Are we going to March? I’m in New York.

Susan you might want to make this the top thread for the rest of the night. It is very important!

The absence of troll poop in this thread proves it scares them. They know Hillary will do fine in the rules committee so they won’t want to point attention too much to this topic. “Mission accomplished” indeed.

Please participate heavily by clicking here.

And listen to the conference call. You will find great solace and strength after listening! I guarantee!

Ayers claims that his quotes were “deliberately distorted” by that NYT reporter and that he wasn’t speaking of bombings, but of not doing enough in his general effort to stop the Vietnam war.

As for being unrepentant, for what it’s worth, here’s his response to those distortions:
http://billayers.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/clarifying-the-facts-a-letter-to-the-new-york-times-9-15-2001/

He is also quoted as saying, at a book reading: (referring to the general mood of the time)
” … In those three years there was something like 20,000 arsons and bombings against U.S. government targets in this country. Something like 20,000, and as far as I know one person was killed and, you know, that is unforgivable. There’s no way to defend it, because he was an innocent person and he did nothing, so you’re absolutely right but every day that that war went on, well, what was the right action to take? What did you do to stop it”

I guess I think that Ayers has become a benign representative of a strain of thought that has found more palatable spokespeople in the Chomsky/Zinn mold. I’m guessing they may not be palatable to you.

It’s not shocking to me that Ayers would find some kinship in Obama’s platform, which calls into question the idea of “Might makes right” foreign policy, and, at least nominally, looks to address root causes of foreign policy concerns via diplomacy first (not last). Add to it the idea that a lapel pin does not a patriot make, and that it’s possible to believe that the government of our country has, at times, made (gasp) mistakes.

All of that has appeal for me because it’s about correcting past mistakes and deepening the conversation.

I guess I don’t hold Wright against Obama either, partly for the same reason. I have admired many good activist preachers who stopped a few inches short of where Wright ended up going– insofar as they were most apt to criticize the government when it went to war and when it ignored the poor. Now Wright gets caught up a lot. But I think Obama found inspiration in his passion, less in the specifics of his conspiracy theories. I don’t know. I have done a lot of taking and leaving in Church.

Now, McCain has his own associations to answer for, to be sure. The Neocons formulating his foreign policy. Hagee, Parsley, and the ultraconservatives helping chart his course for judicial nominations. I’m guessing you’ve checked all of that out and find it’s less bad for you than Obama’s affiliations.

Nice chatting, Ulahane.

William Ayers is an unrepentant Domestic terrorist. He and his friends bombed the pentagon and killed / crippled innocent people. He got off on a technicality and has since stated that he wishes they had set more bombs and had a recent publicity picture of himself trampling on a U.S. flag. Not a good person.

Obama’s connection to Ayers is more than “just a guy in my neighborhood” Obama launched his political career, his first run for the state senate in William Ayers house, he served together with Ayers on the board of the Woods Foundation and have been longtime political allies.

I hope you have seen all the various Jeremiah Wright snippets out there (God Damn America, AmeriKKKa, American troops are doing the same thing as Al Quaida under different flags, etc.) and have hopefully read them in context, which only makes them worse. He is a hate monger of the highest order.

Obama not only sat in Wright’s church for twenty years and brought his daughters there, he named one of his books after one of Wright’s sermons, he called Wright his spiritual mentor, he donated many thousands of dollars to Wright, and many other items. There’s was a very close friendship.

I do not think these two individuals qualify as people I would like a presidential candidate to have associated themselves with. Ayers is the worse individual and any association with him is unacceptable. If he had ever repented his actions, it would not be so bad, but he is openly proud of them.

I would have accepted Obama having listened to Wright and considering his hateful ideas, before rejecting them. But, for over twenty years, Obama gave no indication of any disagreement, and many indications of agreeing (donating money and bringing his daughters there, regularly by his account.) He only distanced himself from Wright when he became a huge political liability.

And there you go. Because of them, I will not even consider voting for Obama this election cycle – maybe forever.