Although Palin might be basing this belief on Obama's repeated claim that he would happily meet with any world leaders (despotic or not), I believe that she sees the broader picture, just as Hillary Clinton did.
TONY REZKO
Back when Hillary was in play, she once referred to Obama's unholy alliance with Tony Rezko.
Because there have been so many reliable news sources that have reported on Obama's connection with Rezko, I won't detail the proofs of their coziness here. Suffice to say that Obama couldn't have bought his home without Rezko's financial help. When he did purchase it, he became Rezko's neighbor. But in addition to that, Rezko was one of his top campaign contributors and a major client of the law firm that Obama worked in for many years.
Now with a name like "Tony Rezko", I'd always assumed that Rezko was Italian. However, Rezko is Syrian (a country with state-sponsored terrorism). He came to the USA after highschool and has been here ever since.
Rezko is corrupt. You have probably heard the various charges and indictments. But there's one interesting fact that the press hasn't been reporting as widely: Rezko's money ties go back to an Islamic money mogul who was one of Saddam Hussein's right hand men.
Rezko is also allied with Jabir Herbert Muhammad, whose father (Elijah Muhammad) founded the Nation of Islam. And Rezko was named "Entrepreneur of the Decade" by the Arab-American Business and Professional Association.
RAILA ODINGA
Because of Obama's self-admitted longing for his African roots, he has repeatedly visited there and even inserted himself in local politics. One of the people he's supported and encouraged is Raila Odinga.
Odinga is currently Prime Minister of Kenya, in part thanks to Obama, who happily went with him to events and supported him in photo ops whenever possible in 2006 in order to give Odinga the credibility he so desperately desired as he was running against the incumbent President.
So who is Raila Odinga?
Odinga's the product of his father Odinga Odinga, a radical communist. Odinga himself is seen in Kenya as being part of the extreme left and is a member of ODM (a party which is just short of being openly communist).
On December 27, 2007, Odinga lost the Presidential election but claimed fraud. He pressed for a power-sharing arrangement with the current President and encouraged nationwide rebellion. He got it. His minions caused widespread fighting that killed multiple people and caused other atrocities such as the raping of women and children (even boys as young as 5 years old).
After Odinga won the concession, he made certain promises to the radical Muslim community there, including the promise that within 6 months he would "re-write the Constitution of Kenya to recognize Shari'a as the only true law sanctioned by the Holy Quran for Muslim declared regions."
If Odinga's not a terrorist, he's certainly despotic. But he's a successful despot, as his current title shows us.
Why haven't we heard much of Odinga until now? Well, we're Americans, aren't we? News beyond our borders is of little interest to us unless we're in a direct war with that nation or if a famous Hollywood celebrity is visiting there.
BILL AYERS & BERNARDINE DOHRN
Bill Ayers is a well-known self-admitted American terrorist who is not serving time (despite irrefutable evidence) because he got off on a technicality.
Ayers was a member of a radical terrorist organization in the 60s. He helped bomb the U.S. Capitol in 1971 and the Pentagon in 1972.
His wife, Bernardine Dohrn, was equally nasty. Following the murder of Sharon Tate and others on that day, Dohrn praised the Mansons for the slaughter. She has been quoted as saying "Dig it. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, then they even shoved a fork into a victim's stomach! Wild!"
Dohrn and Ayers met during their terrorist activities in the 60s. Ironically, they are both now college professors.
So how does Obama tie in with this Disturbing Duo?
Dohrn and Ayers have been documented as introducing Obama to the radical Chicago elite in the mid-1990s, declaring him to be "the best thing since sliced bread." Obviously Ayers brought Obama into his political realm, as Obama and Ayers served together on the Woods Fund board beginning in 1999 and served together until 2002, when Obama left the board to pursue other opportunities.
It is likely that Obama initially met Ayers through Dohrn, who worked at the same law firm as Obama's wife, Michelle.
Dohrn and Ayers have not changed much since their initial terrorist activities. They have never openly repented for their actions. In fact, in 2007, Ayers gave a speech at the reunion of their terrorist organization. An audio clip features him saying that the U.S. government is "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world," and that living in America is living in "the belly of the beast" and "the heart of the monster."
THE ARAB AMERICAN ACTION NETWORK
While Obama and Ayers were serving on the Woods Fund board together, their foundation made a grant of $40,000 to the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) in 2001, and another grant of $35,000 in 2002. The co-founder of the AAAN is Rashid Khalidi, who avowedly hates Israel and is working to secure Palestinian rights.
The L.A. Times has said that Obama is a "friend and frequent dinner companion" of Khalidi.
Ali Abunimah, the Vice President of the AAAN, is favorably impressed with Obama. He says that Obama convinced him that Obama "was very aware of the issues and critical of U.S. bias toward Israel and lack of sensitivity to Arabs. He was very supportive of U.S. pressure on Israel."
Because it is not politically smart to continue to openly encourage these ties, Obama has distanced himself from AAAN now. Abunimah says he understands. "If disappointing, given his historically close relations to Palestinian Americans, Obama's about-face is not surprising," wrote Abunimuh. "He is merely doing what he thinks is necessary to get elected and he will continue doing it as long as it keeps him in power."
HAMAS
Ahmed Yousef, the chief political advisor to the prime minister of Hamas said in an interview on ABC radio that "We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections."
OBAMA WILL TALK TO TERRORISTS
Obama met with Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and other leaders in Ramallah on July 23, 2008. According to the New York Times, this was because there was "some fence-mending to do with Mr. Abbas, who reacted angrily to comments on the status of Jerusalem that Mr. Obama made last month at a conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobby."
Additionally, Obama has stated repeatedly that he will meet with any world leaders, without preconditions or expectations. This includes terrorists and despots, of course. Obviously since Obama's standards are already so low, why would we believe that they will change once he takes office? I think we can take him at his word.
SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
The only thing that astonishes me is that Obama would take offense at Palin's statement. He is obviously proud of who is is, what he's done, and how he's arrived on the national scene. Since he's already chosen to pal around with terrorists, I fail to see how he finds Palin's declaration to be distasteful.
