Story Created:
Oct 10, 2008
Story Updated:
Oct 10, 2008
Charles Krauthammer on Barack's BFFs.
WASHINGTON -- Convicted felon Tony Rezko. Unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers. And the race-baiting Rev. Jeremiah Wright. It is hard to think of any presidential candidate before Barack Obama sporting associations with three more execrable characters. Yet let the McCain campaign raise the issue, and the mainstream media begin fulminating about dirty campaigning tinged with racism and McCarthyite guilt by association.
But associations are important. They provide a significant insight into character. They are particularly relevant in relation to a potential president as new, unknown, opaque and self-contained as Obama. With the economy overshadowing everything, it may be too late politically to be raising this issue. But that does not make it, as conventional wisdom holds, in any way illegitimate.
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As a bonus: here's the sictcom version:
Monday, Oct 13 at 2:59 AM John / Racine wrote ...
McCain is a fool for not being aggressive enough. He has, on a silver platter, very real and very hard truths about Obama's shady past. 20 years in a black supremacist church and being good friends to an American terrorist are just two things on the table ready to turn on Obama. I'd still like to know what Obama means by his Grandmother being "a typical White person". Don't get me wrong. I don't like McCain either---he's a Liberal in not-so concealing Conservative clothing.
Saturday, Oct 11 at 4:46 PM Billy wrote ...
I have no response to to Moon-Bats howling here lately - I'm just practicing my survival skills so I can survive in the concentration camp they're going to throw me and my family in if Obama wins - I'm only being slightly sarcastic - they obviously hate Conservatives/Republicans so much they'd prefer us dead - whatever happened to the old-fashioned "liberal" love of humanity? In any case, why bother spewing your hate, since you say the election's over?
Saturday, Oct 11 at 2:43 PM steve wrote ...
kelly- mccain has embraced as his friend- and gone on his show- and taken campaign contributions from- g. gordon liddy. this is a man who implemented the watergate breakin, which undermined our democracy and ultimately brought down a president; planned the assassination of a journalist, jack anderson; planned the kidnapping of peaceful protestors during a political convention; planned the firebombing of the brookings institute; and advised his audience how to kill atf agents. is that terrorist?
Friday, Oct 10 at 9:03 PM Are Associations Important? wrote ...
1. Cindy McCain is a drug addict. (Current clean, we suppose, but a drug addict all the same). If she wasn't married to U.S. Senator Child Protective Services would have yanked her kids. 2. Charles Keating unrepentant briber "certainly hoped" (his words) his "campaign contributions" to Sen. McCain bought him influence. What would Charlie say if it was Gov. Doyle???? 3. Palin cuddles up at night to a person who belonged (less than 10 years ago) to a wing-nut secessionist political party.
Friday, Oct 10 at 7:59 PM Go Big Red! wrote ...
Anyone still actually listening to talk radio and buying into the Republican disaster that's destroyed this once-great country needs to decide how to answer one simple question: am I an idiot, or just an ignorant fool?
Friday, Oct 10 at 6:57 PM Kelly wrote ...
So, McCain knows felons too, but at least they are American--not associated with terrorism.
Friday, Oct 10 at 5:21 PM Bob wrote ...
You don't want to talk about Obama's associations? Well lets talk about his record. That will take a whole 6 seconds if you take out all his community organizing, since that was associated with ACORN and you guys don't want to talk about that. I guess you could stand up to his "present" vote. When they attacked Obama for his lack of experience, Libs complained. When they talk about his charactor, Libs complained. What can we talk about? His ability to walk on water? I heard that its cool
Friday, Oct 10 at 3:48 PM DS wrote ...
Mark my words. William Ayers is going to be the next Secretary of Education. I will have to be spending a good deal of my time at the end of the day undoing the "re-education" of my sons.
Friday, Oct 10 at 1:22 PM Whitefish Bay Mike wrote ...
Speaking of friends. One of the "bundlers" who has raised $50,000 to $100,000 for the Barack Hussein Obama Presidential campaign is Terrence Bean, who once controlled the biggest producer of gay porn in America (source NY Post). Also, isn’t that skank Jenna Jamison an Obama Kool-Aid drinker as well? Becareful with your responses...please!
Friday, Oct 10 at 11:41 AM Dan wrote ...
My Friends (fellow travelers)- we are all prisoners of years of republican dominated Washington. That's why you should vote for Leader McCain, he's already in favor of nationalising housing. He voted to nationalise the banks (remember the bailout last week?)Thanks to Bush, government and big oil are one. Yes the conversion to socialism is almost complete.
Friday, Oct 10 at 11:36 AM Steve wrote ...
You guys are right. Associations do matter, and since McCain has been closely associated with the Bush administration for eight years, we know he's a big fat failure when it comes to making decisions that are good the country. Thanks right-wingers! You were finally right about something!
Friday, Oct 10 at 10:58 AM bigcat wrote ...
Since Republicans are determined, as Don Quioxte was, to tilt at fanciful dragons(the fear and smear game) instead of seeing the windmills(the real issues in the campaign), Let's look at some colorful characters McCain needs to fully explain: Convicted Felon; Charles Keating, Convicted Felon;Raffaello Follieri, Convicted Felon; Rick Renzi, Under Indictment; Rick Davis, Freddie Mac Lobbyist;Charles Black, Lobbyist for Dictators; Richard Quinn, White Supremacist; Hagee and Parsley, Bigots.
Friday, Oct 10 at 9:30 AM Steve wrote ...
Steffo is right--you guys are getting almost comically desperate. Now he's a Marxist and his supporters comradres. YIkes! Pretty soon you'll be calling Obama Big Foot! Why is no one on the right talking about what's good about McCain? All we hear are personal attacks on Obama because THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE! By the way, the Bush family has well-publicized ties to Osama Bin Laden and Ken Lay, among other SOBs. But now associations "matter"? More right-wing hypocrisy.
Friday, Oct 10 at 9:07 AM TWP wrote ...
Keating 5: McCain explicitly exonerated. ACORN: ongoing systematic vote fraud in 15 states so far. "Troopergate": if anything, a response to a death threat on a family member. Ayers: acknowledged use of terror bombings as political weapon. Mike, neither candidate is perfect, but differences in degree of imperfection can indeed be "major", and to me at least these are.
Friday, Oct 10 at 8:10 AM J. Gravelle wrote ...
Perhaps more frightening than the domestic friends of His O-liness are His international supporters [http://tinyurl.com/BarackSupporters] Every Obama08 bumper sticker is a proud declaration that "I'm siding with Chavez, Castro, and Ackhma-- Akmid-- Aqua-- that Iranian guy." Mad props on having the nads to be proud of THAT, libs... -jjg DailyScoff.com
Friday, Oct 10 at 8:00 AM Mike wrote ...
Keating Five, ACORN, Ayers, Lobbyist campaign managers and Troopergate. I fail to see any major difference between these two candidates. Both want war (and more war), both want to use tax payers money to bailout (ah hmm.. I mean, rescue!) banks that have only themselves to blame. Both want socialism! Both want to increase taxes! I never hear either Obama or McCain talk about anything drastically different. Vote the lesser of two evils? Any way you look at it, we as Americans, will lose!
Friday, Oct 10 at 7:51 AM Dan wrote ...
Hey Steffo, when Obama is elected chairman of the United States, you can call yourself comrade.
Friday, Oct 10 at 7:36 AM dave in appleton wrote ...
Why is this not an ad on T.V. with john macain saying I support this ad???
Friday, Oct 10 at 7:35 AM frank wrote ...
it's true. the gop is intellectually bankrupt.
Friday, Oct 10 at 7:10 AM Steffo wrote ...
The Republicans are becoming unhinged as demonstrated by the Waukesha rally. Personal attacks are all they have left. McCain, attacked by GWB's negative ads, said this in 2000: "I just have to rely on the good judgment of the voters not to buy into these negative attack ads. Sooner or later, people are going to figure out if all you run is negative attack ads you don’t have much of a vision for the future or you’re not ready to articulate it." -- John McCain, 2000
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