Is plain ol' common sense what America is lacking? 

Terrorist Pals:  G. Gordon Liddy vs. William Ayers

For those of us who don't really know or are too young to know who G. Gordon Liddy is:  Liddy was the mastermind behind the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building in 1972, along with E. Howard Hunt. The subsequent cover-up of the Watergate scandal led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, the biggest political scandal in American history.  He was convicted of burglary, wire-tapping and consipracy.  According to other published reports, he wanted to kidnap protesters during the RNC, lure Democratic candidates to a place with hookers to photograph them, and bomb the Brookings Institution.

According to Steve Chapman from the Chicago Tribune, in 1994, after the disastrous federal raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, Liddy gave some advice to his listeners: "Now if the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms comes to disarm you and they are bearing arms, resist them with arms. Go for a head shot; they're going to be wearing bulletproof vests. ... Kill the sons of bitches."  1994. 

In 1998, Liddy held a fundraiser in his home for McCain's re-election campaign and has contributed at least $1000 this year alone.

Thursday night I watched John McCain on Letterman.  He was asked about his connection with G. Gordon Liddy.  He was uncomfortable, but answered that he was his "friend" and that "He paid his debt.  He went to prison and paid his debt, as people do.  I'm not in any way embarrassed to know Gordon Liddy."  HERE'S a good run-down of how the show went.

Now for William Ayers.  He was an anti-war radical in the 60's.  He bombed American soil in "protest" of the war in Vietnam.  He is unrepentant about it.  However, the reports that after 9/11 he said "we should have bombed more" are a stretch of the truth.  He stated on his blog: "The one thing I don't regret is opposing the war in Vietnam with every ounce of my being.... When I say, 'We didn't do enough,' a lot of people rush to think, 'That must mean, "We didn't bomb enough shit."' But that's not the point at all. It's not a tactical statement, it's an obvious political and ethical statement. In this context, 'we' means 'everyone.'"

As for their connection, Barak Obama was elected to the Annenberg Challenge in 1995 of which Bill Ayers was a co-author of.  The Board of Directors met monthly for the first six months and quarterly thereafter.  It is true that Bill Ayers held a party for Obama in his home, however it was not a fundraiser and more like an informal launching off wherein the state Sen. Alice J. Palmer, who planned to run for Congress, introduced Mr. Obama to a few Democratic friends as her chosen successor.  Ayers has donated a total of $200 to Obama (in 1995).

In February 2008, Obama spokesman Bill Burton released a statement from the senator about the relationship between the two: "Senator Obama strongly condemns the violent actions of the Weathermen group, as he does all acts of violence. But he was an eight-year-old child when Ayers and the Weathermen were active, and any attempt to connect Obama with events of almost forty years ago is ridiculous."  I agree.

So, on the one hand we have G. Gordon Liddy who was directly involved with the biggest political scandal in American history.  He was convicted of it.  He stated that if you want to kill an ATF officer, you should "go for the head because they wear vests."  He has donated over $5000 to McCain's various campaigns and John McCain counts him as a friend - right now, this minute.

On the other hand we have an un-repentant terrorist that has in no way denounced what he did in the 60's - when Obama was 8 years old.  Obama was by no means involved in this man's actions or that of the Weather Underground and has fully condemned his actions.  He is in no way Obama's "pal" and donated a total of $200 in Obama's first campaign.

What does your common sense say?