Much has been made in this election about John McCain’s judgment. Whether it was suspending his campaign, selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate, or keeping Sarah Palin from the media for a while. So let us talk about judgment.

I turn to the junior Senator from Illinois. Mr. Obama has spent considerable time defending his associations with Rezco, Ayers, et al as innocent. Perhaps, they were in fact innocent associations. Perhaps Mr. Obama is the proverbial babe in the woods, who looked into their eyes and saw their souls. But that leaves one lingering question. Were these associations sensible? Were they, good judgment?

It would seem to me that Barrack Obama is an adroit a politician as we have seen in a number of years. Any attack on him slips by harmlessly, or is rejoined by a cry of racism. (Ask Hillary, she knows.) So this fundamentally competent political operative would have us believe that his Annenberg Challenge relationship with Bill Ayers was entered into with nary a thought of the potential baggage it would carry? There can only be two potential explanations.

Explanation one would be that his association with Ayers was circumstantial, and the result of his tireless efforts to move this program forward. One that failed miserably. So it would seem that Obama’s judgment was flawed on two counts. Tainting himself by associating with Ayers, and secondly by pushing forward a program that failed so spectacularly.

It is worth noting that unlike most scandals where the crimes of an associate come to light after the association begins, Obama’s relationship with Ayers was initiated well after Ayers crimes were known. Further, it should be noted that the Annenberg Project’s failure were entirely predictable. By associating with outside “partners” who were able to use funding for their own purposes without oversight, no person of good judgment could have expected the angels of their better natures to prevail. Further, the initial limit of 10% usage of funds for “operational costs” were lifted on Obama’s watch. Another fine example of good judgment.

Explanation two is the more hypothetical. It would hold that Mr. Obama and Mr. Ayers shared a common political agenda. That in the harsh calculus of politics, Obama saw a benefit. And after computing this cost-benefit analysis, he chose to ally himself with this admitted terrorist and traitor.

In either case, whether it is his associating with Ayers (or Others) out of poor judgment or some more damning reason, the best that can be argued is his bad judgment. Or worse.