The McCain campaign knows they cannot win this election by talking about the issues (because they're wrong on ALL of them) so they are resorting to a desperate attempt to smear Barack Obama's character with guilt-by-association. Instead of laying out their vision for the future (if they actually have one) and specifics about their solutions of our failing economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the threat of terrorism, and our diminished stature in the world - they are launching 30 days of dishonorable tactics to try to make people second guess who Obama is - even though we've had a year-and-a-half to get to know him thoroughly.
Sarah Palin (like a pitbull in lipstick) has taken on the "attack dog" role by going after Obama on his connection to William Ayers. Recently, she claimed that Obama "pals around with terrorists" in reference to the 1960's radical activist who co-founded the violent Weather Underground group during the Vietnam era. Palin's use of the term "terrorist" is intended to inspire fear and can easily invoke racially charged thoughts from those whose mind immediately thinks of Muslims or Islamic extremists when hearing that word. It is simply a lie to say that Obama is friends with or "pals around with" terrorists.
The actual truth about this controversy shows something far different than what the McCain campaign wants to imply. The facts about Obama's association with Ayers are very easy to find by anyone with access to Google. Armed with these facts I will easily debunk this smear from the McCain campaign that Obama is friends with a terrorist.
Debunking the smear:
Barack Obama was 8 years old when Ayers was allegedly involved in domestic terrorism in the late 60's as a cofounder of the Weather Undergound.
Ayers was never convicted of a crime and went on to become a productive member of society. Ayers worked with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in shaping the city's school reform program, and was one of three co-authors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge grant proposal that in 1995 won $49.2 million over five years for public school reform. William Ayers is currently a Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
How they're connected:
Obama and Ayers happened to live in the same neighborhood on the south side of Chicago.
In the mid-1990s, Ayers and his wife hosted a meet-and-greet at their house to introduce Obama to their neighbors during his first run for the Illinois Senate.
In 2001, Ayers contributed $200 to Obama's campaign.
Ayers also volunteered alongside Obama between December 1999 and December 2002 on the board of the not-for-profit anti-povertiy group, the Woods Fund of Chicago. That board met four times a year, and members would see each other at occasional dinners the group hosted.
There is no evidence that Obama knew of Ayers' radical past when the two knew each other.
Media conclusions:
CNN's review of project records found nothing to suggest anything inappropriate in the volunteer projects in which the two men were involved.
Internal reviews by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time magazine, The Chicago Sun-Times, The New Yorker and The New Republic "have said that their reporting doesn't support the idea that Obama and Ayers had a close relationship."
Associated Press: No evidence shows they were "pals" or even close when they worked on community boards years ago and Ayers hosted a political event for Obama early in his career.
New York Times: But the two men do not appear to have been close. Nor has Mr. Obama ever expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called “somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.”
Obama campaign statement:
"Senator Obama strongly condemns the violent actions of the Weathermen group, as he does all acts of violence. But he was an eight-year-old child when Ayers and the Weathermen were active, and any attempt to connect Obama with events of almost forty years ago is ridiculous."
Sources:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/902213,CST-NWS-ayers18.article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93KD6Q00&show_article=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/us/politics/04ayers.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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