Ads on 1960s radical are center of GOP attack, Obama counterattack

Joe Biden joined Michelle Obama at a women's economic roundtable discussion yesterday in Denver. (Matthew Staver/Bloomberg News)

In the latest volley over 1960s radical William Ayers, the Republican National Committee yesterday dug up a snippet of him praising Senator John F. Kerry for throwing away his Vietnam War decorations.

"John Kerry's finest moment," Ayers says in the C-SPAN video of a January 2006 appearance at the National Press Club.

In a 1971 antiwar protest, Kerry discarded the ribbons from medals for valor he was awarded for his service on swift boats. Republicans and others attacked Kerry's service and record during his 2004 presidential campaign.

Senator Barack Obama's campaign has been aggressively fighting back against an independent advocacy group's TV ad linking the Democratic nominee with Ayers.

Ayers was a founder of the Weather Underground, which took credit for a series of bombings at the Pentagon and US Capitol in the early 1970s. He is now a professor in Chicago and has served on a nonprofit board with Obama.

Yesterday, the University of Illinois at Chicago released documents relating to Obama's service on that board, but details about their ties were scant in minutes from some early meetings.

The advocacy group's main benefactor is a Texas billionaire who has given money to John McCain and other Republicans and who was also one of the main funders of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which went after Kerry.

Obama has run a response ad. His campaign has warned TV station managers not to run the ad and has asked the US Department of Justice to intervene.

The Obama camp argued that the organization, the American Issues Project, is violating the law. In its letter to the Justice Department, the group cited a Supreme Court ruling to argue it is allowed to air the ad.

Fox News and CNN have declined to air the anti-Obama ad, the AP says. But by Monday afternoon, the ad had run about 150 times in local markets in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and Michigan, according to TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group, an ad tracking firm.

GLOBE STAFF AND ASSOCIATED PRESS

GOP base debates abortion, global warming
MINNEAPOLIS - Republicans yesterday debated election principles influenced by their conservative base as well as by presidential candidate John McCain, taking a hard line on abortion while edging toward a more moderate position on global warming.

In its platform debate, the party stuck to its call for a constitutional ban on abortion despite McCain's opposition to that and removed a line urging a reduction in abortions - underscoring their point that abortion should be eliminated.

The platform draft also urges a constitutional ban on gay marriage, which McCain also does not support. He opposes gay marriage and has expressed limited support for the rights accorded couples in same-sex civil unions.

The document would put the party on record as accepting that economic activity contributes to global warming, in line with McCain's views. But the platform is loaded with caveats about the uncertainty of science and the need to "resist no-growth radicalism."

The committee passed a plank calling for English to become the nation's official language, but not without some sparks. Sue Everheart of Georgia said she feared the position would cost Republicans the support of immigrants.

Nothing written into the platform will tie McCain's hands in the campaign and it was questionable whether he'd pay much attention to it. The platform will be adopted at the Republican National Convention next week in St. Paul.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Obama, McCain close in 3 states, poll shows
The latest polls in three crucial swing states in November show John McCain taking the lead in Florida and tightening the gap in Ohio, but Barack Obama holding his edge in Pennsylvania.

The Quinnipiac University surveys released yesterday say that McCain is leading by 47 percent to 43 percent in Florida, where Obama led 46 percent to 44 percent last month. In Ohio, Obama has a 44 percent to 43 percent edge, down from 46 percent to 44 percent a month earlier. And in Pennsylvania, Obama has an identical 49 percent to 42 percent lead.

"Eight weeks ago, Senator Barack Obama was on top in all three of these key swing states and that would make his election almost a sure thing. Times have changed and the election is now very much a toss-up in these states. Senator Obama needs this convention to give his campaign a jump start," Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement.

FOON RHEE

Biden delivers mea culpa to home state delegates
LITTLETON, Colo. - Vice presidential candidate Joe Biden yesterday thanked Delaware delegates for standing by their home-state senator and served up a mea culpa for his foibles and imperfections.

Biden, known for an unscripted style that sometimes gets him into trouble, told a small breakfast gathering that he couldn't have weathered personal failures without their help, and allowed that his spot on the ticket will come with challenges, drawing knowing laughter from the crowd.

"It's all out there, in the clear public view," Biden said. "I didn't always comport myself in the way that I wanted to."

Biden, at times emotional and ignoring prepared remarks that praised both Barack and Michelle Obama, also offered personal thanks as his large family listened. But he kept his signature humor. "This is the first time I've ever had security. Senators don't matter," he said to laughter.

Later, Biden stopped by Michelle Obama's roundtable on women's economic issues. Again, the humor came when he noted most of the audience were women: "Thank heaven for small favors."

ASSOCIATED PRESS