PrintOctober 13, 2008
Obama`s Desperate Equivalency Gambit
One of the oldest tricks in politics -- at least on the left -- is to accuse your enemy of that which you are most guilty. Barack Obama has been taking a beating based on his personal and political associations, particularly with the terrorist William Ayers, formerly of the Weather Underground, and his campaign has decided not to take it anymore. An article in the Chicago Tribune has launched a counterattack, claiming parity with John McCain`s open friendship with former Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy. This line of attack has been making the rounds in left-wing circles, and the Kos crowd think they have found a magic shield to protect their anointed Messiah.
The problem with this argument is that Liddy performed an act of burglary at the behest of his superiors, a matter of political espionage carried out by a soldier who obeyed orders. He did not bomb the Pentagon, Capitol, or try to kill people as Ayers has done. Such a comparison is a stretch, to say the least.
It should also be pointed out that Obama`s voting record is in line with Ayers (Obama having the most liberal voting record in the Senate), while McCain is clearly a center-right legislator, far from Liddy`s viewpoint. Who is influenced by their associations? Obama is a radical in suit and tie; McCain loves poking conservatives in the eyeballs. Liddy may have held a fundraiser for McCain, but there is every reason to believe that Ayers is more than just a casual supporter; he launched Obama`s political career in his home, after all. These are associations that are radically different in terms of degree.
Let us not forget some of Obama`s other friends; Jeremiah Wright, who called on God to curse America, Bernardine Dohrn (Ayers' wife and partner in crime), communist Frank Marshall Davis. How about his connections with slimeball criminal Tony Rezko? How about his campaigning for Leftist Raila Odinga rel="nofollow" in Kenya? Odinga was part of an attempted coup in Kenya, and his people threatened civil war when he lost in recent elections (with murder and mayhem being perpetrated by his followers), so he was granted power sharing. (Obama`s actions in intervening in the elections of another country is of dubious legality, by the way.) How about his friends in the Black Panthers, or his Che Guevera-loving volunteers? How about his friends in the Chicago Democratic Socialist of America? Oh, and let`s not forget his sweet wife who has badmouthed her homeland on more than one occasion.
It also bears pointing out that McCain has been in the public eye for decades, and has never hidden his friendship with the rather eccentric Liddy. Obama is asking us to give him the most sensitive position in the land, and yet he has denied or downplayed his association with Ayers and other radicals. The dishonesty and lack of transparency is key here; to borrow a phrase which may be familiar to Mr. Liddy, it isn`t the crime it`s the coverup. Why does Obama feel it necessary to hide his associations? We have a long pedigree with McCain, and at least know where he stands. Obama is an enigma-by design. Do we dare trust a man who has so much he wants to keep hidden?
That this has cropped up at this point in time suggests that the Ayers/Odinga/Marshall/CDSA associations are hurting Obama, and so he pulled this rather dubious card out of his sleeve. If this election were over, as the media would have us believe, why would Obama`s supporters feel the need to bring this rather desperate attempt at moral equivalency to the fore?
