Sunday, October 5, 2008

Friends of Obama

Why is it that Obama's relationships with a convicted felon, a terrorist, and a rabid preacher is off the table for analysis and discussion? The main stream media has spent days and weeks dumpster diving in Wasilla, Alaska, to dig up dirt on Sarah Palin. But Obama gets a free pass on Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko and Reverend Wright.

Let's take Ayers. He was a member of Weather Underground, a domestic terrorist organization that planned attacks on the Pentagon and the Capitol, set off bombs and killed a policeman in San Francisco. Ayers has never apologized for this and in fact said he "didn't do enough".

All this happened while Barack Obama was a child. So there's his defense: "What that man did Barack Obama has condemned. And by the way, he did it when Barack Obama was 8 years old. Come on," Democratic senator McCaskill said.

But consider this: While Obama was a child during the bombings, he was certainly a grown up when he held his first political fund raiser -- in Ayer's private home! What kind of judgment does this show? And where's the "condemnation" McCaskill refers to? Are we supposed to believe that Obama first used Ayers to raise money, then later condemned him?

There is a long chain of bad judgment calls in Obama's political life. He bought his house in a shady real estate deal from a man who was later convicted for fraud and is now in prison. His pastor for 20 years calls for God to "damn America" and claims that white people intentionally inflicted AIDS on blacks. His first fund raiser was held in the house of a terrorist, and he served on the board of an organization founded by this terrorist for years afterwards.

There's no doubt Obama has given many inspiring speeches and has a charming and charismatic personality. But Americans should consider his actions, not just his lofty words. They don't add up.