Random Observations: "I Woke Up to a World on Fire"

"I Woke Up to a World on Fire"

Election 2008 | August 28, 2008 | Tim

During the April 16 debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, moderator George Stephanopoulos brought up “a gentleman named William Ayers,” who “was part of the Weather Underground in the 1970s. They bombed the Pentagon, the Capitol, and other buildings. He’s never apologized for that.” Stephanopoulos then asked Obama to explain his relationship with Ayers. Obama’s answer: “The notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was eight years old, somehow reflects on me and my values, doesn’t make much sense, George.” Obama was indeed only eight in early 1970. I was only nine then, the year Ayers’s Weathermen tried to murder me.

Comments

Thank God certain pundits are free-thinking enough to not buy into this Strawman that Obama and his campaign have set up in response to the questions about his relationship to Ayers. The reality is that Obama developed a relationship with a man in his ADULT political career that he KNEW was an unrepentant terrorist. Obama's age at the time of Ayers terrorist actions is irrelevant to the questions about his relationship with the man now, but shouting to anyone who begins to question him that he was only eight years old when the attacks took place is apparently all that is needed for the majority of mainstream media outlets to let the issue pass. If not for certain figures like Sean Hannity who refuse to let the issue die so easily, we probably would not have any mention of the relationship at all in major media outlets.

Posted by: Troy on August 29, 2008 05:36 PM

Right on, Troy. I couldn't agree more. If Obama and Ayers were childhood friends, or relatives, or forcibly thrown together, it would be, in my view, completely inappropriate to consider Ayers as any reflection on Obama.

But that's far from the case. Good heavens, Obama kicked off a campaign at Bill Ayers' house!

The first question then is one of morality: Doesn't it trouble Obama that this guy planted bombs, attempted to murder people, and doesn't seem too troubled about it?

And the second one is of judgment: Even if Obama were completely amoral on the first question, is he so stupid as to think other people wouldn't eventually notice this and raise some questions?

Given his performance on the Reverend Wright affair, and NOT AT ALL wanting to think badly of him (I rather liked Obama once) I'm forced to conclude he flunks both tests. In that case, he didn't care about some rather nasty overt hatred and racism, and didn't realize others would -- so in Ayers' case, I would guess he similarly wasn't troubled, and similarly wouldn't imagine others would be.

I mean, doesn't everyone secretly admire the Weathermen?

Posted by: Tim (Random Observations) on August 30, 2008 10:07 AM

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