Wrong Crowd

Way back in the day, an older grrl in the hood sported a new ride on her sweet 16th.

Instantly - she became a huge hit with friends and frenemies - because - natch - she could be considered as transportation for especial emergency trips and treks like the mall, ball games and concerts.

Before long, afflicted with a curious dilemma nom de guerre'd "boy crazy" she and certain GF's xformed that ride into a full blown Ho - mobile.

Rumours mill was grinding chaff overtime and events were whispered that included weird new words like "STD" even the old Hillybilly stand "PG" (which is an unconvincing abbreviation for pregnancy) followed closely by the term 'abortion"

Her and her friends suffered a loss of respect, self esteem and damage to their reps - singulary and collectively.

"No surprise!" the sage elders crowed.

After all, that gal hung with the "Wrong Crowd"

Translate that true tail tale into the current bout of electile dysfunction in Great Satan.

"At a time when many people are saying Barack Obama’s past associations with radical figures doesn’t matter — and even that it
shouldn’t matter - it’s worth considering the opposite argument."

What applies to an inheat teenage wildchild also applies to presidential candidates.

"Over the years, Barack Obama hung around with some pretty disturbing characters, and what we’re talking about aren’t isolated incidents. It has happened with a slew of people on a range of issues. He has connected himself with domestic terrorists (William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn), with an anti-American and racist minister (Jeremiah Wright), and with corrupt people (Antoin “Tony” Rezko) and organizations (ACORN). What we see, then, is a pattern."

"Will it be something that will manifest itself if Obama is elected
President? It’s impossible to know for sure, and we can hope it wouldn’t be the case.

But it might.

The concern is not that Obama will invite domestic terrorists to the White House for signing ceremonies or private lunches; rather, it is that we know enough about Obama to say that his enormous personal ambition has clouded his judgment over the years.

He looks to be a man who will do disquieting things in order to climb the ladder of political success; when he was in Hyde Park, the rungs on that ladder included Mr. Ayers and the Reverend Wright.

This kind of trait — soaring ambition trumping sound judgment — can
manifest itself in very problematic ways, especially when you occupy the most powerful office in the world.

I get all that. But some of us believe there is a responsibility to make
this case in a calm, responsible, factual way. We believe it’s important to explain why Obama’s radical associations bear on the question of his character, and why Obama’s character bears on the question of electing our next President.

This issue shouldn’t, by itself, be dispositive. Nor should it be the only,
or even the most important, issue in the campaign. Nor is it fair to say that Obama’s character can be understood only through the prism of his associations. But to evoke eye-rolling, dismissive reactions in response to simply raising the issue is an effort to sideline a legitimate topic.

The time-honored truth is that character matters in leaders. Sometimes people forget that lesson - and when they do, it’s appropriate to remind them. And whether the country understands it or not, and whether voters think it’s a big deal or not, integrity and associations matter."

Pic - Left 2 right - Bad Influence, Bad Attitiude and Bad Judgement