Let's See. Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Tawana Brawley. These
are all names that have come up for years in discussions about the politics of
Barrack Obama, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Politics can be a very
unforgiving process.
People weigh your past voting records and statements. They examine
your relationships ans associations. And they consider the actions of your family, your business associates and your high-profile supporters.
When you have to campaign in 50 states and five territories, everything you say, do or ever have done could have a shelf life. People will remember insensitive positions you've taken against women or minorities. They will also remember your appearances made before or on behalf of organizations and institutions and your associations with individuals.
So, if Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan and Tawana Brawley can be forever linked to some politicians, then surely other politicians should face similar scruitiny. If public denouncements and repudiation are so critical to vindication, then perhaps such demands should be universally applied.
Would that not be holding everyone to the same standards? Wouldn't that make clarifying where candidates stand on issues such as bigotry a matter of principle?
People weigh your past voting records and statements. They examine
your relationships ans associations. And they consider the actions of your family, your business associates and your high-profile supporters. When you have to campaign in 50 states and five territories, everything you say, do or ever have done could have a shelf life. People will remember insensitive positions you've taken against women or minorities. They will also remember your appearances made before or on behalf of organizations and institutions and your associations with individuals.
So, if Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan and Tawana Brawley can be forever linked to some politicians, then surely other politicians should face similar scruitiny. If public denouncements and repudiation are so critical to vindication, then perhaps such demands should be universally applied.
Would that not be holding everyone to the same standards? Wouldn't that make clarifying where candidates stand on issues such as bigotry a matter of principle?
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