Thursday, August 28, 2008

The Chicago Annenberg Challenge Story Wont Die

It wont die mostly because the Obama campaign refuses to kill it off by offering up a reasonable explanation for why Obama worked so closely with Bill Ayers for so long, despite Ayers odious ideological position and terror background.

The Obama campaign is hoping to bully journalists who are digging into the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) documents into stopping their work, or claiming that they're somehow lying or engaging in smears.

Sorry, these claims don't wash. What Stanley Kurtz is doing is simply bringing to light a chapter in Obama's background that he and his campaign would love never to see the light of day. Obama worked closely with Ayers for years and there's no getting around that simple inalienable fact. You do not work on a board with other board members, to say nothing of the board interacting with the chairman of that board, without constant interaction.

Ayers simply was not some guy who lived in Obama's neighborhood. He was a close associate and Ayers saw something in Obama that led Ayers to elevate Obama to the chairmanship of his organization.

In the meantime, the Obama campaign continues to harass media outlets that are questioning Obama's ties to Ayers and who are delving into the CAC.

UPDATE:
Others questioning Obama's tactics: Dan Riehl, Sister Toldjah, QandO, and Dr. Sanity.

Tom Maguire notes that there is nothing definitive that has Ayers elevating Obama to the chairmanship, contradicting the information above.

UPDATE:
Charles Johnson at LGF links! Thanks.

As I've repeatedly noted, the reason that these questions continue swirling is because the Obama campaign hasn't put forth a satisfactory explanation of how Obama came to know Ayers, how he came to be chairman of the CAC, and what Obama actually did as part of the CAC that lends itself to executive experience given that CAC found itself to have failed in its mission.

Trying to smear journalists who are looking at the information in the CAC documents only suggests that the Obama campaign has something to hide. Instead of providing a clear understanding of what happened, the Obama people are instead leveling unfounded claims against the journalists themselves.

UPDATE:
Still something else that bugs me. If the Obama campaign wanted to truly distance itself from Ayers, why keep referring to Ayers as though he's simply some university professor.
“WGN radio is giving right-wing hatchet man Stanley Kurtz a forum to air his baseless, fear-mongering terrorist smears,” Obama’s campaign wrote in an e-mail to supporters. “He’s currently scheduled to spend a solid two-hour block from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. pushing lies, distortions, and manipulations about Barack and University of Illinois professor William Ayers.”
Ayers is currently a professor, but his statements and actions show him to be unrepentant about his terror past. Ayers wishes his past terrorist efforts would have been more successful and that he figures that history will prove his terror tactics and motivations to be correct.

No comments: