Desperate Republicans Makeup Ayers, Barack Obama Friendship

Senator Obama maybe showed poor judgment in going to the home of a unrepentant terrorist. But he was brought to the home of Ayers by Obama's State Senate predecessor, Alice Palmer. That is not the same as saying that they were pals. Obama was there to promote his candidacy not because he admired Ayers. And there hasn't been any evidence shown that there was much contact between the two individuals since then, 13 years later. When Ayers made those detestable remarks in 2001 ("I don't regret setting bombs. I don't think we did enough.") was Obama "associating" himself with Ayers? Does Obama even know about those remarks? If they were pals where are the pictures? Did Ayers ever visit the home of Mr.Obama, as you would expect from friends? Has Obama ever had dinner with Ayers --who lives nearby? Doesn't sound like much of a friendship.

And why hasn't anyone at the University where Ayers teaches objected to his presence there? And did anyone object to the fact that Ayers worked for Mayor Richard M. Daley? Despite his past, Ayers is a respected member of his community. He lives openly and freely without anyone objecting to his presence in their community. Why weren't Republicans objecting in 1995? And if the Obama association with Ayers is so bad why do pro-Republican news outlets like FOX make false claims that Ayers was a "mentor" to Obama?

Now even McCain supporters, like Republican Maine Senator, Susan Collins, are telling him to drop this line of attack:

The Obama campaign, meanwhile, is fighting a conservative group called the American Issues Project over a TV commercial that links Obama to Ayers. The campaign argues that the nonprofit group is violating federal laws regulating political ads by nonprofits.

The group filed a document with the Federal Election Commission last week identifying Texas billionaire Harold Simmons as the lone financier of the ad, contributing nearly $2.9 million to produce and air it. Simmons is a fundraiser for John McCain and was one of the major contributors to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which aired ads in 2004 against John Kerry.

This behavior on the part of the McCain campaign might explain why Obama is being endorsed by unlikely supporters:

Democrat Barack Obama won endorsements from two unlikely newspapers — the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

While the Tribune is the largest daily in Obama's hometown, the publication hasn't backed a Democrat in its 161-year history. And the Times hasn't endorsed a presidential candidate since 1972, when it backed President Richard M. Nixon's re-election.

In an editorial posted on its Web site, the Tribune said the country needs a president who can lead it through a "perilous time" and restore "a common sense of national purpose." Obama is the best candidate to do that, the editorial board said.

"We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions," the Tribune said. "He is ready."