Obama, Rashid Khalidi Video: LA Times Evolution of Excuses

Rashid Khalidi and Obama:
The LA Times Hidden Video
The Evolving Excuse-Mongering of the LA Times

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Why won't the LA Times release the video it has of Barack Obama attending, what one report called, a "Jew Bash" for former PLO spokesman and present Columbia professor, Rashid Khalidi?

The LA Times has had a week trying out a variety of excuses, before finally settling on one that--they hope--will take some of the heat off of them: "we promised our confidential source we wouldn't release it."

If what remained of the LA Times' readership didn't like the Times' reason for suppressing the video, no problem. They only had to wait a day or two and the Times gave a different excuse.

Let's take a look at how the LA Times tried out a variety of excuses for not releasing the video they had.

ALSO at DBKP:
* LA Times Obama-Rashid Khalidi Video: $175,000 Reward Offered for Tape
* Obama-Khalidi Tape: Blogger Obtains Quotes from Hidden Video UPDATED

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The Evolution of Excuse-Mongering


#1: "...Through with the story."
October 25, 2008

Wallston said that the article was written after he watched video taken at the Khalidi going away party. When I asked him about the video he said that as far as he was concerned he was through with the story.
--Confirmed: MSM Holds Video Of Barack Obama Attending Jew-Bash & Toasting a Former PLO Operative... Refuse to Release the Video!



#2: "The Times did write about the tape"
October 27, 2008

The Times did write about the tape, so I’m not sure what you mean aboutsuppressing the video or information from the video. Here is a copy of the report about the video.
--LA Times Responds to Readers: Get Lost



#3: "We're not a video service"
October 27, 2008

“We’re not a video service,” Doyle McManus, the Times Washington bureau chief, tells me. “We’re not suppressing anything. We were the first to report on these facts.” He declines to say whether the paper considered posting the video.
--Journalists Name 44th President


#4:Assorted Excuses
October 28, 2008

Brit Hume opened his Fox News show with this story today, and reported that the Times is now saying “No comment.”

LA Times excuses so far:

* “We did report on it. Why aren’t you happy with that?”

* “There are ethical problems with releasing the tape.”

* “No comment.”
--McCain Demands That LA Times Release Hidden Tape

#5:Promise to the Source
October 28, 2008

“The Los Angeles Times did not publish the videotape because it was provided to us by a confidential source who did so on the condition that we not release it,” said the newspaper’s editor, Russ Stanton. “The Times keeps its promises to sources.”

There you have it.

Pick an excuse, any excuse.

by Mondo Frazier
image: AP