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Attacks on Obama's patriotism hold no merit

Oct. 7, 2008

With under a month until election day, Sen. John McCain's campaign stepped up its rhetoric against Sen. Obama.

The latest charge this weekend from the McCain campaign was not that Obama will raise your taxes or will prematurely pull out of Iraq, but rather that Obama is not American enough.

Such a line of attack is not only disappointing and disrespectful but is also a distraction from the issues that face our country.

Speaking at rallies across Colorado and California on Saturday, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin repeatedly said, " Our opponent is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."

She continued, "This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America."

Palin was referring to Obama's known loose association with former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers. Ayers was a member of the radical leftist organization responsible for the bombings of government buildings during the 60s and 70s.

Palin referred to an article, "Obama and 60s Bomber: A Look Into Crossed Paths," from The New York Times in making her comments about the extent of Obama and Ayers' relationship.

According to the article, both Obama and Ayers served on a charitable board from 2000-2002, and Ayers once made a $200 donation to Obama's re-election campaign for Illinois State Senate in 2001. The article goes on to say that there is no evidence that Obama and Ayers had a close relationship while working on the same board.

Any reading of this article leads to one conclusion; Palin's attack is based on a lie without merit. Obama has never "palled" around with Ayers, nor does he subscribe to Ayers' political views.

The fact that Obama was only a young boy when Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground reinforces the absurdity of an implication that Obama is secretly tied to radical politics.

A few weeks ago when the credit crisis worsened, McCain showed us his worst political instincts as he waffled back and forth trying to find a position that would gain public approval. Before that, his pick of Palin for vice-president showed a candidate willing to put the needs of the Republican base before the needs of the country. And now McCain, down in most national polls and in many swing states, is making his last-ditch effort trying to convince voters he's more American than Obama and that Obama is someone Americans should fear.

The he's "not a man who sees America like you and I" attack is another in a long line of attacks questioning Obama's patriotism. Obama is an easier foil than most because he comes from a diverse background and has, as Obama himself admits, "a funny name."

We have seen these kinds of attacks before in politics, but what makes these negative attacks so disconcerting this time around is that they are coming from McCain's campaign. The same John McCain who stood up to "agents of intolerance" in 2000 and has tried to build a career around principle and character.

McCain has shown in the past few weeks that he's more than willing to put politics above principle, as his campaign has becomes increasingly more about fear then about the future.

With unresolved wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a financial crisis and other pressing issues the country deserves better than a campaign of fear and innuendo.

Andrew Martinez is a senior journalism and political science major from San Antonio.

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