Questioning McCain’s ‘guilt by association’ logic

There has been a lot of buzz in the news about Sen. Barack Obama’s ties with UIC Prof. Bill Ayers. Due in large part to the assertions of Sen. John McCain’s campaign, the Obama-Ayers ties that were touched upon in the Democratic primary race were not only brought up in the last few weeks, but have intensified so much that McCain recently released a political ad discussing the subject.

The ad, endorsed by McCain, questions Obama’s loyalties to America due to his ties with Ayers, noting at the end, “Barack Obama, too risky for America.” This attempt to use Obama’s political ties to undermine his overall campaign is interesting because Obama is not the first, and certainly won’t be the last, politician to have questionable political affiliations.

If McCain wants to make the argument that the country must examine candidates’ political associations closely, it must be done on both sides. Sure, Obama has ties to controversial figures like Ayers, Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Tony Rezko, but McCain has plenty of controversial associations as well.

The most obvious is McCain’s ties with the financial scandal known as the Keating Five. In 1989, Charles H. Keating Jr. was investigated for investment rule violations that totaled up to $650 million while he made nearly $1.3 million in contributions to five U.S. Senators, one of which was McCain. While McCain was cleared of any impropriety, it displays an example of poor judgment. This is one of the more widely known associations McCain has and one that Obama has called attention to in recent weeks with a 13-minute video explaining the history between McCain and Keating.

There are, however, plenty of other associations that have yet to be fully explored by Obama or the mainstream media.

One such association is McCain’s ties with G. Gordon Liddy, one of the two masterminds behind the 1972 Watergate scandal. McCain, who has embraced Liddy over the years, appeared on his radio show last November, greeting Liddy as “an old friend.” McCain said that he was proud of Liddy, saying, “congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great.” While those exact principles and philosophies may be unclear, his actions landed him four-and-a-half years in prison for his involvement in Watergate.

McCain has not only appeared on Liddy’s radio show but used his home as the site of a 1998 fundraiser. Throughout the years, McCain received $5,000 in contributions from Liddy, including $1,000 this year alone (“With Friends Like These,” Chicago Tribune, May 8). This exceeds the $200 contribution Ayers gave to Obama in 2001 by far.

While Barack Obama has ties to Rev. Wright, John McCain also has ties with controversial pastors, namely Pastor John Hagee and Rev. Rod Parsley. Parsley has called for his audience to destroy Islam, saying that it is the “greatest religious enemy to our civilization.” Hagee called for an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church, calling it “The Great Whore” and a “false cult system.” McCain sought out the endorsement of both pastors, but has since rejected them due to their controversial remarks.

Within his own campaign, McCain has made some interesting choices regarding with whom to associate himself. There is Freddie Mac lobbyist Mark Buse, who is now McCain’s Chief of Staff; Rick Davis, McCain’s campaign manager who was the president of an advocacy group that defended Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from stricter regulation requirements; and Charlie Black, McCain’s top political advisor, who said in June that a terrorist attack in the US would be a big advantage for McCain. Black also worked as lobbyist for Occidental Petroleum, a group that gained infamy in 1998 when its security company was involved with the killing of 17 Columbian civilians.

But perhaps the most overlooked aspect of John McCain is his association with the International Republican Institute (IRI). According to the IRI’s website, it is a group that claims to “advance freedom worldwide by developing political parties, civic institutions, open elections, good governance and the rule of law” (iri.org).

The group, which has been viewed by many as an attempt to advance a neo-conservative foreign policy agenda around the world, has been involved in the overthrow of democratically elected leaders in countries such as Haiti in 2004, Venezuela in 2002 and Georgia in 2003.

McCain is currently the acting chairman of the IRI, and has been since 1993. The cabinet of the IRI has notable figures, including Paul Bremer, who served as the Ambassador of Iraq in 2003, when he disbanded the Iraqi army by sacking 400,000 Iraqi soldiers.

The whole Obama-Ayers storm has been fueled by the McCain campaign, angry Republicans and the mainstream media as a way of distracting people from discussing real issues. This should not be tolerated by Americans in this important election.

If McCain wants to look at Obama’s past and judge him based on his political associations, McCain must be open to do it with his own past. The mainstream media must delve into these associations if McCain continues to make assertions about Obama’s questionable political relationships.

While I don’t agree that political associations are how we should measure the potential of a candidate, the logic asserted by McCain should be followed in order to examine him as well.

Explore posts in the same categories: Political Coverage

Tags: America, Barack Obama, Bill Ayers, Charlie Black, Democrat, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, G. Gordon Liddy, International Republican Institute, Iraq, Jeremiah Wright, John Hagee, John McCain, Keating Five, Mark Buse, Paul Bremer, Republican, Rick Davis, Rod Parsley, Tony Rezko

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