The Note: McCain Ayers it Out -- But Will He Connect?

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The Note: McCain Ayers it Out -- But Will He Connect?

October 10, 2008 8:18 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Friday's Note:

Until or unless evidence emerges that, on the advice of Jeremiah Wright and Michael Pfleger, Tony Rezko paid for Barack Obama to take Bill Ayers' course on how to tank an economy, it's just possible that the current (final?) line of attack by Sen. John McCain doesn't precisely match this moment in the campaign.

Maybe, of course, the McCain campaign is right. Maybe shady Chicago connections involving a candidate who's been on the national stage for 18 months will trump the economy and the stock market and the housing crisis as issues for these final three-plus weeks.

"I don't care about two washed-up old terrorists that are unrepentant about trying to destroy America. But I do care, and Americans should care, about his relationship with him and whether he's being truthful and candid about," McCain, R-Ariz., told ABC's Charlie Gibson Thursday.

"I see matters of judgment and truthfulness and ambition," Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska, said on the stump Thursday.

Or maybe the answer is to tie the big storylines together. New from the McCain campaign Friday: An ad that casually drops the L-word and touches on both Ayers to the economic distress, with Democrats portrayed as anti-regulation.

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

The ad: "Obama's blind ambition. When convenient, he worked with terrorist Bill Ayers. When discovered, he lied. Obama. Blind ambition. Bad judgment. Congressional liberals fought for risky sub-prime loans. Congressional liberals fought against more regulation. Then, the housing market collapsed, costing you billions. In crisis, we need leadership, not bad judgment."

The RNC is putting Ayers (and others) into play, too -- with a new ad launching in Indiana and Wisconsin featuring Ayers, Rezko, and William Daley. "There's more you need to know," says the ad.

But if Team McCain is wrong (and the stock market seems to be rendering a political verdict daily on what Americans should care about, and Obama will have a block of primetime television a week before the election to weigh in like McCain can't) -- get ready for an ugly stretch.

Not just on the trail, either -- here come the internal campaign splits that are the real signs of a campaign that's losing focus amid the prospect of losing:

"Sen. John McCain has allowed a series of increasingly harsh broadsides in new campaign ads and in speeches by his wife, Cindy, and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin. But the Arizona Republican has rejected pleas from some advisers to launch attacks focusing on Sen. Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright," Monica Langley and Elizabeth Holmes report in The Wall Street Journal.

Is someone setting him or (her) self up to say told-you-so? "Sen. McCain vetoed proposals to attack the Illinois senator for his 20 years as a member of the church led by Rev. Wright, whose harsh comments about racism in America and other issues created problems for Sen. Obama during the Democratic primary contest," Langley and Holmes continue.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

October 10, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (190)

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Maybe we should ask McCain about his relationship with a terrorist who bombed an abotion clinic and shot a docter.

Posted by: cindyct | Oct 10, 2008 8:29:35 AM

OK, now McCain is blaming the economic crsis on Obama, when he pushed for deregualtion which started this whole mess? McCain better go back to the drawing board, yet again...

Posted by: formerhillary | Oct 10, 2008 8:32:04 AM

So, how many more posts will ABC dedicate to McCain's dirty attacks, in order to keep the name Ayers on the front pages?

America should be ashamed of its silly politics amidst an economic crisis that will impact all of our lives.

McCain is erratic and desperate; ABC apparently is the same these days.

Posted by: megan | Oct 10, 2008 8:34:15 AM

McCain should be ashamed of himself and the campaign he's running. And Cindy McCain should probably consult with someone who can bring her back in touch with reality. Her claim, that Obama is running the dirtiest campaign in US history, is laughable enough - it becomes even worse in that Obama's campaign isn't even close to being as dirty as her husband's!

McCain promised to run an honorable campaign. Perhaps he thinks this is honorable. But pretending to question Obama's "judgment" by trying to smear him through is questionable associations, is really cynical and self-serving. One simple question here: would McCain be doing this if he weren't slipping further and further behind in the polls? No. He has sold his soul for a shot at the presidency, and it's only getting worse. And people need to realize it.

Posted by: jon in maryland | Oct 10, 2008 8:35:02 AM

_ _ _ _ _

“I see matters of judgment and truthfulness and ambition,” Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska, said on the stump Thursday.
_ _ _ _ _

Incredible. Now pay attention to the Troopergate findings.

Palin abused her power AS A GOVERNOR.

WTF are we talking about here?!

Posted by: JOHNSON | Oct 10, 2008 8:37:51 AM

Go watch the video of Farrakhan calling Obama the messiah in front of his masses. look at the evil grin on his face.

Posted by: geevill | Oct 10, 2008 8:38:15 AM

I really love this part:

Sen. John McCain has allowed a series of increasingly harsh broadsides in new campaign ads and in speeches by his wife, Cindy.

I guess Cindy didn't know her husband voted against that same bill, plus her words yesterday bit deep into the military. She said of her husbands experience in a war camp that, only a soldier who went to an academy and got that type of training could sustain the torture.

Wow, what about our GREAT military men who are serving us now? What about Jessica Lynch, she was just an enlisted soldier, but she showed true courage!

Posted by: militarymom | Oct 10, 2008 8:38:42 AM

How come McCain hasn't asked his mentally handicapped running mate about her family's deep associations with traitor and seccessionist Joe Vogler?

Posted by: Let's Roll | Oct 10, 2008 8:41:36 AM

McCain has not always voted for money for the troops. On one troop-funding bill supported by Obama, McCain missed the vote and encouraged President Bush to veto it, because it did call for withdrawal.

Posted by: Jeff | Oct 10, 2008 8:42:07 AM

You know what? I'm not interested. I just had to pay my mortgage for October and I'm left with $18.36 in my checking account and that needs to last for the next week and a half. So McCain, go jump in the lake!

Posted by: nomorerepublicans | Oct 10, 2008 8:42:10 AM

geevil...go back in your hole...you are an Obama hater. You cannot take critisism or will not hear anything negative about McCain. You are a closed minded person, so why even bother,we know you love McBush, the arrogent( only wanting to be president to prove something), clueless(appointing Palin his VP choice), cowardly( having his wife and Palin spew the nasty, hateful lies).

Posted by: thetruth | Oct 10, 2008 8:43:48 AM

we need to start talking about the economy
and if they don't

slimey bologne

let's be clear

Palin attended the AIP's convention in 1994...you know this whacko group her husband belonged to...

where they drew up a constitution to secede from the US

after that convention she attended 2 more of these...in 2000 and 2003

then as RFK Jr says in his article was so "inspired" by these guys gave the keynote in2006 and video taped comments in 2008

AIP was hfounded by a ...drum roll...

domestic terrorist whacko...

and believed in what the guy said to this day...

Todd Palin was an active member of almost a decade...

this is crazy

get this psycho and her moronic millionaire hawk of a boss...

gone.

Posted by: dl | Oct 10, 2008 8:44:14 AM

McCain is a coward!

Posted by: jen | Oct 10, 2008 8:44:21 AM

NO - The politics of distraction will not help anyone find a job, rebuild their retirement accounts or pay for things needed to run their families.

There is also this written to the Editor of the NY Times: (full letter available there)

As the lead federal prosecutor of the Weathermen in the 1970s (I was then chief of the criminal division in the Eastern District of Michigan and took over the Weathermen prosecution in 1972), I am amazed and outraged that Senator Barack Obama is being linked to William Ayers’s terrorist activities 40 years ago when Mr. Obama was, as he has noted, just a child.

Posted by: Paige | Oct 10, 2008 8:44:58 AM

McCain is soooo desperate... and the wingnut faithful are so busy freebasing their own anger and hysteria that they've lost the plot completely.

Posted by: Let's Roll | Oct 10, 2008 8:47:46 AM

It's not my fault that Obama is a black muslim terrorist who hates America and wants to impose Islamic law and socialism on America! Just because Obama wants to make it legal for black men to own multiple white women as concubines doesn't make me a racist. Obama wants to make it easy for black muslims to impregnate your white daughters to erase the white race in America and create a new army of half-breed Muslim holy warriors to wage a socialist jihad in America! I know this for a FACT! And his moonbat supporters call ME a racist!

Posted by: geevil | Oct 10, 2008 8:52:06 AM

AIP

please please please

we need to start talking about this whacko group

founded by a domestic terrorist

and if you think Palin didn't know about it

or it isn't...

in 1993 when she went to their freakin convention

the centerpoint of this convention was drawing up a "constituion" to secede from the US.

if you think she didn't agree with them...

she went back in 2000 and 2003

in 2006 she gave the keynote

in 2008 she videotaped a speech for them

Vogler who founded the group and that Palin's husband was an active member in for 7 to 9 years... until recently...

Vogler was killed trying to by plastic explosives for domestic terrorism.

This is all crazy...

true

but crazy.

talk about media avoiding stories

William Ayres has nothing on Vogler...Todd Palin

and his wife

Ms. Keynote speaker herself

Sarah palin

"hold your elected officials to answer you questions" sarah palin oct 2008 talking about Obama

good grief.

Posted by: dl | Oct 10, 2008 8:52:21 AM

McCain = DISHONORABLE; Palin = SCARY!!!

Posted by: Howard Gallas | Oct 10, 2008 8:52:44 AM

McCain= Plain Liar

Posted by: Lie_Detector | Oct 10, 2008 8:53:12 AM

How about a story now on The Alaskan Independence Party that Todd Palin was a member of and supported by Palin or John McCains connection to mobster Joe Bonanno? McCain was invited to his birthday party and you don't invite strangers to your parties, right?

McCain has NO honor. He had none as a POW when collaborated with the enemy, he had none on his return home when he dumped his crippled wife to run around with every skirt out there, he had no honor when he involved himself in The Keating Five housing mess, he had none when he stated publicity he did NOT put Country First in his last campaign for president and he shows no honor today.

Posted by: carolo | Oct 10, 2008 8:53:52 AM

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