Barack Obama and William Ayers

In Wednesday's debates, once again the possible relationship between democratic candidate Barack Obama and "weatherman" William Ayers was brought up. William Ayers is a professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Ayers was linked to the Weather Underground Organization. This organization had claimed responsibility for bombings between 1970 and 1974. In 2001, Ayers published his book Fugitive Days: A Memoir and made comments on September 11 that he did not regret his bomb-setting days - and that he felt that he was not enough of an activist. The question is, what does any of this have to do with Obama?

According to The Washington Post, Obama and Ayers were both on a board of an anti-poverty group in Chicago between 1999 and 2002. They also lived near one another in Chicago's Hyde Park. Other than that, Ayers contributed $200 to Obama's re-election fund. So, it appears that this connection is loose, at best.

Is election time when all the dirty launder is dragged out for everyone? Even though Hillary Clinton likes to point fingers at her competitor in the primary race, according to a Newsday article, she too has her own ties to a "weatherman". Clinton's own husband, Bill commuted the sentences of Susan Rosenberg, a convicted Weather Underground member, and Linda Sue Evans, convicted of weapons violations and participating in a conspiracy to bomb the capital.

Looking at connections between candidates and others drawn during campaigns, Obama and Clinton are not the only victims of "six-degrees-of-separation."

John McCain has been linked to various controversial persons as well. According to a New York Times article on the subject, McCain has a difficult time separating personal friendships from compromising connections. A female lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, had been seen at many fund-raisers with McCain - worrying members of McCain's advisory team. He also was involved with Mr. Keating, a Phoenix financier. During this time, McCain took rides on the financier's private jet, a clear violation of ethics rules in the senate.

In 1996, Bill Clinton stirred up controversy in his campaign due to the convictions of fundraisers. One of the fundraisers, Johnny Chung was convicted of fraud, tax evasion, and two misdemeanor counts of election law violations. John Huang was also convicted of violating the Hatch Act.

In 2000, controversy was stirred up when residents of Florida, the state governed at the time by George W. Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, complained that their votes were not accurately counted. They also registered complaints of faulty voting machines. This created a situation in which George W. Bush wound up with the presidency rather than Al Gore.

Every campaign for president will come with controversy as long as the candidates see one another as adversaries and the position of president remains highly coveted. It is the job of the opposing camps to stir up dirt on the opposition so that their campaign looks better. So long as there are elections, there will be a game of six-degrees-of-controversial figure being played.