Roland Martin on a CNN ticker blog aptly pointed out that there does seem to be a double standard in the McCain camp regarding guilt by association. Consider U.S. Senators “working alongside people with virulent bigoted pasts like Sens. Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond and Robert Byrd? All of whom spoke very hateful and venomous words about our countrymen. Byrd was once a member of the KKK, a domestic terrorist organization! Thurmond ran for president as a Dixiecrat in 1948 with a platform of maintaining segregation. And he raped a servant that worked for this family that had a child. Helms didn't see blacks as full Americans. “So, did McCain work with them? Did he not speak with them? Should McCain have declared that he would not work alongside these men because of their past? Should the self-described maverick who believes in integrity and character have taken the honorable stance of resigning from the Senate to protest these hateful characters serving in the U.S. Senate?. . . No. And this is why this association argument is so weak and impotent. Now, if Ayers was involved in these despicable acts today -- or Byrd and his late Senate colleagues -- then it is fair game. But no candidate should have to be held responsible for the actions of someone else that took place years ago. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think about Jane Fonda when I think about some of these issues. DL, we are not talking about folks who were resistant to blacks..we are talking about terrorists against our country. And yes, the association Obama had with these people is scary. Ayers helped launch Obama's political career in his own living room and that was not many many years ago.

I will admit I don't know those men's names although I have heard about this Thurmond and it wasn't in a positive light. can you please provide me with the facts surrounding these associations and in what capacity McCain had to deal with them in the course of 26 years in the senate? Also, can you confirm contributions passed between the parties as well?

You can go here

http://www.justsaynodeal.com/acorn.html

to see the web of people Obama has associated himself with - do you have a similar site I can compare your response to? I like to be as educated as possible and although we disagree Deborah, on certain issues, I think you and I have had the best "debates" with no name calling, or trashing of each other, just a sharing of information and I appreciate that.

Heather~

SGP, Strom was a SC senator who was well near 100 when he died and he may have been serving, I don't know. He was raised in a segregated world, but I believe he did have a black child with a black mammy...that happened a good bit back then. The older he got the more he said crazy stuff. I would not think that John McCain hardly knew this man on a personal level as Obama did the group of friends that are being raised in question...he probably NEVER sat down to have dinner with him in his home and I'm certain Strom never helped launch his career within just a few short years of him running for president. I remember some of the antics that Strom would do and people mostly overlooked him because he was old and stuck in his 100 year old ways. I do believe he reached 100 and he may have been the longest serving senator ever. I'll have to look into that. He did marry a woman much younger than he and I did meet her once in Hilton Head at a Lewis Grizzard event. (There's another name you may not remember either.:)

Oh pleeeeeeeeaasse, DL. This is like comparing apples to oranges. Now you're showing your ignorance. LOL....SGP...don't even bother looking this up it is so irrelevant.

Well, I was asking, because she told me about the peoplel he was supposedly associated with, their "history" but not how exactly they are connected to McCain - in the meantime - I was feeling a little bit patriotic this evening, started playing around on MySpace and found something fun -

http://www.myspace.com/southgapassion

Check out my myspace blog (right hand side) the most recent entry. Feel free to post additional songs of your choice as we all need a refresher course in Patriotism these days when we can dismiss dispicable acts because they were 40 years ago...if you know what I mean.

What about Charles Keating? He was a convicted felon and John and Cindy McCain's good friend.

If they investigate this whole financial crisis like they should there will be no clean hands. They will have to elect Joe Sixpacks then. All current politicians in Washington will be disgualified because of felony status. I have about come to the conclusion that they are all corrupt. OH MY GOD!!!!!!!! I'm starting to sound like Deborah. It is sad, but oh so true. We just have to pick the one with the least dirty hand.

DL....I do know well about the Keating 5 - it was brought up at the beginning of the campaign. The lead prosecutor said John's name should have never been involved w/ that and he was exhonerated. Not only that, he took the experience and used it as a catalist to turn his back on all "pork barrel spending" and has used that as his niche from then on. Sounds like he made a bad situation good to me. The worst you can say is by his ignorance of the situation, he was wrapped up in something he actually wasn't a part of.

Now, what of those others? I haven't had a chance to google them this a.m.

McCain/Palin was on Hannity and Colmes last night. You know how Obama is always saying he will cut taxes for low-income families? McCain picked up on that. I have said all along, that they are paying hardly any taxes now. There are many of them that file the unearned head of household. Not very much is taken out all year. When they file, some get as much as $5,000 back. I guess that show just how out of touch Obama is with the common man. "I'll cut taxes for low income families" is just another ploy to appeal to low income families. I guess he's gonna give them $10,000 un-earned credit now.

That is why I voted for T.Boone Pickens yesterday. They are all crooked and pandering for votes and they all work for the corporations.
Here is something interesting that will ruin your day. http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/317.htm...
Deliberately bankrupting the nation as a means of social engineering...that's what's happening to us right now.

If I trusted the other candidate could govern effectively, right & justly, and without prejudices, alterior motives, shady cabinet members, extremist Supreme Court Justices etc...If I could believe that Obama does have the best intentions and doesn't want to take us to an Orange Democrat society, then I would probably vote independent simply because none of them voted for the Bailout - which is the biggest shaft we've had to take in a long time.

I can truthfully say at this point - I would probably vote for Nader just because he didn't support this ludicrous bailout. Neither did Ron Paul.

I can also say this with the utmost forthrightness I can muster...My vote, on November 4th will be AGAINST Obama and FOR McCain/Palin. I feel, if you watched that interview last night, she will keep his but in line no doubt. I feel that's why she had a hard time explaining the good of the bailout to Katie Couric...cuz she didn't believe it was good. I have hope in Palin. I honestly do.

Some folks REALLY fall into the category of KoolAid drinkers. LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHEIi4XKR...

Flip Flopper - no respect for our military -

my goodness - how can anyone vote for this man?

I agree with most of the posts here except Deborah's because the comparisions are not equal. However, Mommy2nana, I know you did not mean to say what the KKK and Thurmond did was mere " resistance to blacks."
The KKK is as much a terrorist organization as Al Quaida.

But working with people with "terrorist/racist/anything else negative" views and ideas is vastly different from condoning and supporting those views.

Is McCain befriending and supporting Helms, Thurmond and Byrd now? Or anyone like them? Does anyone he is asociating with right now have current radical and anti-American views like Wright does?

The people voting for Obama who are NOT voting because of party or race are doing so because they think/hope he will make a difference, and he would. He would promote a weak front, trusting the enemy who will stab him in the back when it is turned.

McCain won't take his eyes off the enemy and will follow through with the mission, while keeping a strong image all theh while.