Mudslinging and political restraint

Recently the McCain campaign has been trying to associate Barack Obama with the Weathermen, a radical group of the '70s, through Bill Ayers, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago who was a member of this group 35-40 years ago.

While the group was responsible for several violent acts, Ayres himself was never convicted of any crime.

Obama was 8 years old at the time. Twenty years later, between 1999 and 2002, Obama served with Ayers (now a respected college professor) and six other people on the Woods Fund of Chicago (an anti-poverty group) and later, accepted a $200 contribution from him.

What was Obama connection with the Weatherman? None.

What was his error in judgment? None.

This is mudslinging.

On the other hand, the Obama campaign has shown rather remarkable restraint in not mentioning Sen. John McCain's connection with the Keating Five.

The Keating Five were five U.S. senators who interceded on behalf of Charles Keating in 1987.

Keating was the chairman of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association which was under investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. The board backed off its investigation after being pressured by McCain and his friends.

McCain was 50 years old at the time. The Savings and Loan went on to collapse, defrauding some 23,000 bond holders, costing the government a few billion dollars, and contributing to the recession of the 1990s in the process.

Prior to this, McCain had received $112,000 (not $200) in political contributions from Keating and his associates and had taken nine Caribbean vacations with his family and baby sitter at Keating's expense, often aboard Keating's private jet.

Although the Senate, after investigation, cleared McCain of any improper action, it criticized him for his behavior.

What was McCain's involvement with the S and L fiasco? Enough that he was criticized by the Senate. This seems like the true error in judgment.

Bernard Martin

Palatine