Every politician finds him/herself tied to those whom they have close or long-term business or personal associations. That's just the nature of it all, and no different than the Obama-endorsed ads regarding McCain's advisors as "lobbyists." People are linked to those whom they associate.

The issue is further expanded by the acceptance by aspiring State Senator Obama of a $200 campaign contribution from his colleague, William Ayers. Whether that acceptance was a "lack of judgment" or "thanks, my friend" act, depends on one's viewpoint. When campaign contributions became public records, politicians began to scrutinize very tightly where the funds came from, and returned contributions from those whose interests or backgrounds could be damaging downstream through inferred linkage to actions, positions, intent or policy.

That's why there is so much attention to Sen. Obama and his Freddie Mac / Fannie Mae connections - over $125K in campaign contributions from the institutions and his reliance on former Fannie Mae CEO James Johnson to vet potential vice presidential prospects.

Both campaigns are spending a great amount of effort to "educate' the public on the associates of the rival candidate to demonstrate the other guy is no angel. It cuts both ways, and ignoring one while hyping the other is just tunnel vision.