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Write Obama's Ayers Response

It appears that McCain intends to bring up William Ayers in tomorrow night's debate -- apparently if you double-dare him to do something, he can't back down.

It's widely assumed that Obama has been goading McCain into this because he assumes that the ensuing exchange will benefit him. So I ask you: what do you think Obama will (or should) say in response to McCain challenging him to come clean and fully explain his relationship with Ayers the unrepentant terrorist?

Here's my submission:

John, I've renounced Ayers's despicable acts, and explained the limited interaction I once had with him in Illinois. I think I've done that to the satisfaction of American voters -- who, quite frankly, don't seem to be interested in whether we can dig through every person or group you and I have ever met, and find some with dubious ethical judgment. I don't think that's how they're judging which of us will reverse the eight years of dubious ethical judgment we've had in the Bush administration, where nobody ever pays any consequences for their behavior. Remember when George Bush promised to fire whoever leaked Valerie Plame's identity? Or all the revelations of wrongdoing in the Justice Department? Or overseeing no-bid contracts in Iraq, where pallettes of cash disappeared? Or politics trumping science in the FDA or EPA? For eight years, we've had cover-ups instead of consequences -- we've had administration officials refusing to respond to subpoenas, or testifying that they can't remember anything that they did. The American people want to know that we won't run our administration like that. But you know what? You've made one hiring decision for your administration. Your choice for vice president. And a bipartisan commission found that she abused her power and violated state ethics law. That's their finding, finding number one in their report that came out Friday. And I haven't heard you say one thing about it -- I haven't heard you say that her actions were wrong, or that you would not allow that kind of behavior in your administration, or that you in any way disapprove of that abuse of power and violation of ethics law. So, you can keep looking backward and talking about who I once knew, or served on a board with. If you think that says something about my judgment, and how I might run my administration, OK. But what does it say about your judgment, John, and how you'll run your administration, that your running mate abused her power and violated ethics law?And that you don't seem to care?

  • Ginna said:

    John,

    When I met Ayers, he was introduced as a Columbia Professor that lived in my neighborhood.  I had a meet and greet coffee at is house at the start of my career and served with him on two nonpartisan boards, one of which is funded by your supporters.  We are not friends.  He has never advised me.  His contributed $200 to my Senate campaign.  When I discovered his past actions, I repudiated his actions and have excepted no further contributions from him.  I don't feel that my casual interactions with a committed violent acts that I have condemned when I was 8 years old reflects on my judgement and feel this is just another attempt to distract voters from more important issues in this campaign.  However, since you have chosen to throw stones from your 7 glass house, do you not feel that your association with G. Gordan Liddy--a convicted felon who committed a break in to undermine our government and has openly stated he wanted to bomb the Brookings Institute, assassinate liberal journalists, kidnap convention protestors and kill the Federal agents involved in Waco. Over the years, you have attended fundraisers in his home which grossed thousands and in May, you stated on his radio show you were "proud of the work he does?" Are you not being a hypocrit by trying to distract voters with my radical association with Ayers when you have your own associations.?

    October 14, 2008 1:19 PM
  • LorenzoJennifer said:

    Ginna gets the Prize Du Jour!

    May add only the following . . .

    Your campaign ads refer to incidents that happened over thirty years ago.  The William Ayers whom I briefly met in the 1990s is not the same William Ayers of the 1970s.  He made major mistakes back then, mistakes he has not repeated since then.  People change, John.  We need to forgive people for things they may have done years and years ago. No one among us is perfect, John, neither me nor you nor anyone else.  We all say or do the wrong thing now and then.  We need to understand, forgive and move on.

    October 14, 2008 3:00 PM
  • jeffery mcnary said:

    look, john, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, okay?

    October 14, 2008 7:40 PM
  • Michael Pahre said:

    David,

    I don't think Obama will follow your lead because:  (a) he mostly avoids specifics on corruption/ethics issues with the Bush administration, probably because it tests badly; and (b) he is avoiding taking on Palin personally, probably for the same reason (and that he'll leave those attacks for surrogates).

    How's this instead:

    "John, Bill Ayers is a man whom I've known only since 1995, who lives in my neighborhood in Chicago, and with whom I sat on a school reform board created by the late conservative philanthropist Walter Annenberg.  I knew nothing of Ayers' 1960s background until more recently, and earlier in this campaign I already repudiated his actions -- those awful things that he did when I was only eight years old and I didn't know him.

    Three independent fact-checker organizations have all looked into your allegations and concluded that they are false and over-the-top.

    Why you're raising this issue now is completely transparent:  your own campaign said that if the campaign is about the economy, then you lose election.  So you're trying to change to topic to something else -- anything else, even this muck -- just to avoid talking about the economy.

    Why wouldn't you want to talk about the economy?  Because a few weeks ago, you said, yet again, that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong."  Later that same day, the Dow Jones index plummeted four percent, and it has nose-dived around 20% in the last month since you made that ludicrous remark.  The credit markets have frozen so badly that blue chip companies can't get the most basic loans that they need to pay for operations and payroll.

    Seniors are worried about losing their retirement savings in the last year, and you talk about this tenuous guilt-by-association instead.

    Auto workers in Michigan and Ohio are scared that they will lose their jobs, and you want to talk instead about some guy I've only interacted with informally a handful of times.

    Our state and local governments are scrambling to hang on in this crisis, threatening everyone's schools, health care, and the long-overdue repairs of our infrastructure -- and you want to keep changing the topic back to this guy who I hardly know.

    The economy is at a precipice and you're just showing everyone again and again how out of touch you are about it.

    It's time for you to start talking about the economy for once.  The American people are worried about the economy, but you're doing everything you can to cover your ears while shouting this guy's name again and again.  Listen to the people of this great country and start talking about their issues instead of this rubbish.

    Try running an honorable campaign instead of the slime you've been slinging the last couple of weeks.  The American people deserve better than this."

    October 14, 2008 10:21 PM
  • gordon marshall said:

    I think Obama's own response was fine.  He explained that he had consorted with Ayers with the understanding that the latter had been "rehabilitated."  That said, Obama himself will have to make the difficult judgment call of whether or not he will renounce a friendship and, more to the point, on what grounds.  One last question for the mudslingers: if Ayers really is a felon, why isn't he in jail--or why aren't they questioning the justice system that failed to PUT him in jail?

    October 15, 2008 5:54 AM
  • philosopherkingtomas said:

    John i know your campaign is not working whatever happened the the Straight Talk Expess, all you bring up is random characters from the past that are not irrelevant to today but no more than a passing stranger.  What about Keating Five John?  What about Palin's AIP connections John?  What about Wiliam Timons?  What about your trips to North Vietnam?

    what about almost running as VEEP with John Kerry?

    What happened to you John, is it old age, cancer, senility, what happened to you dear OLD friend??

    October 15, 2008 2:13 PM
  • philosopherkingtomas said:

    Jim Hensley, Convicted Felon;

    G. Gordon Liddy, Convicted Felon;

    Charles Keating, Convicted Felon;

    Raffaello Follieri, Convicted Felon;

    Rick Renzi, Under Indictment;

    Rick Davis, Freddie Mac Lobbyist who was still on the payroll until a few weeks ago;

    Charles Black, Lobbyist for Dictators;

    Richard Quinn, White Supremist;

    Pastor John Hagee, Bigot;

    Pastor Rod Parsley, Bigot;

    Todd Palin, Member of Secessionist Group;

    Andrew McCain, Resigned Manager Failed Savings and Loan

    Fox New biggest right wing joke other than 700 Club !

    October 15, 2008 2:14 PM

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