Reported of Hamas official Ahmed Yousef, April 23rd, 2008 , in LA Times: “We like Mr. Obama. We hope he will (win) the election and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle…”

“This is offensive, and I think it’s disappointing,” Obama told Blitzer, when asked his thoughts about McCain’s comments that the terrorist organization Hamas wants Obama to be president. “Because John McCain always says ‘I am not going to run that kind of politics,’ and to engage in that kind of smear is unfortunate, particularly because my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his.

Once more, address the point, Obama, no political obfuscation like your race speech on the Rev. Wright issue. It’s what Hamas said they wanted, not what your policy may or may not be. Apparently Hamas has their own opinion of that.

SMEAR defined: When the truth goes against the spin currently in play by a Democratic candidate.

That Obama and McCain have basically the same stated policy towards Hamas only makes this worse for Obama. Why?

If Obama’s Hamas policy and McCain’s Hamas policy are the same, then Hamas is hinting that they are more than a terror group. What could that “more” be about? It could be about Hamas sharing goals with and being part of a larger, fundamentalist Islamist movement.

Thus Hamas is making McCain’s argument about the origin of the conflict: the origin is not about American foreign policy mistakes(which is Obama’s preferred argument), but rather is about a fundamentalist Islamist desire to spread Sharia. If swing voters are able to think through the implications(an open question), then Hamas endorsement will damage Obama. No one will vote for a candidate who is on the wrong side of the origin argument.

If you understand the origin argument, then you believe the Hamas endorsement speaks directly to policy, and you do not believe McCain is slurring Obama. If you believe - as Obama does - that the origin is about American foreign policy mistakes, then you might also believe McCain is slurring Obama. Obama might genuinely believe McCain is slurring him - but I hope not.

There’s a second element in this which hurts Obama: Hamas - sworn enemy of Israel - is also hinting that McCain will protect Israel more energetically than Obama will protect Israel. Again, Hamas is making McCain’s argument for him. Again, I don’t consider drawing attention to this to be a slur by McCain. McCain genuinely believes he would protect Israel more energetically than Obama would. This is not about a slur. It is about legitimate dinstinction between the candidates.

Only a couple of days ago, Obama mentioned the importance of a “contiguous” Palestinian state. This is a hint about how Obama will approach the conflict. Israel has said they cannot survive if Palestine is contiguous. McCain does not favor a contiguous Palestine. There are distinctions between how the two candidates will approach the conflict.