Back on the 2000 Straight Talk Express, a very different John McCain stated that when a candidate does nothing but put out attack ads, that candidate has nothing constructive to say. Now in 2008, it appears that by his own definition, John McCain has nothing constructive to say. It’s time to get nasty.
McCain and his running mate have decided that Hillary Clinton was really on to something in her final days of the primary. The “Mavricks” have decided that the best course of action is to try to tie Barack Obama to William Ayers, a founding member of an organization that once set off bombs in this country.
I should say for the record that they have a little better stance on this than Hillary Clinton. It was after all Hillary’s own husband who pardoned the convicted member of that organization. So it looked really sill for Hillary to go after Obama for even knowing a guy who was associated, when her husband, in a very real sense, condoned the people who actually committed the crimes.
But this relationship is not real. William Ayers is a guy Obama met a few times. Ayers, now a Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago sits of the board for several charities. It was through the charity work that Obama met Ayers. They are both on the board of a charitable organization. So just to be clear, here is the horrible offense the McCain campaign has made against Barack Obama; Senator Obama has, on several occasions met a University of Illinois professor (he was also Chicago’s Citizen of the Year for his work in education) who, during the sixties, set off bombs in this country. Also, Bill Ayers once helped raise money for Obama as a State Senator.
How many people do you think Bill Ayers knows? Are all of them associates of terrorists? Is every professor at UIC an associate of a known terrorist? They spend a lot more time with him than Obama has. This is the best that they can come up with! Hell, I’ve met Mike Tyson twice in my life, does that mean I should be put on some type of list of people known to hang out with sex offenders?
Of course Sarah Palin says the is bringing this up, only because it’s something most people don’t know about. I’m so glad we have a scholar like Governor Palin to educate us. But one wonders what level of education she has had about John McCain’s role with Charles Keating. Does Palin know that her running mate “pal’d around” with a guy who defrauded this country out of billions of dollars? Is Sarah Palin aware that McCain actually vacationed with Keating, on Keating’s money of course? Is the “Barracuda” know that John McCain actually tried to halt regulations that would have stopped Keating from screwing over the country that John McCain claims to put first?
The fact is that John McCain’s relationship with Keating went well beyond anything they can accuse of Barack Obama. There is nothing remotely out there claiming that Barack Obama has ever used his political influence to benefit himself financially. John McCain bartered his position as a Congressman to get himself some cash and free vacations, and now he is going to try to refute the allegation that he did.
Yesterday the Oabma campaign hit McCain back with a 13 minute video highlighting the relationship with Charles Keating and John McCain. McCain’s campaign calls this video a distortion. But CNN has fact checked the video and found everything stated to be accurate. The video is not a smear, it’s the truth. John McCain pals around with corporate thieves and lobbyists, and when I say “pals around”, I mean vacations with them and hires them to work in his campaign. This is the system he says he’ll put a stop to, but it’s clear that he is part of the problem.
And as for the mental midget Gov. Sarah Palin, I give to you a quote from your favorite song, even though the song writers themselves think you suck.
If the real thing don’t do the trick
You better make up something quick
You gonna burn burn burn burn it to the wick
Ooooooh, barracuda?
I think the difference is that John McCain already went over his replationship with Keating and Obama has not talked about his friendship with Ayers. Why would Obama be this guys friend?
@Joh H Thanks for the comment. I think McCain’s relationship with Keating is much more relevant. Ayers is not part of Obama’s professional life. He is someone he has met a handful of times in connection to a charity they both work for.
On the other hand, Charles Keating was someone who contributed over $140,000 to McCain, had business dealing with him and his family, and got McCain involved in his investigation. McCain is always saying to look at the record, and the record to me says that he uses poor judgement in the company he keeps. And since his campaign is still filled with lobbyists, he clearly hasn’t learned to stay away from these guys.
Actually, Keating contributed over $300,000 to McCain. The other four senators involved received over $100,000 each. Cindy McCain and her father were also investors of Charles Keating, which thickens the plot further. McCain tried to intimidate, pressure, and persuade federal regulators to back off from investigating the Lincoln Savings & Loan – blatantly interfering with a federal investigation.
The Senate Ethics Committee found that Sen. McCain and Sen. Glenn had exercised poor judgement. A slap on the wrist, but the committee wanted to show that this was a serious matter and recommend Sen. Cranston for censure. I would just like to point out that Sen. Cranston was an elderly senator at the end of his term and was not running for re-election. So out of the FIVE senators, Cranston took one for the team, but the other three senator’s careers were over. They finished out their terms and moved along.