upon the notion has the “judgment” to avoid the mistakes made over the past 16 years, Obama sure has an affinity for surrounding himself with controversial characters. Maybe someone can get Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, Samantha Power, and Robert Malley together for a interesting session on just what Obama’s friends believe and espouse.

    JVW (30031f)

  2. A reasonable third possibility is that Obama now realizes his lack of judgement has not gone unnoticed by voters and therefore is now in the position of not being able to afford a whiff of suspicion or guilt by association blunder to occur again.

    Whether this is the result of a serious lack of discretion, being less than a shrewd judge of character, or underestimating what mainstream voters will tolerate, seems less important than the fact that he has reacted swiftly. Obviously, he’s gotten a clue.

    Dana (8e3918)

  3. Dana

    Unless the “clue” he has gotten is Rev. Green, in the Conservatory, with a Rope…I don’t think he has another one.

    The Malley, Power, Brzezinski, McPeak, Lake braintrust has Dhimmi Carter written all over it.

    The Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel ooze that seeps out of every pore of this cadre…puts on a thicker outer shell to cover their true beliefs…but, dig down underneath and you will find very, very, very similar feelings within Rev. Wright, Louis Farrakhan…the Nation of Islam and the congregants of Black Liberation Theo-politics.

    Isolating out Malley from the herd, instead of seeing this as the pattern that it is…plays in favor of this worldview not being discovered as a theme, rather than another “incident”.

    Every time Sen. Obama suggests that this latest “incident” is a “distraction”…(and then tries to body slam it with the very thinly veiled threat of calling someone a racist for bringing it up again)we all lose the forest for the trees.

    Ayers & Dorhn are almost carbon copies of the worldview of Frank Marshall Davis.

    Malley holds views very similar to Wright and Farrakhan concerning Israel.

    It is NOT “coincidence” that these names and people are cropping up within his “advisory”. Hot Air and Powerline have bits on this…and Malley was not a “distant” advisor.

    I have been writing about Malley (and the others) for weeks…and trying to point out the “connect the dots” aspect of all this. It hasn’t been gaining much traction, I’m afraid, though.

    cfbleachers (4040c7)

  4. cfbleachers, I don’t think that he has necessarily gotten a clue now because he figured anything out other than there is no more benefit of the doubt given to him by the public (or msm). He’s played the innocent/clueless/justification/disingenuous card one time too many. And he knows we know.

    Of course its no coincidence that his pals are extremists to some degree – this is Obama’s real constituency, the people whose mindsets and motivations and political persuasions are most like his. No surprise there.

    What I am saying is that he knows that too much goo sticking to him can cost him the nomination. He’s spineless but he’s not stupid – he knows the damage Wright, Ayres, and co. have caused. Theres just no more room wiggle room for disingenuousness, pleading innocent and proclaimed cluelessness. If those in his circle are questionable, if they might impede him in any way at all, they must be banished.

    Michelle won’t stand for anymore screw-ups.

    Dana (8e3918)

  5. Apparently Michelle won’t stand for Hillary as VP, either.

    DRJ (a431ca)

  6. heh. Thats not a surprising veto by Michelle O. Women are naturally competitive with each other. Put two extraordinarily smart, strong willed women who are both fighters by nature in the mix and you have anything but peace and harmony.

    But entertainment, yes!

    Dana (8e3918)

  7. My first thought was also to suspect that personal rather than political differences would make Michelle veto Hillary. I think if the Obamas were smart, they would pick Hillary because it could help assure his victory. Of course, Hillary might say no and try to to defeat Obama behind the scenes, but I’m a believer in the old adage, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Especially in politics.

    DRJ (a431ca)

  8. Theres just no more room wiggle room for disingenuousness, pleading innocent and proclaimed cluelessness.

    Dana, I adore you (based on your posts)…but…I simply don’t believe this. I think his entire candidacy is based upon shrouding his lifelong attraction to extremely radical and divisive voices.

    This has become a game of Whack A Mole…one of his extremist nutjobs pops up out of hiding within his campaign and he whacks them back under the table. (only to pop up later?)

    However, there is NOTHING new or different within his lifelong attraction to radical, extremist worldviews yesteryear from today.

    Because that is true…and because he absolutely, positively cannot admit it…his whole campaign must be a shell game and he wants to hide the pea…permanently during this campaign season.

    He can’t say “I learned at the knee of Frank Marshall Davis, I took all his mentoring to college and sought out my most radical professors, I married someone who sees the country through very bitter and distrusting eyes, I went through a mutual adoption of a father figure in Jeremiah Wright and studied his words and embraced his ideals.

    I surrounded myself with Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said, William Ayers and Bernardine Dorhn, because they represented all that I have been taught, all that I have been mentored and all that I believed and agreed with for my entire life….only NOW…

    …I am a centrist, with strong Pro-Israel sentiments, I believe that Rev. Wright, Rev. Moss, Rev. Meeks, Father Pfleger, Ayers, Dorhn, Khalidi, Malley, ….are too radical for my centrist views.

    A lifetime of attraction to extreme radicals, and ten minutes of running for President…disingenuous is his new middle name.

    And we won’t be able to say that one out loud either. The “in the bag” deadwood media won’t stand for it.

    cfbleachers (4040c7)

  9. DRJ – its always personal first… then whatever (politics, etc.) follows… (I hear women tend to be this way.)

    cfbleachers, thanks for making me blush, and I absolutely agree that there is nothing new about Obama’s friends – the difference now however is the size of the audience and the inability to keep the crazy uncles and militants under wraps.

    The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been for him. He knows that and he knows (I believe) that his extreme pals are not acceptable to the mainstream and that is the arena he is attempting to operate in. Of course disingenuous is his middle name, but politician is his first which must by default, make him yet another emperor with no clothes. We know. He doesn’t.

    I think also that he’s learning to play a new game – one where the MSM will not necessarily be his BFF that he can count on. And, with the ascendancy of the internet, he can be found out more quickly.

    Dana (8e3918)

  10. If this involved a GOP canadate the liberal left-wing news media would have it on their front pages

    krazy kagu (40bcdd)

  11. I demand a purge of all anti-Israel advisers to Sen. Obama.

    Out, out, out!

    Fire all of the Jew-haters, and the liars, and the race-baiters, and the crypto-Marxist, and the afro-Marxists, and the faux neo-liberals who are actually old-time socialists.

    Out, out, out!

    The only question is, what would be left of his campaign?

    Daryl Herbert (4ecd4c)

  12. I demand a purge of all anti-Israel advisers to Sen. Obama.

    Out, out, out!

    Fire all of the Jew-haters, and the liars, and the race-baiters, and the crypto-Marxist, and the afro-Marxists, and the faux neo-liberals who are actually old-time socialists.

    Out, out, out!

    The only question is, what would be left of his campaign?

    In terms of those closest to him in his entire life, who would be left? His parents, grandparents, Frank Marshall Davis, his most radical professors, Rev. Wright, Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam members, the congregation at TUCC, Father Pfleger, Ayers & Dorhn, Rev. Meeks, Ali Abunimah, Edward Said, Rashid Khalidi, ….if you remove them from his life, his biography looks like this:

    There was a man, he was born, he lived, he ran for President. The end.

    cfbleachers (4040c7)

  13. An “informal” advisor means he was not a “formal” advisor. He was one of hundreds of people who gave their advice to the candidate. He talks to a lot of controversial groups around the world because “world” leaders can’t for fear of being aligned with Hamas for talking to them. Isn’t that silly that we have to have go betweens because the United States won’t allow the President or anyone running for President to talk to anyone they feel they need to talk with. Castro, Hamas, Sadam Hussein. But we have no problem dropping bombs on millions of their people. Gee, how about being a part of civilized Earth. So Obama was getting advice from this guy and because some right wing freaks would “connect the dots” and think somehow Obama supports Hamas becasue he finds out something on them, he disassociates from the campaign. Now you say he’s spineless. You set up a lose lose situation, not the Obama camp. We used to call gathering information on any group “intelligence” but it is only good if we torture them to get the info. Asking someone who talked with them isn’t kosher.

    John McCain says he would be Hamas’ worst nightmare if he were elected. He would also be OUR worst nightmare. This Keating Five guy came into politics embroiled in corruption, doesn’t know the difference between shia and sunni, wants to “bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran,” start as many wars as possible, stop our veterans from getting the proper care that Congress is trying to provide and thinks George “29 % Approval Rating” Bush is doing a swell job. None of you have read Obama’s book, “Audacity of Hope”, looked at his Wikopedia page, listened to one speech, yet are experts in knowing that if it weren’t for Reverand Wright, he wouldn’t have a bio at all. Maybe its time to admit your racism brings out your dark side. Oh yeah, he’s not a Muslim either.

    John Martin (d6ea07)

  14. #13
    Good post Martin! A thoughtfull, balanced perspective is hard to find these days.

    love2008 (d2a57f)

  15. Thoughtful? Balanced? That post was neither.

    Look, people can shout “Racist!” each and every time someone points out an area where Sen. Obama needs to be vetted…and folks like Lovie can find that to be “thoughtful and balanced”, but it simply shows a rampant fear by the blind faithful in digging deeper into the man.

    If he was a man of substance, instead of a politician whose ideas are deep as a thimble, he would withstand the scrutiny it takes to EARN the position of our leader, as opposed to being handed it…because irrational, emotional, and unthinking people wish to hurl epithets at anyone who doesn’t fall to their knees at the mention of his name. Or worse, these irrational, emotional and unthinking people say you have a “dark side” and are “racist” simply because you may disagree with his stances, or wish to vet his belief system.

    Frankly, I am damn sick and tired of the ad hominem attacks on people who have legitimate concerns about Sen. Obama’s leanings.

    Keep them to yourself and discuss the issues. If you can’t do that, then perhaps you have nothing of merit to say.

    cfbleachers (4040c7)

  16. None of you have read Obama’s book, “Audacity of Hope”, looked at his Wikopedia page, listened to one speech, yet are experts in knowing that if it weren’t for Reverand Wright, he wouldn’t have a bio at all.

    Maybe it’s time to admit that you have no idea what you’re talking about. The reality you cobble together in your imagination is not going to move anyone you’ve cast as the villain in it.

    Pablo (99243e)

  17. #15
    I merely expressed my opinion. Whats wrong with that. I am quite away of all of Obama’s weaknesses. And no I dont think you are a racist for pointing them out. The part I agree with in John Martins’ post was in everything he said except the last statement. I dont think pointing out an area of concern in the life of a potential president of America is racism. I am for more thorough vetting and intense scrutiny. But every thing must be done in a non partisan, fair and balanced manner. When almost everyone on this blog seems to only point out what is wrong with Obama, as though he is all evil, it seems a little refreshing to have someone post something a little positive. Hence the word “balanced”. Lets hear the negatives and dont freak out when someone points out a positive.

    love2008 (d2a57f)

  18. Not because my compadres here couldn’t do a better job, but allow me to rip to shreds this inane post, with its ad hominem attacks and wilting logic, so that the folks here don’t have to be bothered with its simpering tone and factual vacuum.

    An “informal” advisor means he was not a “formal” advisor. He was one of hundreds of people who gave their advice to the candidate.

    How profound. How utterly imbecilic. Just because someone is called an “informal” advisor AFTER THE FACT, doesn’t make him “informal”.

    The ACTUAL President of the United States has hundreds of people who give him advice, but he has an innner circle. Most candidates don’t have nearly as many people to call on, and they have an inner circle as well.

    The NYTIMES AND THE WASHINGTON POST are the ones who MONTHS AGO…described who was in Sen. Obama’s ‘inner circle’.

    It appears that every time one of these clowns is vetted, he disappears like a mafia street thug, who crossed a “made man”.

    The apologists who spend most of their time on their knees in front of Obama (doing what, depends on how much they fawn over him, not all of them are content to just kiss his ring), wish to write revisionist accounts of his relationships with Wright, Farrakhan, Ayers, Dorhn, Frank Marshall Davis, Malley, Brzezinski, Rashid Khalidi, Tony Rezco, Ali Abunimah, Edward Said, Rev. Meeks, Father Pfleger, Tony McPeak, Samantha Power, Sam Graham-Felsen, ….and wish to belittle the issues of not wanting to wear a flag pin, not holding his hand over his heart during the National Anthem, etc.

    Of course, they do. It takes a special form of cowardice to hurl epithets at people who want to dig more deeply into those associations and what it all means, and then to hide from any inquiry into who the man is, while they blindly fawn over their latest pop icon.

    But let’s not engage in ridiculously inane and puerile debates, suggesting that he has no “inner circle”. You would have to be a child to think that. Of course he has an inner circle. Now, before you hurl epithets at other people…and suggest what THEY “don’t read”….you might want to at least ….you know…GOOGLE who these people were, what their titles were…BY THE LEFTIST MEDIA …months ago…and then try to tell us, from your position on your kneepads…why those reports are now wrong and the excuses and alibis are believable.

    Look at the NYTimes and Washington Post and Newsweek articles describing the roles, titles and “inner circle” descriptions of these people before you open your insulting mouth again.

    He talks to a lot of controversial groups around the world because “world” leaders can’t for fear of being aligned with Hamas for talking to them.

    What is this vapid statement supposed to represent? An apologia for dealing with Chavez, Castro, Ahmadinejad, Kim Il Sung, …without preconditions? Again, this mindset is so childlike, it defies reason and is based on such infantile notions as to render it nearly meaningless.

    When you don’t “recognize” a terrorist sponsoring nation, that means you don’t engage in formal talks with them. What is he looking to do…find “root causes” for 9-11, so he can blame the USA for them. We have enough of the nutjob conspiracy theorists and turncoat cowards to deal with in this country, we don’t need to elect one of them to our highest office.

    Isn’t that silly that we have to have go betweens because the United States won’t allow the President or anyone running for President to talk to anyone they feel they need to talk with. Castro, Hamas, Sadam Hussein.

    This might be a nice question for a fifth grade civics class, but here where we sit at the adult table for Thanksgiving dinner…the US doesn’t “allow” the President OR ANYONE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT to talk to ANYONE they feel they NEED to talk with…is about to be nominated for the most asinine sentence posted in 2008.

    Do you even have a concept of how any of this works? A clue? Do have any idea what the Logan Act is, says or stands for?

    You feel a “need” to go set up your own diplomacy with enemies of state and that ought to be “peachy keen” to do so? How imbecilic can you get? (do you like being insulted in every sentence? NO? Then in your next post, try being respectful and earning respect in return)

    But we have no problem dropping bombs on millions of their people. Gee, how about being a part of civilized Earth.

    Only a fool would make this statement. Which “millions of people” did we “drop bombs” on, with whom we did not have discussions? And if you don’t think we are a part of civilized Earth..why would you stay here? Move. Get the hell out. As fast as you can. We wouldn’t want to keep you here against your will. And take your arrogant, smug, pedantic attitude with you.

    So Obama was getting advice from this guy and because some right wing freaks would “connect the dots” and think somehow Obama supports Hamas becasue he finds out something on them, he disassociates from the campaign.

    Well, 90% of the country doesn’t like the idea of supporting Hamas, so you are in the minority, sport. And if that makes 90% of the country “right wing freaks”, that puts you in a class of the rather insane “truthers”, and other cowards and liars. Feel free to go live their, with their despicable notions about the destruction of Israel. You would fit right in with the blind faithful. If we are lucky, you could strap a bomb to your chest and rid the world of one more flaming fool.

    Since have shown yourself to be incapable of connecting any dots, I’m not sure that you wouldn’t cross one green wire with one red wire and fail to blow yourself up…but then again, your meager brain seems to have one red wire crossed with one green wire, so that’s the tradeoff, I suppose.

    Robert Malley, for those folks who are permanent members in the lightweight ignoramous crowd…has a long history of being in the Carter/Brzezinski mold of Mideast anti-Israel leanings. Try reading a book or an article once in a while. We’ll wait while you try to catch up.

    Now you say he’s spineless. You set up a lose lose situation, not the Obama camp. We used to call gathering information on any group “intelligence” but it is only good if we torture them to get the info. Asking someone who talked with them isn’t kosher.

    It’s only good if we TORTURE THEM? I used to think that some of these despicable cowards who always describe our country in the most hateful terms were simply isolated whacko-types. You know, Michael Moore and Ted Rahl. They’re crawling out from under every rock, it appears.

    These creepy lemmings have multiplied like cockroaches. Why do they live here? What made their brains rot?

    Intelligence gathering is now done by OUR COUNTRY…only by means of torture. This isn’t principled dissent, this is aggravated slander and open sedition.

    Lovie…you ought to be ashamed of yourself for aligning with this creep and cheering him on. C’mon, you are better than that. Leave this cretin to bathe in his own cesspool of lies and distortions. Don’t encourage him, because it belittles you to do so.

    cfbleachers (4040c7)

  19. John McCain says he would be Hamas’ worst nightmare if he were elected. He would also be OUR worst nightmare. This Keating Five guy came into politics embroiled in corruption, doesn’t know the difference between shia and sunni, wants to “bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran,” start as many wars as possible, stop our veterans from getting the proper care that Congress is trying to provide and thinks George “29 % Approval Rating” Bush is doing a swell job.

    Dealing with someone who thinks like a 12 year old, speaks like a 12 year old, and acts like a 12 year old on the Internet, always has me worried that he IS 12 years old!

    You can try to frame Sen. McCain as someone who wants to bomb, start wars, loves President Bush…but nobody except the insane leftists will buy that, so if it makes you feel better to screech into an echo chamber, feel free.

    That puerile and imbeclic paragraph won’t change a single mind where Sen. Obama needs to find votes though, son. It will only piss people off who truly wish to look at who Obama is, and if he is identified with you and your anti-America bashing, you are going to help lose him the election.

    The MORE he is identified with “his camp” as being YOU as one of his “campers”…the more likely he is going to be demolished in the General Election.

    This is PRECISELY the attitude that the folks who might have considered him want to see him divorce from…because 95% of them, can’t stand you…or your attitude. And they want to make sure he doesn’t share it.

    If shown your paragraphs, they would want him to blast you, distance himself from you and call you an idiot. And if he didn’t…he couldn’t carry any more states than George McGovern. You would be an outsider, with your little nose pressed up against the window, wimpering like a spanked puppy dog…because he would drop you like a bad habit. He doesn’t share your vapid notions, because if he did…he couldn’t get elected dog catcher of the US, much less President of the US.

    None of you have read Obama’s book, “Audacity of Hope”, looked at his Wikopedia page, listened to one speech, yet are experts in knowing that if it weren’t for Reverand Wright, he wouldn’t have a bio at all. Maybe its time to admit your racism brings out your dark side. Oh yeah, he’s not a Muslim either.

    If it wasn’t for Frank Marshall Davis, his radical professors, Jeremiah Wright, ….who would be his mentors and closest advisors since childhood? Name them. Go ahead, we’re waiting.

    We aren’t racists, just because we are asking the questions, but you may be a coward, a liar and a fake countryman based on what you think about this country. Feel free to get out while you can.

    Sen. Obama doesn’t want you anywhere near him and the people here aren’t likely to find you any less disgusting than he would.

    cfbleachers (4040c7)

  20. cf bleachers-
    a most excellent polemical exercise that exposes the empty vessels that are Barack Hussein, martin and lovechild. Unfortunately the media has blinders and is not interested in the truth. And most people I know get their information from the biased “news” accounts of the media. The local papers here in Palm Beach are propaganda tools for the far left as I imagine are all the other papers within their syndicate. I don’t know how bad it is throughout the country, but some blogs I’ve seen are pointing out how truly awful the main Minneapolis rag is and this blog is on the LA Times case. And of course we are all aware of the all-powerful treasonous NT Times paper of record.

    Love and martin- I’d really like to know why so many liberals are fawning all over Obama and even admitting that he turns them (thrills down the leg, hung up on the bulge in his jeans, etc.) We went through the same BS with Clinton when some members of NOW admitted publically that they’d only be too happy to service him or at least fellate him since that isn’t really sex. Or is it that your white guilt moves you to support a so-called “black” man? Enjoy that circle jerk before your man potentially gets the office and screws the country royally. Ok, O’Reilly as an example doesn’t think Obama’s associations show what is in his own mind and heart, but where the hell are the mainstream people in his circle? People must just love to be lied to and are willfully blind to what is right before them. Kumbaya.

    madmax333 (052ad2)

  21. #19
    cfbleachers,
    Do you believe that Senator Barrack obama is a threat to the United states of America?

    love2008 (d2a57f)

  22. If he doesn’t, I do!
    Probably a greater threat than the disaster we went through from Jan-77 to Jan-81!

    Then, we only had to worry about the Soviets, who did have the sense that survival was more important than ideology – which is why MAD worked.
    With the radical Islamic Jihadists (IslamoFascism, for short), ideology trumps all – dying accesses paradise and their beloved 72 virgins. They will take everyone they can with them, just because.

    And, Jimmah introduced us to this scourge through his betrayal of the Shaw, and the State-Of-War that exists between the Islamic Republic of Iran, and The Great Satan, through his fecklessness.

    Another Drew (8018ee)

  23. #20
    wrong again! I am no liberal neither am I anyone’s fanatic. What about you? Who are you fawining over? John McCain? Or maybe Ron Paul? Come on Madmax, every thing is not just blue and red.

    love2008 (d2a57f)

  24. Do you believe that Senator Barrack obama is a threat to the United states of America?

    President Barack Obama would be detrimental to America. He’s just more Jimmy Carter.

    Pablo (99243e)

  25. Do you believe that Senator Barrack obama is a threat to the United states of America?

    Lovie, much like Pablo…I see Sen. Obama right now as a sort of Jimmy Carter redux, and I believe that Carter is dangerous to America’s interests…not “dangerous” in the physical sense, but as in the disastrous foreign policy sense.

    I think that Sen. Obama has virtually EVERY mentor and advisor in his life filling him with dangerous notions and ideas about who we are as a country and what needs to be “cured” and by what means.

    Ideas themselves are not dangerous, it is the implementation of those ideas that can be disastrous.

    We can’t name one single mentor, advisor, closely embraced voice in Sen. Obama’s past…up through today…who isn’t a hard leftist with a strong anti-America rage.

    That concerns me. He has consistently sought out those voices, that worldview…and even if he has the BEST of intentions, his cures could very likely stem from this fraudulent worldview of this country.

    I think Jimmy Carter was disastrous as a President. I was a young lawyer in those years and life sucked under that arrogant fool.

    I see quite a bit of Carter in Sen. Obama, unfortunately. I see the black rage that Sen. Obama embraced in the TUCC. I see the leftist slander that Sen. Obama embraces with Frank Marshall Davis, Sam Graham-Felsen, Ayers & Dorhn, and Wright and Farrakhan. I see the Pro-Palestinian lies and deceit from Rashid Khalidi, Ali Abunimah and Edward Said.

    Anyone who doesn’t see those things, has their eyes tightly shut.

    Is he dangerous? The people surrounding him his entire life hate this country with a passion. That’s disturbing.

    cfbleachers (4040c7)


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