I've been writing about political campaigns for more than a quarter-century now, and it really takes a lot to surprise me, but I am absolutely stunned at the depths that the Republican Party is willing to sink to try in win this election, even as polls are beginning to suggest it may be a lost cause for John McCain and Sarah Palin. At 9:29 p.m., I received in an email the sleaziest political press release I've ever seen. It came from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania and it's headlined: "PAGOP: OBAMA - A TERRORIST'S BEST FRIEND."
Here's the meat of it:
HARRISBURG – Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Robert A. Gleason, Jr. released the following statement regarding Barack Obama’s relationship with Bill Ayers, a terrorist who helped found a group called the Weather Underground. The Weather Underground is a left-wing extremist group that was responsible for bombing both the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon in the 70’s. The group was also responsible for a pipe bomb that killed a San Francisco police officer in 1970.
“Barack Obama’s association with terrorist Bill Ayers is alarming and absolutely deserves to be questioned,” Gleason said. “We are electing someone to be our next Commander-in-Chief and I think it is more than fair to look into their background. The Obama Campaign admitted that Obama and Ayers were ‘certainly friendly’ and that says a lot about Barack Obama’s character. Ayers’ is a terrorist, and there is no denying that the group he founded attacked our country and killed innocent Americans.
“Obama claims that he didn’t know about Ayers background as a terrorist, but I find that hard to believe. Ayers past is well known and he has been quoted in numerous articles, including in The New York Times where he said that he thought he didn’t do enough and wishes that he would have set off more bombs. What does it say about the character of Barack Obama that he knowingly associates with terrorists? It tells me that Obama lacks the judgment and character to be our next Commander-in-Chief.”
First of all, and most importantly, there's absolutely nothing in the body of the release that supports this wildly inflammatory and arguably libelous headline, that Obama is a "terrorist's best friend." Despite more than a year of Obama's relationship with Ayers investigated by everyone from Fox News to the New York Times, no one has ever come up anything more than what the Obama campaign has said, that the two were acquaintances who traveled in the same circles in their Chicago, as advocates of school reform. That's a best friend?
Gleason says it's "hard to believe" that Obama didn't know about Ayers' background. Actually, it's not that hard to believe at all. If you have access to the Nexis service, as I do, you can read the coverage of Ayers' school reform activities in Chicago in the mid-1990s. Hard as might be for the Sean Hannitys and Robert Gleasons of the world to imagine, the articles by and large make no mention that this guy pushing for smaller class sizes was also a former 1960s radical. Why would articles, other than a lengthy profile of Ayers, mention that -- considering that Ayers has never been convicted of a crime and by the 1990s had been accepted by Mayor Richard Daley and others as a school reformer?
"What does it say about the character of Barack Obama that he knowingly associates with terrorists?," Gleason asks. Nothing, because the evidence is overwhelming that he didn't, that this was a casual association and that Obama knew little or nothing about his background. Reading this, it's hard to know whether to be angry or just sad that one of America's two political parties has sunk to this.
Seriously, this is the kind of crap that people usually put on people's car windshields at 3 in the morning, unsigned in crude block letters. The fact that the Republican Party of Pennsylvania would put this out on its official letterhead is truly a rock bottom moment in American politics. It makes me wonder what the Republican Party has to hide if they are this desperate to try to cling to power at all costs to their dignity and humanity.
There's one final ironic twist in all of this.
John McCain's Pennsylvania co-chairman? He's a convicted felon. You can look it up.
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
And the Rethuglican Party sinks even lower. I for one cannot wait till Nov. 4th when Obama and the Democrats sweep this tired corrupt party out of office.— pubasnacks- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- Wait are you talking about Palin and her Alaskan Separatist Party ties? You know the party that HATES America and wants to become its own country. Who really has the terrorist ties here?— pubasnacks
- Comment removed.
- I don't see how the shallow relationship between Ayers and Obama has anything to do or say about how Obama would govern. In fact, I find McCain's ties with Rick Davis, Phil Gramm, and Charles Keating much more terrifying. Republicans have to remember -- words matter and not everyone in their party has the lightbulbs to understand that Obama is not a terrorist. When you have people at Sarah Palin rallies yelling "kill him" and McCain winking and nodding when people call Obama a terrorist, it really makes you wonder what this campaign will do to win the presidency. If Obama gets assassinated -- and God hopes this never happens -- I know exactly who to blame. McCain and his hateful, divisive campaign. Stop at nothing.— RCE
- Why does the McCain/Palin campaign hate America?— pubasnacks
- Obama launched his IL Senate campaign in the Ayers's living room. He served on the board of an organization Ayers founded and controlled. Come on. This is the equivalent of having Qadaffi in "his five." That's absolutely fair game. If, as has been demonstrated by your comrades, Bristol and Trig are fair game, it should barely raise eyebrows.— Echo
- batty, why don't you enlighten us as to Obama's "ties" to Ayers. Do you really think that if there were REAL associations FAUX NEWS wouldn't have let us know about it alrady? Maybe while Obama was in GRADE SCHOOL he helped Ayers plan some of his bombings.— Damgoodbodies
- Why did Sarah Palin give this video address to the separatists party in Alaskan? Possibly because she hates America? http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/1/4231/18477/878/581881— pubasnacks
- Comment removed.
- Ayers = Qaddaffi? A mind is a terrible thing to lose. (Besides, we deal with Qaddaffi now) Come to think of it, St. Ronald Reagan sold weapons to the Iranians to ransom American hostages.— SteveMG
- b.atkinson is obviously afraid what going to happen to his boy McLies in Nov. Mmmm your tears taste so good!— pubasnacks
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
E-mail Will by clicking here.
PLEASE COMMENT WITH PASSION...
...but not with racial slurs, potentially libelous allegations, obscenities or other juvenile noise. Such comments will, at our discretion, be deleted in their entirety, and repeat offenders will be blocked from commenting. ALSO: Any commenter advocating killing any government official will be immediately banned.
Thanks.
- Atrios
- Kiko's House
- Suburban Guerilla
- Booman Tribune
- All-Spin Zone
- Philly (Dragonballyee)
- Afro-Netizen
- Rowhouse Logic
- MyDD
- Bad Attitudes
- Billmon
- iFlipFlop
- CorrenteWire
- upyernoz
- Tattered Coat
- Fables of the Reconstruction
- Slacktivist
- Citizen Mom
- The Next Mayor
- Philly Future
- Philadelphia Will Do
- Philebrity
- Young Philly Politics
- Phillyblog
- Welcome to Phillyville
- Phawker
- A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
- Keystone Blog
- Philadelphia - America's Hometown
- BlankBaby
- Above Average Jane
- Phillyist
- Metroblogging Philadelphia
- The Clog
- Josh Marshall
- Daily Kos
- Juan Cole
- Oliver Willis
- Andy Borowitz
- War and Piece
- Wonkette
- BuzzFlash
- Raw Story
- Cursor
- Crooks and Liars
- Swing State Project
- Kevin Drum
- Talk Left
- AmericaBlog
- Hullabaloo
- Mad Kane
- Think Progress
- Jesus' General
- The Carpetbagger Report
- Majikthise
- Echidne of the Snakes
- David Sirota
- Glenn Greenwald
- TBogg
- Fire Dog Lake
- Taylor Marsh
- Matthew Yglesias
- Jon Swift
- Drudge Report
- Beer Leaguer
- The 700 Level
- Dick Polman
- Balls, Sticks and Stuff
- Shallow Center
- Philling Station
- Phillies Nation
- A Citizen's Blog
- The Good Phight
- Romenesko
- Editor and Publisher
- Pressthink
- Buzzmachine
- The Inksniffer
- Media Bloodhound
- Eat the Press
- Mickey Kaus
- Media (Huffington Post)
- Blinq
- The Corner
- Instapundit
- Andrew Sullivan
- Free Republic
- James Taranto
- Blonde Sagacity
- ScrappleFace
- Blogorrhea
- February
- January
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- January 2008
- News | Sports | Business | What's Happening | Restaurants & Food | Entertainment | Living | Marketplace | Jobs
