Do all the people you know agree with you? Do you ever argue with friends, without condemning them, even on the most fundamental issues? It seems to me that this basic human interaction has become a political hot button. And if we are not careful it could cloud the things we as a nation need to think about as we go to the polls on Tuesday.
When I was doing visits with my college-bound kid, I noticed an interesting thing about the various campuses we stopped by: ideas varied, the discussions were vigorous but only to a point. If you live on a college campus, if you work in the classrooms, the research labs and have dinner and drinks at the University Clubs, then there is a certain atmosphere you are forced to breathe. More often than not, I found, the air was toxic with anti-Americanism, historic revisionism based on narrow and obscure interpretations and the notion that all the ills of the world began with the creation and continued behavior of the United States.
This is where the Democratic candidate spent much of his professional career, before immersing himself in public service as an elected official. Is it any wonder that he ran into, even sat down with and befriended those with decidedly unpatriotic views, even radical views? The University of Chicago like most elite schools prides itself on employing a diverse faculty and staff. Where else could you find the kinds of people with whom Barack Obama is being bundled? I am not dismissing the associations, but I understand how they came about. I've seen the process first hand.
In these last hours of the presidential campaign we find these associations at the center of the debate, at least from the McCain side. If I thought that this man, Barack Obama, walked in lock step with the three prominent characters he called, associate, pastor and friend - Ayers, Wright and Khalidi – then we would have a serious problem. But for him to know these men and not publicly chastise them anymore than he has already is not surprising. I would like to believe he had some spirited debates, even arguments with them over the years. I would like to have heard his position on America, race relations and the Israeli/Palestinian issue. I would like to know his passion in opposing these radical ideas. I would like to, but I don't other than taking his word now, just a few steps from the oval office.
My best friend holds the same job I do for a major competitor. No one in my company ever asked me to denounce him or our friendship; that my job depended on it. My bosses trust my judgment enough to know that I would never disclose company secrets or strategies as it relates to competing with and beating my friend's radio stations in the ratings. At least I hope that is the case.
The people who find Obama unacceptable as our president use his association and in some cases his own words to make their case. My problem is that this is taking us away from a good A-B comparison with what these men will do for this country in these difficult times. If I am to learn anything about the person I prefer to judge the things he says, not the people he may have argued with. That goes both ways, and during this longest presidential campaign in history I think we have all heard enough.
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