Then-Senator Barack Obama said in a presidential debate with Senator John McCain, ‘Judge me by the people with whom I surround myself.’ The prophetic nature of that quote cannot be missed, as yet another member of the President’s staff has been added to a growing body of close associates who may be considered by some as far-left extremists.

White House Communications Director Anita Dunn, the chief administration critic of FOX News, was uncovered (by Glenn Beck) in a video from June 5 of this year speaking before a group of high school students. She stated, rather matter-of-factly, that one of her two favorite political philosophers was Mao Zedong, founder of the Chinese Communist Party. “In 1947, when Mao Zedong was being challenged within his own party on his plan to basically take China over, Chiang Kai-Shek and the nationalist Chinese held the cities, they had the army. They had the air force. They had everything on their side, and people said how can you win? … Against all the odds against you, and Mao Zedong said, you know, you fight your war, and I’ll fight mine, and think about that for a second.”

Her quote does, to be fair, fit in the context of her speech. But that in no way overshadows the basic facts: Dunn publicly announced that one of her favorite political philosophers, someone she “turns to most,” is Chairman Mao. Mao was responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of Chinese through the establishment of communism in China. When the video first went viral she weakly tried to pass the comments off as “ironic” and inspired by late Republican strategist Lee Atwater. But many commentators like Bill Dupray at Trueslant.com don’t buy this retelling.

“The issue isn’t whether Lee Atwater ever quoted Mao. A simpleton knows you don’t adopt somebody’s philosophy as your own simply by quoting them. But when you quote them and then explicitly say the person is one of your biggest influences, then you make it your own.” In other words, merely reading or quoting another person is radically different from affirming them and admiring them. Dunn apparently falls into the latter category.

These extreme ideas, however, are not confined to only a single individual within the administration. Only a short while ago Van Jones was still the President’s “Green Jobs Czar.” The man is a self-declared communist and a founder of STORM (Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement), and signed the original “9/11 Truther” petition questioning if the Bush administration allowed the 9/11 attacks to occur.

Other high-level appointees, however, are equally controversial but have received comparatively no scrutiny. John Holdren, the “Science Czar,” has advocated for government-mandated population controls. “Safe Schools Czar” Kevin Jennings has publicly voiced his admiration of Harry Hay, an outspoken supporter of the North American Man Boy Love Association. (For those not aware, the organization seeks the removal of age of consent laws in order to legally allow grown men to have sex with young boys.) “Health Care Czar” Ezekiel Emanuel has publicly voiced disapproval of the Hippocratic Oath for focusing too much on individual health-care needs and ignoring the good of the collective.

The president, it would seem, is now eating his own words. As more and more of his advisers and staff are discovered to have extremist leanings, his already suspect policies will lose the credibility they have left. Frankly, Barack Obama is being judged, and it seems that many in America disapprove of those with whom he keeps company.

David Giffin is a College senior from Charleston, Ill.