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THE QUESTION
Candidates and Guilt by Association
Obama and Wright. McCain and Keating. Palin and Muthee. To what extent is it right or wrong to judge candidates by the company they keep?
Posted by
Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on October 7, 2008 4:17 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Don't Be Quick To Judge Candidates
So one should not be too quick to judge people by the company they keep, and in the case of judging anyone by their friends and allies, it is always worth giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Posted by Julia Neuberger, on November 24, 2008 9:35 AM
Guilt by Association Un-American and Un-Christian
It's blindingly obvious to me at least that if there was ever a time to stay on the issues and try to deal with the awful mess we're in, it's now. Judgment works both ways, and I think a lot of us are going to judge candidates who lean heavily on guilt by association, a discredited American political idea if there ever was one.
Posted by William Tully, on October 14, 2008 10:53 AM
Judging Character They Have, Not Characters They Know
Goddess, God or fortune, preserve us from ever being subjected to the laser scrutiny trained on a presidential candidate! It's a wonder we can find anyone halfway sane to run for that office. The most important company a candidate keeps is that of her or his own conscience.
Posted by Starhawk, on October 10, 2008 7:32 AM
Check the Evidence
If someone were to start passing the word around that the president of the world's largest evangelical seminary "pals around with potheads," I would not feel that I was being treated fairly.
Posted by Richard Mouw, on October 10, 2008 6:53 AM
Association Is Not Guilt
If association with someone establishes guilt or similar condition, doctors who associate with sick people must be sick.
Posted by Gardner Calvin Taylor, on October 10, 2008 4:15 AM
Palin's Association Troubling
No one so far has asked Sarah Palin directly on the record if she would make decisions based on her belief in the "end times" scenario that involves Muslims, Russia, Israel, and America.
Posted by Robert Thurman, on October 10, 2008 2:07 AM
Character Evaluation not Assassination
It's wrong and foolish NOT to judge candidates by the company they keep and the company they kept. But "guilt by association" - condemning and rejecting someone solely on the basis of a single association - is foolishly narrow-minded and morally wrong.
Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on October 8, 2008 4:12 PM
Candidates are Always Somewhat of a Mystery
New or previously unknown candidates running for a new position are always somewhat of a mystery. Even people who have a long, detailed record are still untested and it is unknown about how they will behave in the future.
Posted by Adin Steinsaltz, on October 8, 2008 3:34 PM
Victory at Any Cost? God Help Us
McCain, Obama, Biden and Palin -- wake up! The people of America are in deep distress; they are crying out in desperation. Quite frankly, we don't have time for such insensitive foolishness. If you cannot win on the issues, the economy being THE BIGGEST issue, then you simply do not deserve to win.
Posted by Susan K. Smith, on October 8, 2008 1:24 PM
McCain, Obama, Palin: Judgment, Not Guilt By Association, Is The Issue
The candidates' current behavior and recent records--whether you are for or against them--offer ample evidence of their public policy views and their capacity for leadership. We don't need "gotcha" moments from past associations to judge them. By their current words and deeds we can know them..
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on October 7, 2008 5:00 PM
Judge the Company They Keep AND the Reasons
No one act, or even an ongoing friendship, should define any candidate. But how they manage that relationship, bring us into their confidence about why it was worth it, or how they made a mistake in the past about it - their answers to those questions should inform our thinking about who deserves to be our next president.
Posted by Brad Hirschfield, on October 7, 2008 4:41 PM
A "Birds of a Feather" Campaign Strategy
As much as we instill virtue in our own candidate and vice in his opponent, guilt by association rarely works. First of all, every national candidate either comes from the financial elite or rubs shoulders with them. Second, politics is about money, in both savory and unsavory ways. There's no pure position in this regard.
Posted by Deepak Chopra, on October 7, 2008 4:09 PM
He Kept Company with Tax Collectors and Sinners
Both McCain and Obama have repudiated the actions of these acquaintances, who have nothing to do with their campaigns and would have nothing to do with their administrations.
Posted by Thomas J. Reese, S.J., on October 7, 2008 3:18 PM
Friends or Acquaintances?
I befriended and hosted my grandfather's assassin in the hope of changing him but after several months of dialogue and friendship, I realized he was too steeped in hate to change and I politely told him that our ways must part. Should this taint me forever? I don't think so.
Posted by Arun Gandhi, on October 7, 2008 2:36 PM
Unveil the Platform
The question shouldn't be about what their mentor, friend, or pastor believes; the question should be what they believe.
Posted by Matt Maher, on October 6, 2008 5:23 PM
Save & Share:
Think2: Look at it from the public's viewpoint. How are we to decide who to choose to lead our country...to act in our names and to create causes, ...
deflag: Obama made his choices in private. McCain made his choices while in public office. When elected, you have to deal with one and all, no mat...
