McCain Was For Talking To Hamas Before He Was Against It- WP editorial, Jamie Rubin

[KittyWampus]

Hypocrisy on Hamas
McCain Was for Talking Before He Was Against It

By James P. Rubin
Friday, May 16, 2008; Page A19

snip

McCain, meanwhile, is guilty of hypocrisy. I am a supporter of Hillary Clinton and believe that she was right to say, about McCain's statement on Hamas, "I don't think that anybody should take that seriously." Unfortunately, the Republicans know that some people will. That's why they say such things.

But given his own position on Hamas, McCain is the last politician who should be attacking Obama. Two years ago, just after Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections, I interviewed McCain for the British network Sky News's "World News Tonight" program. Here is the crucial part of our exchange:

I asked: "Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?"

McCain answered: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."

For some Europeans in Davos, Switzerland, where the interview took place, that's a perfectly reasonable answer. But it is an unusual if not unique response for an American politician from either party. And it is most certainly not how the newly conservative presumptive Republican nominee would reply today.

Given that exchange, the new John McCain might say that Hamas should be rooting for the old John McCain to win the presidential election. The old John McCain, it appears, was ready to do business with a Hamas-led government, while both Clinton and Obama have said that Hamas must change its policies toward Israel and terrorism before it can have diplomatic relations with the United States.

Even if McCain had not favored doing business with Hamas two years ago, he had no business smearing Barack Obama. But given his stated position then, it is either the height of hypocrisy or a case of political amnesia for McCain to inject Hamas into the American election.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/15/AR2008051503306.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

[slinkerwink]

1. kicking for hypocrisy

[elpresidenteAlex]

2. Jamie Rubin is a great Democrat

Wingnuts will probably dismiss his words because he's a Democrat, but pay no mind.

He was assistant secretary of state during the Clinton administration, as you can see at the end of his column.

[DerekJ]

3. Damning!!1 Shit E-mail this to Obama's camp

[CoffeeCat]

4. Man, this is huge (or should I say hugh!!!)?

Wow.

Too bad McCain can't remember what he says from one minute to the next.

He's George Bush on Geritol.

[grantcart]

5. MoveOn.org do you have this

[KittyWampus]

6. kcik

[Spazito]

7. Jamie Rubin was on CNN where they showed a clip of this

2 year old interview by Rubin of the "old" McCain. Rubin re-iterated the hypocrisy of the "new" old McCain. It was good. CNN contacted the McCain campaign but haven't gotten any comment yet, lol.

[Turn CO Blue]

8. CNN hitting McCain spokesperson hard on this hypocrisy!

Just now on CNN. MCCain's spokesmodel reminds me of Dana Perino (ugh!)

This quote from McCain needs to be made into another DNC ad! We should hit it over and over again.

"They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East.

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. good that the msm is carrying the story...that's a good sign

I hope this represent a change from 2000 and 2004 when the msm had almost a news blackout of stories which could sound negative for the GOP nominee

[KittyWampus]

10. kick for more exposure

[canadian_is_cold]

11. Kick