to be fair Pro the Right has been asking these questions for a year. Hillary Clinton was asking them too. The media chose to try and bury this story. Now we have media outlets other than Fox like Time digging around so I feel better knowing journalists are at least asking questions.
Originally Posted By: britneyspearsatemyshorts
It's fair to ask about his associations, and his decision making process. Yes the economy is fucked, and yes the world is dangerous. That doesn't mean that just because a guy isn't in the same party as the current President he is better. Campaigns are all about promises. It is more than fair to see what this guy was about before he was running for President. Hanging out with guys like Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright doesn't make him a racist and terrorist, but you have to question why were these guys okay to hang with before he was running for President. It seems maybe he is okay with their way of thinking. No that he must choose friends based on political currency, he dissociates them. So who is the real Barack, the guy running for President, or the guy hanging out with extremists?
Originally Posted By: the G-man
Yeah, not to seriously compare Obama to Hitler or Mussolini, but the defense for both those guys at the time was that they were good for their respective nations' economies.
You can't blindly ignore serious questions about a candidate's positions, judgement or beliefs and focus only on the economy, or any other single issue. That's exactly how countries end up with crooks, liars or worse.
Originally Posted By: britneyspearsatemyshorts
All of the biggest dictators and murderers were brought in under populist campaigns and no one checked out their backgrounds. Pol Pot, Hitler, Castro. People have short attention spans, they need to check their history better. To think the US is invincible to this kind of thing isn't being a realist. I go back to the powers Bush grabbed in his last term, he wasn't popular. Wait until someone with a gift for causing people to faint, and telling everyone what they want to hear makes a power grab. By the time anyone realizes it it may be too late. PJP has pointed out the enabling act, these things can, have and do happen. Who you associate with tells a lot about who you really are.
THANK you! That's exactly what I've been striving to hear. These are all very rational points that actually express what you really mean when you just shorthand it with the anti-Obama slurs and mudslinging. Well stated. Thank you for taking the time to write it.
In response, I will only say that I think any sincere link between Ayers and Obama is greatly exaggerated. However, on the flipside, Michelle Obama didn't exactly nail down how close they are tied together when Stewart asked her to quantify it on the Daily Show episode I just watched. She had a perfect chance to come clean or clarify, and she sort of side-stepped the issue. Doesn't convince me of anything, just annoyed me she is either unwilling, or was told not to, shed some real light on the subject...
