Campaigns Quick to Shake Loose Cannons

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

Campaigns Quick to Shake Loose Cannons
By CHRISTOPHER COOPER
March 25, 2008; Page A4

Presidential candidates have gotten touchy about their prominent friends. Sen. Hillary Clinton dropped former Rep. Geraldine Ferraro from her campaign, Sen. Barack Obama backed away from Rev. Jeremiah Wright and academic Samantha Power, and Sen. John McCain rebuked Texas televangelist James Hagee -- all because of divisive statements the friends made. The shifts illustrate a reality in this closely fought contest: When a misstep, or the appearance of one, sparks negative press, campaigns are quick to throw a high-profile supporter overboard rather than mount damage control.

One unusual breakup is the Clinton campaign's split with Chicago businessman Mehmet Celebi, who was relieved of duty as a fund-raiser. Mr. Celebi was dismissed on the basis of assertions on the Internet, which he denies, that he produced and bankrolled a film that is anti-Semitic and anti-American. The campaign didn't determine whether the charges were true. Mr. Celebi, the former longtime president of the Chicago chapter of the Turkish-American Cultural Association, said he is the victim of a smear campaign that he thinks may have been started by a group of disgruntled Armenians.

At the heart of Mr. Celebi's trouble is an obscure 2006 film titled "Valley of the Wolves.".. the movie, starring Gary Busey and Billy Zane, bears little relation to the television series. It depicts U.S. soldiers in Iraq torturing and killing Iraqi civilians until the soldiers are foiled by a small band of Turkish commandos. The movie was popular in Turkey but never released in the U.S. Groups, including the Catholic League, condemned the film as anti-American propaganda and criticized Messrs. Busey and Zane for taking part. Critics also say the film is anti-Semitic, as evidenced by the character portrayed by Mr. Busey -- a Jewish doctor who harvests organs from Arab captives in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison for resale in Tel Aviv and the U.S.

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The bloggers accused Mr. Celebi of producing and bankrolling the film and then criticized Sen. Clinton for the company she keeps. Last month, the movie, along with Mr. Celebi and Sen. Clinton, got brief mention in the New York Post's Page 6 gossip section. Shortly afterward, the campaign quietly cut contact with Mr. Celebi. "I'm not suggesting he is anti-Semitic," Mr. Wolfson said. "Our concern was over his connection to the film." While Mr. Celebi didn't finance the film, a movie-production company he co-owns, BMH Worldwide LLC, supplied the American actors. And Mr. Celebi appeared briefly in the film as an extra -- recruited by an assistant director for an unscripted scene when he showed up on the set with Mr. Zane.

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[cliffordu]

1. So, when are they going to dump the Lion of Tuzla?

Aren't they supposed to be cleaning up the campaigns???