Obama and Khalidi: Guilty of Befriending Muslims

A bit dated but still very much relevant: we need more, not less, politicians who are humble, secure and open-minded enough to admit that they don't know everything.

Yet it is precisely Obama's willingness to listen to and even learn from those with whom he disagrees that McCain wants to use to scare undecided voters. In the unreleased video Obama explained that his discussions with Khalidi had offered "consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases... It's for that reason that I'm hoping that... we continue that conversation—a conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid's dinner table," but around "this entire world."

In post-September 11 Republican ideology, Americans admit no blind spots or biases. Self-criticism and introspection are for the weak, for "elites" and "radical professors" (as Sarah Palin dubbed Khalidi in a campaign speech yesterday, before mispronouncing his name as "Kaladi") who don't share "our values" and who are too self-absorbed to "put country first."