Is there such thing as guilt by association? There is, only so far as one perceives that one thing is true given the truth of some other thing. Of course, the association is predicated on causation. For example, Rev. Wright says "god damn America," and pundits say that Obama, therefore, believes that God should damn America. This, however, is faulty logic. Because there is no clear causation indicating why the second thing should be true, one cannot ascertain that the second thing is, indeed true because the first is true; and the name of this fallacy, ladies and gentlemen, is:
post hoc ergo propter hoc, literally: after this, therefore because of this, otherwise known as a false cause.
So why do knuckle-head politicians and their surrogates use such garbage to sway the average person? The average person is not inclined to know what is fallacious. The short answer, then: because using fallacies works.