Ground Game

Liberal bloggers have been very aggressive promotion this op-ed, and the accompanying video, from former Clinton administration spokesman James P. Rubin. In his op-ed, Rubin claims John McCain previously endorsed holding negotiations with Hamas. If true, that would make McCain look hypocritical, after his campaign has recently attacked Barack Obama for what they say is his willingness to do the same.  

However, watching the actual video and reading the transcript reveals that McCain made no such promise to negotiation with Hamas. The key quote, "sooner or later we're going to have to deal with them," is more accurately interpreted as a potential military threat to the organization if they do not comport to the traditional standards of a governing entity:

"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."

The McCain campaign has fired back with a CNN clip from the same day where McCain more clearly outlines the preconditions for engaging with a Hamas-lead government.



McCain's surrogates certainly are justified in crying foul over the characterization of their candidate's views. But they should also be mindful that they have essentially done the same thing to Obama with the focus on him being "endorsed" by the terrorist organization. Negotiations and the question of appeasement have been hot topics in the news lately, and with good reason. Another popular clip making the rounds on the blogosphere this morning is of MSNBC's "Hardball" host Chris Matthews eviscerating right-wing radio host Kevin James, who fails to understand the historical differences between negotiating with hostile regimes and "appeasing" them.