Revisiting crowd noise The estimable Christine Quinones sheds a little light on the reports of Paul Wolfowitz being booed when he expressed some support for the Palestinians at the DC support-for-Israel rally:

Manny Jacobowitz, my oldest and one of my closest friends […] was up front at the rally and could barely hear the boos Paul Wolfowitz got for his comment about how the Palestinians have suffered too. (I almost went to the rally myself, if conscientiousness about work hadn’t trumped the ability to use bronchitis as a plausible excuse for taking a sick day.) I told [Joshua Micah Marshall] this, and apparently his third-person account carried more weight with him than a total stranger’s third-person account. I know, go figure, but with the press making it out as a vociferous repudiation, I’d hoped the idea that at least one attendee thought otherwise would have been of note to someone.

BTW, Manny told me the press emphasis on the Israeli hardliner contingent at the rally was very much a case of putting the spotlight on the con members with the Spock ears; the organizers were aiming to show support for Israel’s continued survival, whether Sharon is doing the right thing or not.

Christine, who has been displaying signs of incipient blog for several weeks now, has now come down with a full-fledged case, and very worthwhile it is too. [11:49 PM]