Obama's Radical Associations - Part 1 - Bill Ayers

William Charles "Bill" Ayers (born 1964) is and American elementary education theorist and former leading 1960's militant. He is most well known for his violent radical activism in the 1960's and 1970's, his current work in education reform, curriculum and instruction, and his association with 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. In 1969 he cofounded the violent radical left organization Weatherman, which was active during the 1960's and 1970's. He is now a professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, holding the honor of Distinguished Professor.

As part of Weatherman organization, Ayers participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, the United States Capitol building in 1971, and The Pentagon in 1972, as he noted in his 2001 book, Fugitive Days. Much of the controversy about Ayers during the decade since the year 2000 stems from an interview he gave to the New York Times on the occasion of the memoir's publication. The reporter quoted him as saying "I don't regret setting bombs" and "I feel we didn't do enough", and, when asked if he would "do it all again" as saying "I don't want to discount the possibility." Ayers has not denied the quotes, but he protested the interviewer's characterizations in a Letter to the Editor published September 15, 2001. (Source) William Charles "Bill" Ayers is an unrepentant terrorist.

A lot of people have accused Barack Obama as having terrorist ties due to his association with Bill Ayers, but I don't agree with that. Obama was 8 years old when Ayers was blowing up stuff. But how and why do Obama and Ayers even have an association?

• Obama first met Ayers at a 1995 meeting of local liberal activists that took place in Ayers' home. The meeting launched Obama's Illinois State Senate candidacy and allowed Ayers to introduce him "to the Hyde Park community as the best thing since sliced bread." (Ben Smith, "Obama Once Visited '60s Radicals," The Politico, 1/22/08.)


• From 1999 to 2002, Obama served with Ayers on the board of directors for the Woods Fund of Chicago. (Timothy J. Burger, "Obama's Chicago Ties Might Fuel 'Republican Attack Machine'," Bloomberg, 2/15/08.)


• "[Obama and Ayers] have also appeared jointly on two academic panels, one in 1997 and another in 2001." (Timothy J. Burger, "Obama's Chicago Ties to Left Come Under Scrutiny," The New York Sun, 2/19/08.)


• In 1997, Obama reviewed Ayer's book, A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court, in the Chicago Tribune, calling it "a searing and timely account of the juvenile court system." (Chicago Tribune, 12/21/97.)


• In 2001, Ayers contributed $200 to Obama's State Senate campaign. (National Institute on Money in State Politics Website www.follthemoney.org, Accessed 2/15/08.)

Obama: "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." (Sen. Barack Obama, ABC Democrat Candidates Presidential Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 4/16/08.)

Obama Chief Strategist David Axelrod: "Bill Ayers lives in his neighborhood. Their kids attend the same school...they're certainly friendly, they know each other, as anyone whose kids go to school together." (Ben Smith, "Ax On Ayers," The Politico's "Ben Smith" Blog, www.politico.com, 2/26/08.)

Obama Spokesman Bill Burton: "Senator Obama strongly condemns the violent actions of the Weathermen group, as he does all acts of violence...But he was an eight-year-old child when Ayers and the Weathermen were active, and any attempt to connect Obama with events of almost 40 years ago is ridiculous." (Russell Berman, "Obama's Ties to Left Come Under Scrutiny," The New York Sun, 2/19/08.) (Source)

Even though it's "ridiculous" to connect Obama with events over 40 years ago it is unsettling that Obama is friendly with an unrepentant terrorist. Has the mainstream media done a good job investigating this? Just ask yourself, have you heard about this friendly association before reading this? Probably not. There's your answer.