Cartoon from here.
Cartoon from here.
When most of the mainstream news media is tacitly supportingly you, you have a big advantage when running for public office. All the skeletons in your closet remain hidden. The news media will not report about them, and if your opponent is rude enough to mention them, the solution is obvious. The news media will exclaim that your opponent is engaged in “negative campaigning.” After all, it is their job to report these things. 
Fortunately, times are slowly changing. There are an increasing number of news outlets willing to take issue with the Democratic Party’s agenda and candidates. One of these is The Washington Times. The Washington Times does not even come close to having the circulation of The Washington Post, but it can help to provide some balance — if you are unafraid to consider another point of view.
Below is an excerpt from article that considers the more notorious people with whom the 2008 presidential candidates have associated.
Throughout this lengthy and historic presidential race, the politics of association has been the preferred tool of attack, for the campaigns themselves, news outlets, pressure groups, and partisan magazines and Web sites.
While candidates often draw distinctions based on a rival’s associations, the tactic dominates this year’s race largely because Mr. Obama’s short resume gives Mr. McCain few options for staging attacks, said James Gimpel, political science professor at the University of Maryland at College Park.
“Obama has no record to speak of, so character and judgment serve as a stand-in for policy record,” Mr. Gimpel said. “There are, of course, people who are not enthusiastic about McCain but might go to vote against Obama if you can give them reasons to do it.” (from here)
Cartoon from here.
Cartoon from here.
Other Views
Bearing Drift asks a question: “Does any of this matter?” See here.
Scott’s Morning Brew offers a vision (including Obama’s own words) of how Obama association with ACORN would shape America (see here).
Mosquito Blog wonders why McCain’s time as a POW is not ancient history but the Keating scandal is not (see here).
The Richmond Democrat offers up “The truth about John McCain and the Keating Five.” See here. The video overstates McCain’s role. Here is what Wikipedia has to say. Note that the other four senators were Democrats (see here). While McCain’s conduct was dubious (even he has admitted as much), he violated no laws or ethics rules. Here are a couple articles from the time in Liberal newspapers (here and here).
