Obama: Thought Ayers was rehabilitated
The GOP seems to have fired up the kettles of interest against on Obama-Ayers. So, Obama was asked it about today in a radio talk with Michael Smerconish, a conservative radio talk show host in Philadelphia. Audio is at Politico.
Obama's doesn't talk about the 1995 reception at Ayers' home where he first met the ex-radical (pictured at left). His chief strategist David Axelrod has said Obama didn't know of Ayers' past in the Weather Underground at the time. Obama focuses on later encounters as fellow board members on the Annenberg Challenge, which gave out education grants.
The key news here: Obama says he assumed Ayers was "rehabilitated" because of his prominence in Chicago civic life, and did not learn otherwise until 2001 when Ayers told the NYTimes he was unrepentant. He also says the whole story is a "red herring." A partial transcript from ABC:
"I moved to Chicago. I didn't grow up in Chicago. And graduating from law school I was involved in a whole bunch of civic activities."The gentleman in question, Bill Ayers, is a college professor, teaches education at the University of Illinois and that's how I met him, was working on a school reform project that was funded by an ambassador and former close friend of Ronald Reagan's and I was sitting on this board along with a whole bunch of conservative businessmen and civic leaders and he was one of the people who was on this board. And he lives in the same neighborhood.
"Ultimately, I ended up learning about the fact that he had engaged in this reprehensible act 40 years ago, but I was eight years old at the time and I assumed that he had been rehabilitated.
"So, you know, the central point this is not somebody......
...... who advises my campaign, it's not somebody who is part of my, you know, inner circle in any way. This is somebody I've worked on some projects with, the latest is school reform. And I've strongly condemned his actions.
"The fact that, you know, Senator McCain wants to make this the centerpiece of his campaign is pretty remarkable," Obama said. "I mean, we are going through an enormous challenge right now. And Senator McCain surely doesn't believe that I endorse any of the actions that [Ayers] has taken….Nobody is suggesting that in any way that I think the actions this radical group back in the 60s did was the right thing to do. This is just a political tactic…
"One of the problems with being in public life is you end up knowing all sorts of people," Obama said. "And you're not going to do a vet or an investigation on every single one of them."
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Comments (5)
How can anyone trust what Obama says if he keeps changing his story on Ayers. He says we need change but what type of change is he "REALLY GOING TO GIVE US"
Remember once a BOMBER always a BOMBER he married a BOMBER.
What is not reported much is that Alice Palmer who was the Senator that Obama replaced and introduced him at Ayers home decided not to run for congress but remain a State Senator.
Obama knew he could not beat her so he used the courts to remove her from the ballot.
VJ Machiavelli
http://www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com
How can anyone trust Palin / Mccain when Palin surrounds herself with cronies and fires anyone who she doesnt like personally .READ UP (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html) And palled around with Alaska independece party leaders ? Why not google them ? Chryson belongs to a fringe of the political party,(a radical) one that advocates the secession of Alaska from the Union, and that organizes with other like-minded secessionist movements from Canada to the Deep South, he is not without peculiar influence in state politics, especially the rise of Sarah Palin. During the 1990s, when Chryson directed the AIP, he and another radical right-winger, Steve Stoll, ( a radical ) played a quiet but pivotal role in electing Palin as mayor of Wasilla and shaping her political agenda afterward. Both Stoll and Chryson not only contributed to Palin’s campaign financially, they played major behind-the-scenes roles in the Palin camp before, during and after her victory. Read up http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/10/palin_chryson/
OR look at Mccain who took money from Charles keating . McCain intervened on behalf of Charles Keating with federal regulators tasked with preventing banking fraud, and championed legislation to delay regulation of the savings and loan industry — actions that allowed Keating to continue his fraud at an incredible cost to taxpayers.
Mccain used POOR judgement to pick a unqualified person for VP just because she winks and looks pretty and is a cutzie person .He didnt put country first .
Fact is After Bill Ayers turned himself in many years ago he went and earned a doctorate in education at Columbia in 1987, Ayers has been a professor of education at the University of Illinois, Chicago, author or editor of 15 books, and advocate of school reform. And was named citizen of the year in chicago .
"He's done a lot of good in this city and nationally," Mayor Richard Daley said last week, explaining that he has long consulted Ayers on school issues. he's been reformed ..and this is when Obama met Ayers ..not when he was a rebellish youth doing stupid radical things .
This is a poor attempt by right wingers to smear Obama ..warning dont throw rocks when you live in a glass house.
READ the article, VfromNY, Ayers says he is unrepentant. People like him do not change their minds because they become a college professor. Osama bin Laden is sitting back laughing at all of us. We are in serious trouble, and your head is in the sand.
READ the article, VfromNY, Ayers says he is unrepentant. People like him do not change their minds because they become a college professor. Osama bin Laden is sitting back laughing at all of us. We are in serious trouble, and your head is in the sand.
I wonder how it feels to have a deep sense of hatred towards one's own country for over 40 years? Ayers would know, and after spending 5 minutes with the guy, it probably comes to the surface. There's no way a smart man like Obama would have missed the signals from Ayers. I hate to say it, but Obama had to know what Ayers was all about, but chose to ignore it because he was getting some benefit by hanging out with him.
Same goes for sitting in the pews for decades listening to Rev Wright spew his hatred. Either Obama has a high level of tolerance for America haters, or he's oblivious to signals others wouldn't miss.
McCain saw KGB in Putin, what would Obama see- a man who likes babies and small animals? (btw, Putin is a dangerous man, he's moving Russian warships to South America- we gotta watch that guy)