McCain ad deplores Obama's ties to Ayers

John McCain yesterday aired his toughest TV ad yet against Democratic rival Barack Obama, attacking Obama's association with former radical William Ayers.

Ayers was a leader of a group that bombed government buildings during the early 1970s, and two decades later served on two nonprofit boards with Obama and hosted an event early in his political career.

The ad accuses Obama of "blind ambition" and "bad judgment" with Ayers, then pivots to assert that Obama can't be trusted during the economic and housing crises, either.

"When convenient, he worked with terrorist Bill Ayers. When discovered, he lied. Obama. Blind ambition, bad judgment," the announcer says. "Congressional liberals fought for risky subprime loans. Congressional liberals fought against more regulation. Then, the housing market collapsed, costing you billions. In crisis, we need leadership, not bad judgment."

Obama has denounced the actions of Ayers, whom he has described as a respected professor when he met him. He told a Philadelphia-based radio talk show host on Thursday that he "assumed" that Ayers "had been rehabilitated."

In addition, the Republican National Committee put out an Internet ad that broadened the attack beyond Ayers to other Chicago associates, including Tony Rezko, a former fund-raiser who was convicted of corruption this year.

"The Chicago way, shady politics. That's Barack Obama's training," the announcer says.

Obama told campaign crowds in Ohio yesterday that the attacks are meant to distract voters from the important issues.

FOON RHEE

Obama speech parallels 'The American President'
Is Barack Obama channeling one of liberals' favorite presidents, albeit a fictional one?

The Democrat's speech yesterday in Chillicothe, Ohio, had some distinct echoes of the climactic speech given by President Andrew Shepherd, played by Michael Douglas in the 1995 movie "The American President."

"They can run misleading ads and pursue the politics of anything goes. But it's not going to work. Not this time," Obama said. "I think that folks are looking for something different. It's easy to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that's not what we need right now in the United States. The times are too serious. The challenges are too great. The American people aren't looking for someone who can divide this country - they're looking for someone who will lead it."

Obama was referring largely to the intensified attacks by Republican rival John McCain over Obama's ties with former radical William Ayers.

In the movie speech, the fictional President Shepherd, a widower, talks about the attacks from his Republican opponent, Senator Bob Rumson, over his girlfriend being at a protest where a flag was burned.

"We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them," Douglas as Shepherd says. "And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things, and two things only: making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it."

A few bloggers have noted similarities between passages in some of Obama's previous speeches and the one that Aaron Sorkin wrote for Douglas in "The American President." But the parallels seemed more noticeable in yesterday's version.

FOON RHEE

Biden, Palin will appear at N.H. events next week
Both vice presidential nominees are coming to New Hampshire next week.

Sarah Palin will make her first New England appearance on the Republican ticket, headlining a rally Wednesday at Dover High School. John McCain's presidential campaign is scouting other potential stops.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden will be in New Hampshire on Monday. Biden will campaign at the American Legion hall in Rochester and at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. He was scheduled to be in the Granite State this past Monday, but canceled due to a death in his family.

New Hampshire, which helped to save McCain's presidential bid in January, is also looming as a potential swing state in November, though Democrat Barack Obama has surged into the lead in the polls.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Candidate labeled 'Osama' on some absentee ballots
TROY, N.Y. - Who is running for president? In an upstate New York county, hundreds of voters have been sent absentee ballots in which they could vote for "Barack Osama."

To Americans, the best-known individual named Osama is Osama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaeda terrorist group behind the 2001 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City.

The Rensselaer County elections office faxed a statement in which the two commissioners, Democrat Edward McDonough and Republican Larry Bugbee, said they regret the typographical error. "We wish we could turn back the clock, but we can't."

ASSOCIATED PRESS