What a doorknob

The organ grinders who live in Michael Goldfarb’s head are grinding their organs over the question — posed with an uncertain degree of seriousness but with the predictable degree of smugness — of whether Obama speaks Arabic. It’s ridiculous enough that he poses the question based on the preznit’s startling ability to express gratitude in another language; but Goldfarb, bringing 50 percent more wank to the discussion, turns to the Wingnut Secret Muslim hymnal and reminds his readers that Nichols Kristoff “heard Obama recite the Muslim call to prayer in Arabic and with a ‘first-rate accent‘ back in 2007″ and then wonders “if the president hasn’t been concealing some greater fluency with the language of the Koran.”

Of course, what Kristof actually wrote was that Obama recited “the opening lines” of the adhan — a remarkable feat, since were talking about 15-20 syllables. By the same goofy logic, the fact that I can remember how to recite the Lord’s Prayer in Latin should cause LGM readers to wonder if I’ve not been concealing some greater fluency with the papist conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln the language of the caesars.