When Candidates Attack: Obama Plays the Reed Card; McCain Responds with Ayers

This ad isn't Obama "attacking".

An attack ad is one where your opponent say's things like, "your wife is ugly!", "you're unpatriotic!", "you're a vapid bimbo!", or some such nonsense.

In politics it is not an "attack" to question your opponents record or public past.

McCain has run dishonest, baseless, frivolous, and downright silly attack ads. Obama hasn't.

"And what a phoney story Obama tells aboout their friendship being tied to their children going to school together"

The "he's just some stranger from down the street" story of Obama's surely doesn't explain why the two were conducting their secret meetings, does it?

"That would have been rather difficult unless the Ayers children (who were about twenty years older) were seriously disfunctional."

We are talking about people who support bombing Americans here so I don't think you could ever truly -underestimate- their IQs. Though they can recite 'uhhh...uhhh...Hope...uh...Change...uh..." well enough, so give them credit for that.

Barack Obama for president!
He is the true leader and he will put the people first, not special interest groups! He is a man of character and intellect, unlike John McCain who cheated on his first wife, left her and the kids, and married a woman 20 years younger than him, he makes me sick! We need change in Washington and John McCain is more of the same!

"we are pleased the university is pursuing an agreement that would make these records publicly available."

You are likely much too young to recall the Watergate era, Willie. It was from that we get the maxim of how it's "the cover-up that gets you". Who is the refered-to secret person/organization behind the refusal to make the Obama-Ayers relationship public? What excuse can be offered if it there actually were nothing to hide?

Certainly Obama has no interest in divulging the secrets, but I suspect his diverionary tactics on this will be as successful as was Nixon's on the Watergate tapes. Had Nixon addressed that fully at the start and acknowleged "mistakes had been made" many people thought the fallout would have been lighter. It's the same in this scandal; Obama can evade, avoid and try to hide behind shadowy anonymous figures, but it just increases the consequences in the end.

Investigative reporters are checking this out. They were originally promised full access to the Obama-Ayers-Weatherman papers, only to run up against a stonewall of misc excuses and quick backtracking by both Obama's public and hidden protectors. You are, of course, more than welcome to think that's a good thing. We'll see if Americans agree with you.

The Reed/Abramoff association is absolutely relevant to John McCain's candidacy: John McCain was Chairman of the Committee that was directly responsible for investigating ethics charges. McCain exercised his authority - his judgment - and decided an investigation was not necessary. We now know that there were indeed serious violations that could have been - should have been - would have been exposed earlier if John McCain had been truly independent of the K Street Republican Mob that controlled Congress (as I recall, John McCain had nothing to do with uncovering Abramoff scandal).

In sharp contrast, Bill Ayers' anti-Vietnam War activities took place in the late 1960s, when Obama was a child. The fact that nearly 40 years later, the two men served their community by tackling Chicago's public education crisis through their work on a highly-acclaimed, prestigious nonprofit Board is actually an association that both men should be rightfully proud of.

Deep down, I highly doubt that McCain could say the same about his associations with Abramoff & Reed.

I noticed an analogy of the puppy who piddled and was still loved--we don't have time to house break a president. Some one suggest McCain's quick answers show no thought, not true, it shows he does not have to go through a list of who will be offended if he states his real position.

So? Anybody got an answer why McCain never called on Ralph Reed to testify?

Right now we're beginning to experience the Repub. smear blitz they always turn on the Dem nominee. They're cranking out so called "exposes" about Obama and dragging him through the mud in every which way. They want to make this election a referendum on Obama because their policies are so bankrupt and have done so much destruction to the country. They know it's the only way they can win. McCain has called in all of the dirtiest, slimiest GOP scum. They will stop at nothing to win. We can't let them succeed this time -- the stakes for our country are too high!!

Dear Karen, know the phrase Glass Houses and Throwing Stones??

Apparently you haven't read the article. The article lays it out in very clear terms: Obama is not the one ‘stonewalling’ the documents; the Univerity is not ‘stonewalling’ the documents; the University is "aggressively pursuing" an agreement with the donor of the documents.

But if you think it will work for you to act like spoiled little children having temper tantrums every time they want candy. Be my guest.

This is what the article says
" The university's Chicago campus maintains that the donor of the records that document the work of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge has not handed over ownership rights. The university says it is "aggressively pursuing" an agreement with the donor, and as soon as an agreement is reached, the collection will be made accessible to the public. The university has not identified the donor.

The Obama campaign says the senator does not have control over these records or the ability to release them, adding that it has made many documents related to Obama's life available to the public and that "we are pleased the university is pursuing an agreement that would make these records publicly available."

Mr. Obama's closest friends/associates hate the United States of America. His pastor, and his terrorist buddy, and his wife. They all hate the country, and so does he. Let's see the documentation of their working relationship. If anything, it will show much much Obama lied about their involvement.

The right wingers cant stand that McCain's coverup of the Reed/Abramof/Riley scandal is coming out into the daylight.

The reason they cant stand it is that is shows how the right wing has played its religious allies for dupes, using them as a means of obtaining money and nothing more.

That "religious" leaders allow this thing to happen casts a terrible light on organized religion.

There are only two kinds of Republican - millionaires and suckers.

anon,

Obama's response only showed more of his indecisiveness when faced with a difficult question.

His position on abortion is well-known, as he has never failed to spout off about his views on the subject in the past, and I'm sure he has unhesitatingly provided his own answer to that same question when speaking to a more liberal audience.

So please don't put him on a pedestal because he back-pedaled out of an uncomfortable question with one of his typical, slick, indecisive answers.

He knows exactly where he stands on conception, and when he believes a human life begins (or I would sincerely hope that he knows what his beliefs are,it's scary to think that he would be voting the way he does on the partial birth abortion issues WITHOUT doing so based on his own beliefs), and he should just speak up and say so like McCain did.

Obama is in a box. Every time he questions anything about McCain, all McCain's camp has to do is pick up one of the Obama books on the bestseller's list, and throw one of his many, many, many past indiscretions, associations and mistakes back at him. The only problem is picking what piece of dirt to throw.

Obama is toast! Bye. Bye.

anonandon andon andon: I said:"You neglected to remember how poorly Obama does in debates"
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Thee said:
"The only reason people perceive him as not doing well is because he doesn't give short 5 second talking points that can be replayed endlessly on news chann"

Right!

That's why Hillary had such a heck of a time keeping a straight face while patiently waiting for Obama's words to trickle from his brain to his tongue so that they could literally come tripping off his tongue.

Give me an "UGH"
Give me an "oof"

Guilt by association again. I don't care. There are much bigger issues.

McCain would be a dangerous President who would try to spread democracy through the use force and reenact the draft so your sons and daughters can't say no.

And in the Independent today, we hear of McCain's secret plan to kill the U.N.: "Charles Krauthammer, the conservative journalist who invented the plan, says: "What I like about it is, it's got a hidden agenda. It looks as if it's about listening and joining with allies... except the idea here, which McCain can't say but I can, is to essentially kill the UN. Nobody's going to walk out of the UN. There's a lot of emotional attachment to it in the US. How do you kill it? You create a parallel institution." Gradually – over decades – McCain hopes it would make the UN wither away."

"You must have been just about the only one impressed with that outrageous line of Obama's during the Saddleback forum."

You mean I'm not supposed to be impressed with a respectful answer?

As a Christian, it is not up to Obama to decide when life begins. McCain's response showed no thought, and only pandered to low-information voters. It is sad that the evangelicals will end up voting for McCain (who no doubt is not actually a practicing Christian) rather than one of their own.

"1) Obama has never seen an abortion he didn't approve of."

That is a lie and a smear. What do you know, more lying from the McCain supporters. WHODATHUNKIT?

"2)He wants to bankrupt our country through the folly of socialized medicine. Look at Mexico, the only decent hospitals there are private ones."

Yes, let us look to Mexico for what works and what doesn't. Maybe we should take up their military directives and arbitrarily have our personnel invade countries with no reason. Oh wait...

"3) He doesn't want to drill, not even in places we have proven reserves."

Clearly the solution to replacing a commodity with a finite supply is to make the supply last 3 months longer. That's long term thinking from the republican party!

"4)His good friends are Ayers and Wright. A terrorist and a racist zenophobe."

Regrettable associations, but the Ayers association is purely harmless. Show some evidence that they are 'good friends' and not merely working associates. And don't use a rumored and unsubstantiated rumor of a party as evidence).

Oh, Manitu,

You must have been just about the only one impressed with that outrageous line of Obama's during the Saddleback forum.

There was an absolutely wonderful article in the Boston Herald today that took Obama to task for his answer to the fetus question. The article went on to say that the last thing America needs in the White House is someone sitting beside the red button who feels that the decision whether to push it or not is "above their pay grade."

Ayers is a professor of Education. He teaches the people who hope to teach our children. This is a guy whose mantras included catchphrases such as "kill your parents."

Obama lied during a debate with Clinton when he said that Ayers taught English. Of course Clinton isn't going to call Obama out on that because Clinton's got a radical streak herself; both she and Obama studied agitation techniques under Saul Alinsky. Obama is simply more shameless about "rubbing the sores of discontent" as recommended by Alinsky.

Several months ago I had an interesting conversation with an acquaintance of retirement age who was trying to convince me that voting for Obama was in my "own best interest." When I mentioned Ayers and his unrepentant stance, she exclaimed that she agreed with Ayers and that he and his cronies should have blown up more stuff back in the day.

Obama's head tilt to the right is a sign of a great thinker.
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Glad to know that. Now I'll feel free uh to vote McCain whose thinking, you uh know, uh tilts uh uh to the uh right!