A public service massage

[Grimhelm]

Just because we may have had connections with someone bad early in our lives doesn't mean we are somehow unfit for office. The assertion assumes that people don't learn from their mistakes.

And if we are really going to split hairs, let's not forget that our founding fathers were also, at least in part, terrorists. It's really all point of view, isn't it?

Good, bad, right wrong, evil, holy... it all depends upon who is holding the gun and who is on the other end. Now, having said that... clearly if Americans thought it was a concern, Obama would not be doing so well. There has been plenty of coverage about this issue. That is why we are talking about it now. However, I deem it to be dismissable. Much as I believe Palin's familial obligations to be dismissable. Much as I believe Biden's historical fact mistakes to be dismissable. Just as I believe McCain's "that one" comment to be dismissable. We cannot allow ourselves to lose sight of the larger picture by focusing on inconsequential minutia. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has skeletons in their closets. The question is, do a person's great and positive qualities outweigh their negatives?

The answer to this question is what will win or lose the hearts of the masses. This is why Obama will be our next president. There is an overall vision and symbolic goodness about Obama that McCain simply does not possess.

 

[BobProbst]

Hi everybody!

 

[Grimhelm]

And in reference to your supposed "mistakes" as fed to you by Fox News, I have heard the same facts explained in different ways by the liberal press. So, it really comes down, once more, in what you choose to believe. I choose to believe that these interpretations on the part of the media are just this: interpretations of peoples' words which are naturally biased by preconceptions and political leanings. These words get twisted about depending on who is doing the interpreting. Therefore I must use my own judgment, listen to the candidates and make as informed a decision as I can apart from media influence.

 

[Grimhelm]

Hi everybody!

Hi, Bob. Wanker.

 

[Fyrestryke]

Hi everybody!

Hi Bob!

 

[InzeladunMaster]

The link between William Ayers and Obama is valid because it goes beyond his 8th birthday. Way beyond.

The Associated Press: McCain linked to group in Iran-Contra affair

And McCain apparently has ties to the Contras....

Seriously, I think people are going WAY overboard with tangential connections. Politicians meet and greet people. When people get involved in their community, who knows who they may be working with? They can't vet everybody they come into contact with.

Dear lord, if I were introduced to someone: "I'd like you to meet Professor Ayers; he teaches at the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, holding the honor of Distinguished Professor; he also helped shape Chicago's school reform program and he serves on the board of a philanthopic organization. Also, he has edited and written many books and articles on education theory, policy and practice, and has appeared on many panels and symposia," I would think he was alright. It probably wouldn't even occur to me to check and see if he wasn't a terrorist who protested the Vietnam war when I was eight.

I don't even think I know the names of known terrorists from my childhood. Come to think of it, I never checked my boss or any of my fellow teachers at IBC to find out if they were terrorists in the past or not.

Imagine - you run for public office one day, and it comes out in the news you were friendly with someone at work who was a terrorist at one point in the past - and you had no idea!

Politicians cannot vet everybody - nor should they. Condemning people based on their associations is not right. Condemn them for their actions if condemn them you must, but don't condemn them for someone else's actions - or their association with someone you don't like.

I never heard of Bill Ayers prior to this election. As I stated before, if I had met him as a professor, I would have had no clue. If he took an interest in my career, I would have thought well of him.

 

[Fyrestryke]

Contras?

Like the "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start" Contras?