The Clinton campaign has been trying for months to push a story about ex-Weatherman Bill Ayers (left) and his acquaintance with Obama. Back in February, as we reported in this item, spokesman Phil Singer e-mailed friendly reporters about it: "Wonder what the Republicans will do with this issue."
The idea has been that Hillary should be president because the UChicago professor hosted a neighborhood fundraiser when Obama first ran for state Senate, gave him $200, and served on a non-profit board with him. Not that she practices guilt by association -- the Republicans will!
Today, on a conference call, Singer and Howard Wolfson tell reporters the Clinton campaign didn't raise it -- the moderators did last night. Apparently amnesiac about about their busy-little-beaver pitches to plant the story back in February. In any event, they're obviously very happy that it has entered the mainstream, mentioning it a half-dozen times.
Given the sudden importance of Weathermen, they were asked about Hillary's view of her husband's commutation of the sentences of two former members of the Weather Underground (Susan Rosenberg, right) who -- unlike Ayers -- were actually convicted of crimes.
Wolfson said he didn't think those two were as "unrepentant" as Ayers, and they didn't host fundraisers for Hillary. But he didn't know what she thought of Bill pardoning terrorists, whether she would denounce the pardons, or whether she would issue similar pardons/commutations. He said she had never been asked.
It's slightly strange, given the incredible importance Hillary now places on the American people's need to know about Ayers, that her press staff never thought before that a few voters might care about their boss's view on commuting terrorists' sentences. But, Wolfson said he'd find out:
"Fair enough."