â??Terroristâ?? link puts Barack Obama under fire

A PAST association with a former terrorist has returned to haunt Barack Obama as the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination nears its end game.

Republicans are turning on Obama for his connection with William Ayers, once a member of the Weather Underground, a terrorist group that bombed the Capitol, the Pentagon and the State Department in the 1970s.

Ayers was loosely involved in Obamaâ??s election as an Illinois state senator in the late 1990s, when he was introduced to local activists at a meeting in his house. He also donated $200 to Obamaâ??s reelection campaign in 2001.

Obama served with Ayers on the board of the Woods Fund, a philanthropic foundation, for three years and shared a platform with him at two academic conferences.

Republicans believe they have found new evidence that Obama lacks judgment and patriotism just as the controversy over the Rev Jeremiah Wright, his pastor, who said, â??God damn Americaâ?�, is dying down.

The Weathermen, a small band of extreme leftists who got their name from lines in a Bob Dylan song - â??You donâ??t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blowsâ?� - conducted a bombing campaign against targets such as police headquarters, prisons and courthouses for three years to â??bring the [Viet-nam] war homeâ?�.

Two police officers were killed in 1981, when members of the Weathermen and Black Liberation Army stole $1m from an armoured car. It was their last action.

Ayers, 63, turned himself in to police that year, when charges against him were dropped because of mishandled FBI surveillance. He is now a professor of education at the University of Illinois in Chicago and is admired in progressive political and educational circles.

In a lecture to college students in North Dakota last week, Ayers said: â??I was trying to go to sleep, flipping through the channels real quick, and Hannity said, â??Stay tuned. John McCain and I will talk about William Ayers.â?? And I said, damn, I will have to stay tuned for an hour.â?�

Ayers went on to tell the students: â??People ask, â??Do you regret anything you did against the government in those days?â?? And my answer is: no, I donâ??t.â?�

In an interview in The New York Times on the day of the September 11 attacks, when he was promoting Fugitive Days, his book on the Weathermen, Ayers said: â??I donâ??t regret setting bombs,â?� and added: â??I feel we didnâ??t do enough.â?�
‘Terrorist’ link puts Barack Obama under fire - Times Online

Just so happens this dude works in the University of Illinois, Chicago system.....the same as Obamas' wife.

For being such a young candidate he sure has alot of baggage.:wtf:

Have a good one!:s4:

:rolleyes: If this kind of 30 year old red baiting BS is the best the republicans can come up with, Obama is a shoe in.

That's all that Clinton and McCain have been doing this year; just finding negative info. Anyone remember in 2000 when Bush called McCain a traitor and a homosexual? Now Bush is endorsing him, shaking his hand and shit. All this government business is bullshit.

American politics are played out. Time for a revolution.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by psteve

:rolleyes: If this kind of 30 year old red baiting BS is the best the republicans can come up with, Obama is a shoe in.

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I agree...a "shoe in" for keeping his Senate status for years to come.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by samostalan

That's all that Clinton and McCain have been doing this year; just finding negative info.

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McCain's been finding negative info on Obama all this year? LOL....can't wait to see on link on this one.

I know the left feels that Obama can walk on water but what happens to their expectations when they find out he swims as well as he bowls?:D

Have a good one!:s4:

Ok McCain personally hasn't taken his time to do so, but his puppet masters have been.

:S2: Guess who got questioned about this last night? That's right, Obama-Bin-Dodgin'! :D

Have a good one!:s4:

MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator, if you get the nomination, you'll have to -- (applause) -- (inaudible).

I want to give Senator Clinton a chance to respond, but first a follow-up on this issue, the general theme of patriotism in your relationships. A gentleman named William Ayers, he was part of the Weather Underground in the 1970s. They bombed the Pentagon, the Capitol and other buildings. He's never apologized for that. And in fact, on 9/11 he was quoted in The New York Times saying, "I don't regret setting bombs; I feel we didn't do enough."

An early organizing meeting for your state senate campaign was held at his house, and your campaign has said you are friendly. Can you explain that relationship for the voters, and explain to Democrats why it won't be a problem?

SEN. OBAMA: George, but this is an example of what I'm talking about.

This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago, who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.

And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values, doesn't make much sense, George.

The fact is, is that I'm also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions.

Do I need to apologize for Mr. Coburn's statements? Because I certainly don't agree with those either.

So this kind of game, in which anybody who I know, regardless of how flimsy the relationship is, is somehow -- somehow their ideas could be attributed to me -- I think the American people are smarter than that. They're not going to suggest somehow that that is reflective of my views, because it obviously isn't.

SEN. CLINTON: Well, I think that is a fair general statement, but I also believe that Senator Obama served on a board with Mr. Ayers for a period of time, the Woods Foundation, which was a paid directorship position.

And if I'm not mistaken, that relationship with Mr. Ayers on this board continued after 9/11 and after his reported comments, which were deeply hurtful to people in New York, and I would hope to every American, because they were published on 9/11 and he said that he was just sorry they hadn't done more. And what they did was set bombs and in some instances people died. So it is -- you know, I think it is, again, an issue that people will be asking about. And I have no doubt -- I know Senator Obama's a good man and I respect him greatly but I think that this is an issue that certainly the Republicans will be raising.

And it goes to this larger set of concerns about, you know, how we are going to run against John McCain. You know, I wish the Republicans would apologize for the disaster of the Bush-Cheney years and not run anybody, just say that it's time for the Democrats to go back into the White House. (Laughter, applause.)

Unfortunately, they don't seem to be willing to do that. So we know that they're going to be out there, full force. And you know, I've been in this arena for a long time. I have a lot of baggage, and everybody has rummaged through it for years. (Laughter.) And so therefore, I have, you know, an opportunity to come to this campaign with a very strong conviction and feeling that I will be able to withstand whatever the Republican sends our way.
Democratic Debate Transcript, Philadelphia - Council on Foreign Relations

Seems that there are some dems that do feel this is an issue to be talked about. :D

Have a good one!:s4: