And through it all I never cared what any of them were doing during a war that started over a decade before I was born. I just don't give to cents about it.
One of the things I like about Obama is that he's the first candidate that doesn't have to tell stories or make excuses about what he was doing during Vietnam. This is also the first time I've felt like a major party candidate isn't ignoring my generation and the issues we care about most. Republican strategists don't like that.
(Obama's nefarious activities in the early days of the Vietnam War)
You see, Republican strategists want elections to be about Vietnam and the old battles of the 60's. They want to keep fighting the "culture war" against the hippies. It's a winning strategy for them since 1968. That's why they keep bringing up William Ayers and the Weather Underground.
If the Ayers story was really about painting Obama as too liberal they could be talking about community organizing and ACORN instead. That's much better than a weak guilt by association argument. But that's also dangerous territory for conservative leaders because they don't want too many people knowing about a non-Marxist political movement that seeks to empower middle and working class people against the wealthy special interests who dominate the Republican party.
McCain and the hate-radio hosts aren't bringing up Ayers because it relates to terrorism or what Obama believes about any issues. It doesn't have anything to do with any of that. This is their last ditch effort to win another election on the culture war of the 60's. They can't attack Obama for what he did during Vietnam so they're attacking him for what someone he knows did during Vietnam.
I'll be happy if it doesn't work and this is the last time I have to suffer through another campaign about 40 year old grudges.