THE SHORT LIFE OF A CONSPIRACY. Commenter Justin has hit upon a contentious topic discussed earlier today in the Prospect office. Did editors at The Politico choose a particularly ominous looking photograph of Z-Big in order to hammer home the idea that he's a shady, anti-Israel influence on the Obama campaign, as opposed to a seasoned foreign policy expert lauded in many Washington circles for his sensible take on the Middle East? I sensed immediately that this was unlikely; I just don't think the good people at The Politico were thinking all that hard about it. And sure enough, when we logged onto the Associated Press Photo Wire -- the source of the picture -- the photograph of headphoned, shades-wearing Z-Big at the United Nations was the most recent image by a year. So it's no surprise that's the image The Politico chose to illustrate its story. That said, the article itself is worthy of critique, as it doesn't place inflammatory comments like Alan Dershowitz's in at all the correct context. --Dana Goldstein
