GOP links Ayers to Kerry
In the latest volley in the ping-pong match over 1960s radical William Ayers, the Republican National Committee has dug up a snippet of him praising Senator John F. Kerry for throwing away his Vietnam War decorations.
"John Kerry's finest moment," Ayers, a founder of the Weathermen, says in the video from C-SPAN of a January 2006 appearance at the National Press Club while promoting a book.
In a 1971 antiwar protest, Kerry discarded the ribbons from medals for valor he was awarded for his service on swift boats. Republicans and groups allied with them attacked Kerry's service and record during his 2004 presidential campaign.
Democrat Barack Obama's campaign has been aggressively fighting back against an independent advocacy group's TV ad linking Obama with Ayers. Ayers led the Weather Underground organization, which took credit for a series of bombings at the Pentagon and US Capitol in the 1960s. He is now a professor in Chicago and has served on a nonprofit board with Obama.
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.
The Associated Press reports that not only has Obama run a response ad, his campaign has warned TV station managers not to run the ad and has asked the Justice Department to intervene. The campaign also planned to compel advertisers to pressure stations that continue to air the anti-Obama commercial.
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 Evan Tracey, head of TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group, an ad tracking firm.
Meanwhile, the Free History Project, a nonprofit organization that produced 2004 documentary "The Weather Underground," said today that it is demanding that all broadcasts of the ad be stopped, alleging that it violates copyright laws by using footage without permisson.
And? If Ayers started praising Abraham Lincoln or Jesus, would they be put in a smear ad, too? This is getting ridiculous. The GOP is desperate.
Your headline is misleading. Where is the link? All I read about was a comment from Ayers about Senator Kerry. This is Drudge quality- expected of them, but not of the Globe.
Obama's toast when the majority finds out who Ayers is and his connections to Obama. The more Obama protest the more curious people will get and do their own research and question why Obama is trying to hide this guy being he started Obama's political career.
Um...perhaps Mr. Rhee might be good enough to explain the attribution of distribution of this video snippet to the RNC? Is there a link to a source for this allegation?
Yes, the GOP is sooooo desperate!
Bill Ayers is still a radical and probably a terrorist at heart. Why can't Obama come clean and admit he derived much of his opinions from Ayers and other Marxists and Communists. This guy does not think he has to own up for his beliefs and where he got them. He was mentored by communists and terrorists and adopted their philosophy. Look at his associations from Ayers to Wright, all radical anti American trash. We have the right to know all about him, as well as McCain, so that we can make intelligent decisions on the facts not their babble. To those who say that the GOP is desperate have gotten their hands on some bad drugs. The GOP does not have to do anything, every time Obama opens his big mouth he looses support. The infatuation with him has ended.
If there's smoke... there's a fire. Obama is now trying to "silence" a talkshow host re: this issue. Saw that a mile a way. If you followed his actions (take out what commentators think), you'll see he gets "really" upset when it's about his background. He should be proud of his background and history b/c it's what creates him the man he is today. Why be so angry. If your soul is righteous, and there's nothing to hide... then he will shine. But nope, he'll silence one by one.
That's why.... we as people shouldn't lie. keeping up w/lies is difficult... and everyone knows this. If you're truthful to yourself, you'll never need assistance in finding the correct answer, nor will you live w/a heavy heart.
On the more interesting side, I didn't know William Ayers is a professor at my old school... hmmm interesting. I wonder what he taught... and when he started teaching there. I am interested now and will go look this up.
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