Focus on issues, not dirty fighting
An answer to Mr. Lawrence Boni's letter (Oct. 23) about Senator John McCain's campaign charges regarding Sen. Barack Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers: This "news" has been thoroughly and repeatedly explained by Sen. Obama and investigated by the media, including Chicago's own Dick Kaye, and found to be of little concern. Mr. Boni also asserts that "if John McCain was known to associate with hoodlums - (the media) would crucify him."
Perhaps Mr. Boni has forgotten, or maybe never knew, that Sen. John McCain has a few nefarious associations in his background as well, starting with G. Gordon Liddy - of Watergate notoriety, a convicted felon, who is Sen. McCain's acknowledged longtime friend and who has hosted a fundraiser in the senator's name and contributed thousands of dollars to his campaign. There were also Sen. McCain's close connections to a private group (The U.S. Council for World Freedom) that supplied aid to rebels who were trying to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua during the Iran/Contra affair. This international organization was linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra right-wing death squads in Central America, according to a recent Associated Press article.
And lest we forget, Sen. John McCain was one of the "Keating Five" during the Savings and Loan crisis of the late '80s and early '90s. Senator McCain was not convicted of any crime, but was criticized for "poor judgment by the Senate Ethics Committee in 1991 and has called it "the worst mistake in my life." These assertions are all well-documented and can be easily found in newspaper archives.
I, for one, am glad that Sen. Barack Obama has chosen not to engage in this kind of mudslinging in the media. Instead, Obama focuses his campaign on the issues that should concern all of us in these uncertain times; the economy, two disastrous wars, a failing health care system and unemployment, to name just a few. Instead of character assassination, these issues should be the ones BOTH of our candidates discuss because they are of paramount concern to all of us.
Judy Arenas
Arlington Heights