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Jim Fallows Disgusted As Hillary Circulates Right-Wing Smear of McPeak
Poor Jim Fallows. He’s in China and not aware of the Devil’s Dance going on right now in the Democratic presidential campaign. Fallows isn’t aware of how low Hillary’s been sinking in her desperation to keep her primary bid alive. The latest is her circulation of the American Spectator hit-piece against Obama military advisor, Merrill McPeak, which alleges the latter is an anti-Jewish “bigot” for saying that U.S. involvement on behalf of Israeli-Palestinian peace is hindered by some American Jews. Fallows, normally a pretty taciturn fellow, is disgusted:
…If, as I assume is true…the Hillary Clinton campaign is circulating a hit job from the American Spectator, this is simply disgusting. (Marc has just confirmed to me that indeed the article came in an on-the-record email from Phil Singer, the Clinton campaign spokesman.)
That the Clinton family would dignify the American Spectator, of all publications, is astonishing to anyone who was alive in the 1990s.
That they would bless this attempt to paint Merrill McPeak as an anti-Semite is grotesque.
I doubt that the author of the hit job ever bothered to speak with or interview McPeak. I have done so many times, during and after his days as Air Force chief of staff (which he was during the first Gulf War). People can agree or disagree with McPeak’s foreign policy or his record at the Pentagon — but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Any attempt to fish out a quote that will banish him as a bigot is exactly as fair and accurate as depicting Bill Clinton as being personally a racist based on his “fairy tale” and “Jesse Jackson” comments around the time of the South Carolina primary. I say this having heard McPeak lay out his views, starting while the Gulf War was underway 17 years ago, about how to maintain general stability, US interests, and Israeli security in the Middle East.
…I can easily believe that the Spectator would publish such an article. That the Clinton team would circulate it I’m still trying to deal with.
Remember Hillary’s “vast right wing conspiracy?” Well, it appears that Hillary’s changed her tune and now believes “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” She knows how to use members of said conspiracy (American Spectator, American Thinker, Matt Drudge among them) when it comes to saving a slowly sinking candidacy.
American Conservative Magazine’s (some conservatives actually DO have principles) Daniel Larison has excellent coverage of the story as well. They even linked to my post about L’Affaire McPeak.
