Lets Sling some Mud

Who ever said that the campaign trail was a friendly place? Not any person who has ever run for president, thats for damn sure. Here we are, just under a month until judgment day and all we are hearing about now is what kind of underhanded criminals that Barack Obama is, or has been associated with. William Ayers is a name that has popped up in almost every article about the election over the past week. I have to be completely honest here, I don't really know all that much about who William Ayers is, other than the fact that he is very radical, and some say he is connected with terrorist activity. I also don't really know the facts about Mr. Ayers' relationship with Obama, whether it exists or it is a mudslinging campaign ploy. What I am here to discuss is that I am not all too concerned with every single person that Barack Obama has worked with or come into contact with over his political career. If Barack Obama had a friendly lunch with a man who three years later raped and murdered an innocent person, would that mean that Obama was in some way connected? Would that mean that he has or will ever rape or murder someone?

The latest remarks made by Sarah Palin have been countless attacks on Obama's ties with certain questionable individuals. First it was this Ayers character, and now its the two Fannie Mac executives. Then she has the audacity to make a remark like this:

"For a campaign that says it's all about the future, our opponents spend a lot of time talking about the past," she said. "They look to the past because that's where you find blame. We look to the future because that's where you find solutions." (this was taken from the Washinton Post.)

Excuse me, Mrs. Governor, if you are so intent on discussing the future, how about YOU stop looking towards Mr. Obama's past. Now I do understand that I have not listened to these speeches in their entirety, and the papers always focus on the most controversial angles. It just frustrates me to see Sarah Palin criticize Obama for criticizing McCain's past voting records, all the while she can't shut up about Bill Ayers.

I am an aspiring journalist, and gosh darn it I am doing my best to stay partial here. I have done everything in my power to take what each candidate is saying, weigh it evenly, and evaluate it myself. I just find it so damn hard to do when it comes to Sarah Palin. Everything she says seems to me like an unwarranted, unsubstantiated personal attack, with complete disregard to the issues. When she was first nominated, I thought she was a genius strategy. She is a feisty woman who turned the GOP upside down. I thought she was a perfect fit. Since then though, I am starting to think that she will be the eventual demise of the John McCain campaign. I believe that for the most part, people do not take her seriously, and certainly can not envision her in a position of executive.

In the end, I do believe it will be the economic climate of this country today that will be the deciding factor in an Obama victory, even with Sarah Palin accusing Obama of using the crisis for his own political gain. I hope the American people can see through that claim. Barack Obama has said again and again that he is not interested in personal shots and mudslinging, and he wants to stick to the issues. Some say this is because he is afraid of what people digging in his past may find. I say this is is because he knows what hes doing, and knows full well that in a toe to toe battle on the issues, he can come out on top.