Ayers, Wright and Farrakhan reemerge

They tried to lie low during the campaign, but now they're baaaack.

Published November 10, 2008 3:22PM (EST)

ABC's Jake Tapper reports on the reemergence of three people Barack Obama never wanted to emerge on the national scene in the first place: Bill Ayers, Louis Farrakhan and Jeremiah Wright.

You can be sure that the conservative talk radio crowd will start hyperventilating and point to this as evidence that it was a giant conspiracy to lie low until after the votes were in. But none of them will be moving to Washington to take official positions with the government or set up lobby shops to cash in. And those are the associations and relationships that matter.

I always find it frustrating when conservatives or the media uses the "question of judgment" rationale to equate a long-standing friendship that has no bearing whatsoever on policy or governing with a casual but working relationship (think Jack Abramhoff) that may have or has had serious implications for the conduct of government business.


By Thomas Schaller

Thomas F. Schaller is professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the author of "Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South." Follow him @schaller67.

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