John McCain Not Straight Talking About G. Gordon Liddy

John McCain attempted to hammer Barack Obama on William Ayers. David Letterman asked McCain about G. Gordon Liddy. That same Liddy that did prison time for breaking into the Democratic National Committee office.

Dave: I know, but you will also admit that we cannot really control who we interact with in our lives 100 percent. I mean -- you have --

McCain: How long we interact with them and how we interact with them -- but the point, the point in this campaign is the economy and the economy --

Dave: Did you not have a relationship with Gordon Liddy?

McCain: Uh, I met him. I --

Dave: Did you attend a fundraiser at his house?

McCain: Gordon Liddy's?

Paul: I object, your honor.

I think Obama's and McCain's relationships with Ayers and Liddy are fair game. Voters have a right to know what kind of people candidates had past dealings with. I'm not a fan of Ayers or Liddy. They face no current criminal charges and have the right to live their lives. The Ayers issue keeps getting addressed because the McCain campaign is in trouble.

The McCain people are trying to give voters a reason not to vote for Obama. What voters want is a reason to vote for McCain and Republican nominee and his campaign staff have failed to define him. They are running Bush's 2004 campaign. The economy and Iraq war have become increasingly unpopular for Republicans. McCain ran to the Right and gave Obama independents and moderate Republicans.

The Iran hostage crisis and economy hurt Carter. Ronald Reagan picked George H.W. Bush to appease the Rockefeller Republicans. Reagan did well with Democrats and Independents. In 1980, the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee ran the television ad "Vote Republican—for a Change." Obama grasped what made Reagan's campaign successful. McCain is grasping for straws.