Bucco, just because you haven't linked Obama to Muslims doesn't mean it hasn't happened. In fact, that link has been made many times, including many times here. His middle name has been used to the exclusion of his first and last name, in all caps no less, by at least one person who has posted here. Just because it has stopped (but I expect it to start since tha poster has come back) doesn't mean it didn't happen.

As to Ayers and his ilk, considering that I lived in Northern California and went to UCLA, it would be amazing if I didn't know many radicals who did in fact think that killing to get their point across was an acceptable act. Didn't mean I agreed with it but I do know I heard it said and I do know of some who were tried and convicted of some pretty serious crimes. I sincerely doubt any of them regret their acts of that time. Would they do the same thing today? Probably not. It was a different era and they were different people.

Some of my past friends and mentors: Angela Davis (she never apologized for her acts and has never said she regrets what she did); Lou Alcindor (can't really say Kareem was my friend but Lou was); Tommie Smith (again, not in the least apologetic); Bobby Seale (and, yes, I also knew Huey Newton but did not consider him a friend); and those are the ones who I can name off the top of my head. I'm sure if I thought long and hard, I could come up with several others that I'd known but probably wouldn't have called friends.

Of course, I could also name a lot of "good" guys that I liked, admired, respected and even revered.

I was not and am not a radical by any stretch of anyone's imagination. I could no more have marched against Vietnam than I could have tried to kill my child. It would have been wrong for me. I could not imagine wanting people to die to make a point. Even so, I had friends who did protest, who did feel murder was acceptable under certain circumstances. When the conversations turned to those type of acts, I would leave.

Obama knew Ayers well after Ayers had committed his acts. I understand Ayers saying that he doesn't regret his acts is in fact reprehensible but I can understand the comment. It was a different era. While I could never condone nor accept what the Weathermen and the Black Panthers did, I could and can understand why they did what they did and why they felt what they did was right. I think that is what Ayers meant: he feels that his actions were right for the time and, given the facts as he knew them then, he would do it again at THAT time and under THOSE circumstances. That doesn't mean he would do them today. The man Obama knows is not the man of the 60s. I doubt that the young Bill Ayers would have been able to stand being in the same room of the Bill Ayers today.

I think you also have to look at the fact that there is a huge difference in what a President wants to have happen and what does happen. Politics does tie a politician's hands. The Supreme Court appointee that is thought to be a diehard liberal can change (think Felix Frankfurter who advocated states' rights over and over). While it may be easier for a Democratic President to accomplsh some goals with a Democratic Congress, that doesn't mean the President gets a blank check. There really is a balance of power.

As I've said previously, I do understand your fears about Obama. I don't necessarily agree, but I do understand them. Arguing his voting record, I understand and it is a big issue in my mind. Disliking his association with Rev. Wright, I agree. Linking Obama to his grandparents' and mother's friends, I totally disagree. I really can't get worked up about Ayers. I don't like all that ACORN has done, is doing and probably will do in the future but I do believe they've also accomplished some good things, so I'm not overly upset about his association with that organization.

And, going back to my original point (AGAIN), why would McCain run an ad associating Obama to Ayers and then make a public statement to "temper" the crowd that implies that Obama is not a radical or a socialist? Either drop the ad that "you approved" or don't try to imply it isn't true to your supporters.