When It Comes to Ayers, It is Participation that Matters
By Larry Johnson on October 9, 2008 at 8:19 PM in Annenberg Chicago Challenge, Barack Obama, Bernardine Dohrn, Bill Ayers, Chicago School Reform Collaborative, Current Affairs, Weather Underground, William Ayers
Barack Obama is a liar. Plain and simple. When he was asked about William Ayers, unrepentant terrorist, in an April Democratic debate this year, he said:
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.
But we now know that is not true. Obama tries to create the impression that his contact with Ayers was incidental and there was no meaningful contact. He persists with this myth in yesterday’s interview with Charlie Gibson:
This is not a case of two guys sitting in two adjacent cars in a traffic jam with their windows down who just strike up a conversation and chat about the snarled traffic. That is an incidental association. A serendipitous crossing of paths but no lasting relationship. Nope! When it comes to Obama and Ayers they spent time sitting in the same car while working together on a common project heading to the same destination. That ain’t association, that is a relationship of some depth.
Let’s take a different look at this. Assume, for the sake of argument, that Bill Ayers had been a guard at Auschwitz as a young man.
Let’s assume that, like several former Nazi concentration camp guards who made their way surreptitiously to the United States, Ayers concealed his past activities and became a model citizen. Would his past actions matter? Nazi hunters such as Elie Wiesel and the late Simon Wiesenthal are on the record insisting that past actions do matter. Here is Wiesel commenting on moral indifference.
Bill Ayers did not commit crimes on par with the holocaust, but if we accept as true the teaching of the Talmud, the number of victims murdered by the Weathermen, a group led by Ayers, is irrelevant morally. According to the Talmud:
“FOR THIS REASON WAS MAN CREATED ALONE, TO TEACH THEE THAT WHOSOEVER DESTROYS A SINGLE SOUL… SCRIPTURE IMPUTES [GUILT] TO HIM AS THOUGH HE HAD DESTROYED A COMPLETE WORLD; AND WHOSOEVER PRESERVES A SINGLE SOUL…, SCRIPTURE ASCRIBES [MERIT] TO HIM AS THOUGH HE HAD PRESERVED A COMPLETE WORLD.”
Which brings us back to Barack. He is not responsible for Ayers’ actions in the sixties. But he is responsible for choosing to work for, work with, and solicit political support from Bill Ayers and his wife, Bernardine Dohrn.
The media continues to misstate the nature of their business relationship. Bill Ayers was the key organizer and driving force in establishing the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. He was intimately involved in creating and sustaining its operations. Barack Obama was selected–WITH AYERS ASSENT–to be the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Obama now wants people to believe that he, as Chairman of the Board, had no significant interaction with the de facto head of the CAC, Bill Ayers, during his four years heading up the board. This defies logic and common sense.
Barack continues to skirt the issue of when he first became aware that Bill Ayers was an unrepentant terrorist. Ayers certainly did not hide the matter. He has been on the record with this multiple times, including his now infamous interview published in the NY Times on September 11, 2001.
This is not guilt by association. This is guilt because of continued participation. And Barack continues to lie about the nature of the relationship.
The McCain campaign obviously has been reading our blog. They put out this comprehensive summary of Obama’s prevarications and slipperiness:
THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN’S EVER-DEVELOPING AYERS STORY
Since Monday, The Obama Campaign Has Had Six (6) Distinct Stories About Barack Obama’s Relationship With Bill Ayers:
· STORY #1: David Axelrod And Robert Gibbs Said For The First Time That Barack Obama Did Not Know About Bill Ayers’ Past When Ayers Held A Coffee For Obama In 1995
· STORY #2: Obama Senior Adviser Robert Gibbs Said He Didn’t Know The “Details” Of Ayers’ Relationship
· STORY #3: Obama Spokesman Bill Burton Said That Barack Obama Did Not Launch His Political Career At Ayers’ House And Didn’t Write A Blurb For An Ayers’ Book.
· STORY #4: David Axelrod Confirmed That Barack Obama Knew About Ayers’ Past After Their Initial Meetings; Contradicted Earlier Story And Said “No One Is Suggesting That He Never Knew”
· STORY #5: Obama Senior Adviser Anita Dunn Says When Barack Obama Went To Ayers’ House, He Was Merely Attending A Meeting Of State Senator Alice Palmer’s Supporters – A Statement Contradicted By Palmer
· STORY #6: Obama Senior Adviser Robert Gibbs Says After Barack Obama Knew About Ayers’ Past He Continued To Associated With Bill Ayers
· STORY #7: On ABC’s “World News Tonight,” Barack Obama Said He Only Ever Talked With Bill Ayers About School Reform Issues
STORY #1: David Axelrod And Robert Gibbs Said For The First Time That Barack Obama Did Not Know About Bill Ayers’ Past When Ayers Held A Coffee For Obama In 1995
Obama Senior Strategist David Axelrod Said Barack Obama Did Not Know About William Ayers’ History When He Hosted A Coffee For Obama In 1995. ACOSTA: “Now a college professor in Chicago, Ayers and Obama served together several years on a nonprofit board. And in 1995, Ayers hosted a coffee for Obama when the young community organizer was making his first run for the state Senate. At this point looking back, should he not have done that, do you think?” DAVID AXELROD, OBAMA CAMPAIGN CHIEF STRATEGIST: “Well, I mean, when he went, he certainly, he didn’t know the history.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 10/6/08)
· Axelrod Said “There’s No Evidence That They’re Close.” ACOSTA: “The Democratic nominee’s chief strategist, David Axelrod, maintains Obama at that time had no idea about Ayers’ violent past.” AXELROD: “There’s no evidence that they’re close. There’s no evidence that Obama in any way subscribed to any of Ayers’ views. And Obama has been very clear about condemning the despicable acts that Bill Ayers committed 40 years ago when Obama was 8 years old.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 10/6/08)
Obama Senior Adviser Robert Gibbs Said That If David Axelrod Said Barack Obama Didn’t Know About Ayers’ Past When He First Met Him Then That Is True. CNN’s JOHN ROBERTS “In 1995 William Ayers held a kind of get to know you event at his place where he was introducing Barack Obama to the political culture there in Chicago when he was running for the state Senate for the first time. David Axelrod said that at that meeting Senator Obama was not aware of Ayers’ radical background. Is that true?” GIBBS: “Look, if that’s what David said, that is true. Look, again, this is a relationship, excuse me, that Barack Obama has condemned the actions of Bill Ayers. This is somebody that ‘The New York Times’ said that Barack Obama’s not close to, and, again, John, this is a way of distracting the American people from what’s important.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 10/6/08)
FLASHBACK: When Senator Hillary Clinton Made Similar Attack, Obama Campaign NEVER Made Argument That He Didn’t Know About Obama’s Radical And Violent Past. (Obama For America, “Fact Check On Obama And Ayers, factcheck.barackobama.com, 4/17/08)
STORY #2: Obama Senior Adviser Robert Gibbs Said He Didn’t Know The “Details” Of Ayers’ Relationship
Gibbs Said He Didn’t Know About All The Details Of The Ayers’ Relationship. FOX NEWS’ GRETCHEN CARLSON: “But Robert, let me ask you this because as time goes on here, there seemed to be more ties between Barack Obama and Bill Ayers, for example, he wrote the foreword or a blurb at least for Bill Ayers’ book. If you don’t know somebody very well, do you participate in their book?” GIBBS: “Look, I don’t know all the details of this. I know what I read in the newspapers, and I know what I’ve seen throughout any number of publications that looked at this this weekend.” (FOX News’ “Fox & Friends,” 10/7/08)
STORY #3: Obama Spokesman Bill Burton Said That Barack Obama Did Not Launch His Political Career At Ayers’ House And Didn’t Write A Blurb For An Ayers’ Book.
Obama Spokesman Bill Burton Said Barack Obama Did Not Launch His Political Career At Ayers’ House And Didn’t Write A Blurb For An Ayers’ Book. FOX NEWS’ MEGYN KELLY: “I want you give you the chance to set the record straight with the Obama campaign is concerned, because they want to know about this. They cite the fact is they served together on this board, the Woods Fund, which was a community group for several years. That Barack Obama chaired this group, the Annenberg Challenge, that Ayers founded. That Barack Obama wrote a blurb for Ayers’ book. That they appeared together on several academic panels. That Barack Obama kicked off his political career in Ayers’ Chicago home in 1995. These are the things they cite to us saying these two seem awfully chummy, why shouldn’t we care?” BILL BURTON: “Ok, well let me say a couple of things. You already know my point about the McCain campaign purposely trying to distract from the economy because they know they lose when they talk about it. But on the facts, since you asked, as The New York Times sent an investigative reporter to take a hard look at Barack Obama and Bill Ayers’ path have some crossed over the course 15 years or so that Barack has been in Chicago. He did not launch his career from Bill Ayers’ home. He did not write a blurb for Bill Ayers’ book.” (FOX News’ “Live,” 10/7/08)
FLASHBACK: In 1997, Barack Obama Wrote A Review Of Bill Ayers Book. “Barack Obama State senator … A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court by William Ayers (Beacon Press) …’A searing and timely account of the juvenile court system, and the courageous individuals who rescue hope from despair.’” (Chicago Tribune, 12/21/97)
STORY #4: David Axelrod Confirmed That Barack Obama Knew About Ayers’ Past After Their Initial Meetings; Contradicted Earlier Story And Said “No One Is Suggesting That He Never Knew”
David Axelrod Said That Barack Obama Learned About Bill Ayers’ Past After Their First Meetings. “So when did Obama learn of Ayers’ past? ‘It was sometime after their first meetings, you know, he became aware of that,’ David Axelrod, Obama’s chief campaign strategist, said on board the Obama campaign plane from Asheville, N.C. to Nashville for tonight’s debate. ‘I don’t know the exact moment.’” (John McCormick, “William Ayers’ Past Was Unknown: Obama,” Chicago Tribune’s “Swamp” Blog, http://www.swamppolitics.com, Posted 10/7/08)
· Axelrod Said That Barack Obama Became Aware Of Ayers’ Past After The 1995 Reception That Ayers Held For Obama. “Did Obama know of Ayers’ history before or after the event, a small reception for Obama’s state Senate campaign, in 1995 at Ayers’ home? ‘My understanding was that he, when he went there, he did not know, so I would say after,’ Axelrod said — confirming that he has asked Obama about this. ‘Yes, yeah.’” (John McCormick, “William Ayers’ Past Was Unknown: Obama,” Chicago Tribune’s “Swamp” Blog, http://www.swamppolitics.com, Posted 10/7/08)
Axelrod: “No One Is Suggesting That He Never Knew.” “‘No one is suggesting that he never knew,’ Axelrod notes of Obama, who has since repudiated Ayers’ protest tactics. ‘I mean that’s not, we weren’t offering that.’” (John McCormick, “William Ayers’ Past Was Unknown: Obama,” Chicago Tribune’s “Swamp” Blog, http://www.swamppolitics.com, Posted 10/7/08)
STORY #5: Obama Senior Adviser Anita Dunn Says When Barack Obama Went To Ayers’ House, He Was Merely Attending A Meeting Of State Senator Alice Palmer’s Supporters – A Statement Contradicted By Palmer
Obama Senior Adviser Anita Dunn: “A Democratic state senator organizes a meeting of her supporters at the house of another one of her supporters. What is the problem here, Drew? It is the worst kind of inference and the worst kind of politics to say that somehow that says something about Barack Obama.” (CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” 10/6/08)
CNN’s Drew Griffin: “Number One, Former Senator Alice Palmer Says She In No Way Organized This Meeting And She Was Invited And Attended It Briefly.” “Anderson, this meeting at Bill Ayers home has been classified in many different ways. What I can tell you from the two people who were actually there, is number one, former Senator Alice Palmer says she, in no way organized this meeting and she was invited and attended it briefly. And Doctor Quentin Young, a retired doctor, told us this indeed was Barack Obama’s political coming out party and it was hosted by Bill Ayers.” (CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” 10/6/08)
STORY #6: Obama Senior Adviser Robert Gibbs Says After Barack Obama Knew About Ayers’ Past He Continued To Associated With Bill Ayers
Robert Gibbs: “Yes” Barack Obama Continued To Associate Himself With Bill Ayers After He Found Out About His Past. TIME’S MARK HALPERIN: “Is it fair to say that [Barack Obama] continued to associate with [Bill Ayers] professionally – and personally on a casual basis – even after he learned?” GIBBS: “He continued to serve on a charitable board and an educational grant board with money supplied by Walter Annenberg, a Republican who was an ambassador under Richard Nixon. Yes.” HALPERIN: “But with the knowledge of Ayers’ past?” GIBBS: “Yes.” (Time’s “The Page,” 10/7/08)
STORY #7: On ABC’s “World News Tonight,” Barack Obama Said He Only Ever Talked With Bill Ayers About School Reform Issues
Barack Obama: “And We Served On A School Reform Board Together … And So I Talked To Him About School Reform Issues.” ABC’S CHARLIE GIBSON: “Are you going to have to address that again? How are you going to explain it? Have you had a continuing connection with it? And why didn’t you just cut it off once and for all once when you knew?” OBAMA: “Why don’t we just clear it up right now. I’ll repeat again what I’ve said many times. This is a guy who engaged in some despicable acts 40 years ago when I was eight years old. By the time I met him, 10 or 15 years ago, he was a college professor of education at the University of Illinois. And we served on a school reform board together, by the way, that was funded by Walter Annenberg, who had been an ambassador and close friend of Ronald Reagan. And so I have talked to him about school reform issues. And the notion that somehow he has been involved in my campaign, that he is an adviser of mine, that he — I’ve palled around with a terrorist, all these statements are made simply to try to score cheap political points.” (ABC’s “World News Tonight,” 10/8/08)
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