Obama & Ayers, McCain& Keating and Palin Reads a Newspaper

So Sarah Palin reads the New York Times, eh? Referencing this article, Governor Palin tries to make it seem like Senator Obama and Bill Ayers have some sort of relationship that proves "This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America," he pals around with terrorists and probably kicks puppies. And gosh darnit, Sarah Palin isn't going to have it.

It is a sign of weakness when a campaign has to go negative. In doing so, McCain/ Palin admit they are weak on the issues and have to move to character in order to generate interest in their campaign. Character is important, don't get me wrong. If a candidate has questionable associates it is the job of the media to discover who they are and just what the nature of their relationship is and that is exactly what the New York Times did. The article concludes that while the two men knew each other and served together on a board overseeing the distribution of educational grant money, there is nothing to suggest a closer relationship.

Of course, Governor Palin fails to mention the nature of the Obama-Ayers relationship or the work of the board. It's no surprise that the McCain campaign wants to stay away from the issues because right now there is only one issue and that is the economy. Given that McCain was against regulating markets before he was for it, now is the time to throw the Hail Mary and go after Obama's character. However, it is surprising that given the economic climate the McCain campaign would underestimate the risk of his association with Charles Keating.

Oh, gee whiz, Governor Palin, did you forget about that doggone Keating Five scandal? You know, the one where Senator McCain had to apologize for making the worst mistake of his life? The senator met with regulators investigating the failure of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association. There was also some concern over the camapign contributions Charles Keating made to Senator McCain as well as the trips he paid for.

If Governor Palin were telling this story this would be the end of it. McCain met with regulators concerning a man who's savings and loan lost the life savings of 21,000 people; a man who contributed to his campaign and paid for trips the senator took. But since I'm telling the story you also get to hear that the Ethics Committee cleared Senator McCain of all charges but criticized him for poor judgement. For his part, McCain said, ""The appearance of it was wrong. It's a wrong appearance when a group of senators appear in a meeting with a group of regulators, because it conveys the impression of undue and improper influence. And it was the wrong thing to do."

So Barack Obama has Bill Ayers, who committed crimes 40 years ago when Obama was eight years old. McCain has Charles Keating who committed crimes while McCain was in office. There's the dirty laundry. Can we please get back to the issues now?