Foolish associations bring harm.

Recently both campaigns for the US presidency has turned quite ugly with hateful pot stirring by one camp to profane mockery from the other. One can hear the fanfare at McCaine/Palin's rallies shouting out their anger that was reminiscent of a movie I recall from the 70's called 'Network', "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Vindictive and incited to wrath, these folks are furious about two things: the legislative bail out of the banking failures and the journalist bias that seems grossly apparent. But on the other hand we have the Obama supporters ridiculing Palin in Sat. Night Live skits and parading around in profane 'T' shirts with slogans so ugly that they do not bear repeating. Not to mention the release of a Palin look alike porno flick now occupying the news. All this to make her look like a ditsy beauty queen rather than a viable candidate for VP. And we, the voter, are supposed to figure it all out so as to make an informative pull of the lever on Nov. 4th.

King Solomon suggests to us that the wisdom needed might logically be acquired with one simple observation. Proverbs 13: 20 says this, 'He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.' Given this standard, I think it best to decide what is apparent foolishness and recognize who is among them. For example, the ridicule and mockery going on, as well as unrestrained anger could be considered foolishness. Setting that aside; I think we can determine what shows wisdom and who may grow in it by his/her associations.

Many are concerned that Barack Obama has or has had some associations that are a bit radical. Whether he's sitting in a pew for 20 years and 'not hearing' hate speeches made by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright; or his being naive about the terrorist activities of a colleague, Bill Ayers, in affiliations during his community organizing days - at the very least he lacks sound judgment. And isn't it prudent to question his having a financial advisor that just left an institution which is now bankrupt? Then there's his associations back in Detroit, where the Mayor Kwane Kirkpatrick (forced from office due to various crimes) who is on his way to jail along with another associate closer to home, Tony Rezko. Also in that mix is an old poker pal, Executive Larry Walsh, who served in the Ill. state senate with Barack and is presently under investigation. Apparently Will County was blessed with a number of federal grants after Walsh's lobbyists met with Obama. And need I mention the impudent Dorothy Tillman who seems to have had a curious alliance with Barack and makes the hate filled bigoted speeches from the Reverend sound tame. The following links give details of some of these associations:
http://cdobs.com/archive/our-columns/the-cat-in-the-hat-is-back-in-the-news,1811/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-oped1013krauthammeroct13,0,362544.story


I realize that some would argue that John McCain has had his fair share of shady associations too. That Keating thing - was it nearly 20 years ago already? Suffice it to say he had at least poor judgment. In the face of his own immaturity, political ambition and words; he conceded thus. Let's hope that his gray hair is well earned and is evidence of lessons learned. But just for inquisitive minds that need the satisfaction of more scrutiny since it is a matter of public record; here's a link that should exonerate as did the congressional ethics committee. http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/email.php/8379816 ...


But I think in the Keating case, the waters of good judgment were muddied by campaign support funds (McCain was said to have received from Keating campaign contributions for his debut run to the senate). Perhaps this is why now, he's a repentant zealot about campaign reform - 'Fool me once, you're the fool; fool me twice...' so they say. The problem with Obama's associations however, (other than they're being extremist for most of the populous) they remain a mystery. Much of the explanations do not do the truth justice, I suspect. It's incredulous to believe that he had this many dubious connections without sharing similar ideology. I do think that association is important. Bad company corrupts good morals, kind of thing. Wisdom cries out for those with an ear to hear - discerning and observing who are the fools and who is truly acquiring wisdom. Connect the dots and then go pull that lever.