It's getting closer to Nov.

[JGQ]

Therefore it is getting ugly....
- Palin: Obama hanging out with terrorist?!!
- Obama campaign: MaCain's Keton 5 references?!?!

And I thought at the beginning that this might be the cleanest and most uplifting campaign season in a while considering the history of the candidates... How naive!

[Wagner]

Again, politics as usual.

[MrLabGuy]

Both are fair game...

Obama with his MANY questionable associations reveals a lot about his character. McCain has to live with a mistake in judgment 20 years ago.

Which is worse for America. McCain's mistake 20 years ago or Obama's 20 years of associations which include Rev. Wright, Ayres, Rezko and the list goes on.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by MrLabGuy

Both are fair game...

Obama with his MANY questionable associations reveals a lot about his character. McCain has to live with a mistake in judgment 20 years ago.

Which is worse for America. McCain's mistake 20 years ago or Obama's 20 years of associations which include Rev. Wright, Ayres, Rezko and the list goes on.

Neither. The real pain is the descent into negative politics, with the corresponding cynicism on the part of the people. I would suggest that that includes assumptions such as yours, that the two candidates are somehow dirtier or cleaner than each other.

[MrLabGuy]

Originally Posted by JCL

Neither. The real pain is the descent into negative politics, with the corresponding cynicism on the part of the people. I would suggest that that includes assumptions such as yours, that the two candidates are somehow dirtier or cleaner than each other.

Good or bad choices and actions of a candidate over their political career and adult life are relevant this election.

Say McCain filed for Bankruptcy 3 times in the last 30 years. Are you saying that Obama should not point that out? Character and a candidates past associations are important to this election.

If McCain's good friend who he spent 30 years with and supported was the leader of the KKK you'd bet it would be the central campaign issue in the Obama Campaign and top of the news on all the media outlets.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by MrLabGuy

McCain filed for Bankruptcy 3 times in the last 30 years.

Really? It must be true, I read it on the internet, just now!

The above is an example of taking something totally out of context, reporting it as fact, and then spinning a story around it. Sort of like the "questionable associates" that Obama had when he was 8 years old, or the Keton 5 for McCain. It goes both ways.

You should check out Factcheck.org, or Snopes. You could save retyping a lot of information.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2...s_of_2008.html

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2...ociations.html

[MrLabGuy]

Originally Posted by JCL

Really? It must be true, I read it on the internet, just now!

The above is an example of taking something totally out of context, reporting it as fact, and then spinning a story around it. Sort of like the "questionable associates" that Obama had when he was 8 years old, or the Keton 5 for McCain. It goes both ways.

You should check out Factcheck.org, or Snopes. You could save retyping a lot of information.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2...s_of_2008.html

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2...ociations.html

Obama's links to Wright, Rezko and Ayres are well documented and not an Internet folklore. There are many others from his recent past who would not be considered main stream America.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by MrLabGuy

Obama's links to Wright, Rezko and Ayres are well documented and not an Internet folklore. There are many others from his recent past who would not be considered main stream America.

OK, so, what is your response to the Factcheck.org article on the validity of that charge? The link was provided above for easy reference.

[MrLabGuy]

Originally Posted by JCL

OK, so, what is your response to the Factcheck.org article on the validity of that charge? The link was provided above for easy reference.

LOL...OK. From FactCheck and your link on Rezko.

"Obama did have a past relationship with real estate developer Tony Rezko".


The link failed to point out the following:


U.S. Sen. Barack Obama expressed regret late Friday for his 2005 land purchase from now-indicted political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko in a deal that enlarged the senator's yard. "I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it," Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times in an exclusive and revealing question-and-answer exchange about the transaction. In June 2005, Obama and Rezko purchased adjoining parcels in Kenwood. The state's junior senator paid $1.65 million for a Georgian revival mansion, while Rezko paid $625,000 for the adjacent, undeveloped lot. Both closed on their properties on the same day.

Last January, aiming to increase the size of his sideyard, Obama paid Rezko $104,500 for a strip of his land. The transaction occurred at a time when it was widely known Tony Rezko was under investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and as other Illinois politicians befriended by Rezko distanced themselves from him. In the Sun-Times interview, Obama acknowledged approaching Rezko about the two properties being up for sale and that Rezko developed an immediate interest. Obama did not explain why he reached out to Rezko given the developer's growing problems. Last month, Rezko was indicted for his role in an alleged pay-to-play scheme designed to fatten Gov. Blagojevich's political fund. Rezko also was accused of bilking a creditor. "With respect to the purchase of my home, I am confident that everything was handled ethically and above board. But I regret that while I tried to pay close attention to the specific requirements of ethical conduct, I misgauged the appearance presented by my purchase of the additional land from Mr. Rezko," Obama said.
"It was simply not good enough that I paid above the appraised value for the strip of land that he sold me. It was a mistake to have been engaged with him at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow him, or anyone else, to believe that he had done me a favor," the senator said. The land deal came up in a court hearing Friday that delved into Rezko's finances. Obama said he has not been approached by federal prosecutors about the transaction nor has plans to go to them about it.
Obama and Rezko have been friends since 1990, and Obama said the Wilmette businessman raised as much as $60,000 for him during his political career. After Rezko's indictment, Obama donated $11,500 to charity--a total that represents what Rezko contributed to the senator's federal campaign fund. After the controversy surfaced on Wednesday, the Sun-Times presented Obama's office with a lengthy set of questions about the land deal, Obama's relationship with Rezko and the story's impact on a potential 2008 bid for the White House.

[Eric5273]

Originally Posted by MrLabGuy

Obama's links to Wright, Rezko and Ayres are well documented and not an Internet folklore.

Wright and Rezko yes. But not Ayres. That one is a big stretch. The two of them were both on the board of directors of a local charity in Chicago in the mid-90s. They were not buddies or friends or anything else.

It also appears that Ayres once donated $200 to one of Obama's campaigns. But I don't see how that ties them together. I'm sure you can find lots of donors to any political campaign who have done bad things.

I'm not a big fan of Obama and will not be voting for him, but that doesn't mean I endorse telling lies about the guy.