CNN Reporter: Obama - Ayers ‘Went Deeper Than Obama Willing to Admit’
On Anderson’s Cooper 360 they did a major investigation into the relationship between Bill Ayers and Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for president. Obama’s campaign tried to downplay the relationship by arguing that, in the words of Obama himself, “Ayers was just another guy in the neighborhood.” McCain’s campaign, on the other hand, and especially Sarah Palin, have tried to make the case that the relationship went further than Obama has been willing to admit thus far.
During Anderson Cooper’s show, CNN researchers concluded: “But the relationship between Obama and Ayers went much deeper, ran much longer, and was much more political than Obama said.”
As the CNN piece points out, claims that Bill Ayers is a ‘former radical’ are incorrect. He may not use force any longer, but he is still a radical. Only a few years ago he told the New York Times that he did not regret his past terrorist activities and that he believes he and his friends ’should have done more.’ Additionally, in April of 2008, Ayers published a blogposting in which he ranted against capitalism, describing it as a tool for oppression, thuggery and slavery.
“But the relationship between Obama and Ayers went much deeper, ran much longer, and was much more political than Obama said,” the CNN concluded about the relationship.
“One place where their paths repeatedly crossed according to a CNN review of board minutes and other records, was Chicago’s Annenberg Challenge project.” The report went on to say that “according to program participants and records Bill Ayers fought to bring the Annenberg grand to Chicago.” The Annenberg grand was “a $50 million grand” which would be used to “match locally raised funds to improve schools.”
Barack Obama was, CNN points out, “recruited as the chair” of Ayers’ organization that aimed to bring the Annenberg project to Chicago schools in order to ‘improve’ the system (more on the ‘improvements’ later). “For seven years, Bill Ayers and Obama, among many others, worked on funding for education projects including some experiments supported by Ayers.”
The piece was filed by Drew Griffin, for CNN’s Andersoon Cooper 360 show.
That was not all, CNN found. They also served “on the board” of a second organization, the Woods fund. “Among its recipients: Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity Church where Obama attended and a children and family justice center where Ayers’ wife worked.”
Lastly, “for Obama, the chairmanship of the $100 million Annenberg board helped volt him from southside Chicago lawyer to political player and that too has another connection to Bill Ayers.” In 1995, shortly after joining the Annenberg board, a female state senator appointed Barack Obama suddenly as her apparent political heir. “Where was that introduction made?” CNN wondered? Simple: “in the home of the 60s radicals Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn.”
Again, as CNN pointed out in the piece, the Obama campaign pretends it does not matter in any way. A spokesman for Obama told Drew, on CNN, it is bad journalism to delve into the Ayers-Obama connection, and serves no other purpose than destroying Obama’s image. Drew responded by saying that Palmer, the state senator, told him that she had not organized the meeting in which she was to appoint Obama as her political heir “in any way.” Rather, it was organized for her, on her behalf, one could say. Furthermore, a doctor (who attended the meeting) said “it was indeed Barack Obama’s political coming out party and it was hosted by Bill Ayers.”
Watch it:
Wow, first Alec Baldwin admits that Barney Frank and other Dems were to blame for blocking Fannie Mae oversight corrections, and now this. Hell may not be quite frozen yet, but it’s getting awfully chilly.
My boss was at the party, I asked him about this. "I didn’t know who is Obama till the last year", was his response! So much for coming out party.
NOTHING is more important than checking whether Obama will work for the United States or for its enemies. His life-long association with people who hate America is truly scary.
Nothing like ignoring relevant issues like umm THE ECONOMY and focusing on Obama’s relation with a professor from the University of Illinois.
If you want to talk about relationships - look of Keading.
I can’t believe you people are thinking about hiring this terrorist for US President!! Save our Country! Vote McCain…the lesser of two evils.
I can’t believe you people are thinking about hiring this terrorist for US President!! Save our Country! Vote McCain…the lessor of two evils.
You meant keating 5 and if you look it up McCain was CLEARED and so was Senator John Glenn a democrat backing Obama. Do you think this may be relivent or is this a ploy by Obama’s camp to divert attention from Obama’s choice of associates?
Just as Reagan was cleared of the Iran Contra mess, Bush never skipped on on the National Guard and Republicans NEVER do what they are accused of doing. I also have a bridge to sell…….
Nothing we haven’t seen before.
Still doesn’t point to Obama as a radical.
$50 million dollars!!?? The point is that Obama says that Ayers is a just "guy I know". In my line of work, when "a guy I know " hands someone $ 50 million from a grant over a 7 year period to provide "educational " programming to public schools (an area Obama has no training for)…means Obama is a closer to Ayers than "a guy I know" . So why is he denying it?
Ans. because he doesn’t want people to know his close relationship.
Bill Ayers has authored the furthest left, anti-family, anti Western Civ. educational programs for young children, Obama was his agent to get these programs into Chicago public schools.
P.S. How they readin’ and ritin’ in Chi-town due to the 50 million today?
Reporters would do well tl No Obama "Reporters" and their employers have mis that just as they completely missed the biggest fraud on the american taxpayers in the Fannie and Freddie mmthe
The sad thing is that the millions DID NOT go for education. It was funneled to far left wing organizations. Chicago has one of the worst school systems in the country.
Also, Ayres is not the only radical that Obama is involved with. Maybe alot of people do not think it is important but I’ve always heard you are judged by the company you keep. Obama wants power and his way was with the slime of Chicago. Also, my mom always said "birds of a feather flock together". With the people that Obama has associated with he would not be able to be in the Secret Service or the FBI. However, he can be President of the United States. What is wrong with this picture?
Obviously, I’m missing something, and that "something" is any sort of specified wrongdoing by Obama. Likewise, the suggestion that the Annenberg Foundation is funneling money to subversive organizations is absurd; you might want to visit it’s website and note that the trustees remain members of the Annenberg family, itself, and grant recipients HAVE to be charitable organizations THEMSELVES. [Yes, that includes "Reverend Wright’s" church, and for good reason. Those who let themselves get all lathered up by some of his more incendiary(and stupid) statements might have also noted that this same church performs an ENORMOUS amount of outreach work, as well.
More to the point (and respecting Bill Ayres),what are you suggesting that Obama SHOULD have done? Refuse to write a blurb for Ayres’ book? Why? Do yout Resigned from the board(s)? If so, does that apply to every other civic leader serving over that period, too? While we’re at it, how about the faculty at the University of Chicago? Should ALL of them have quit their jobs, too, or "just" the entire staff in Ayres department?
While we’re on this witch hunt, shouldn’t we also interrogate anyone who ever took classes from Ayres? Surely, an "explanation" is due from these folks. After all, whereas every account of the Obama/ Ayres "relationship" only puts them togther at rather infrequent board meetings, a few seminars and, of course, that single gathering at Ayres’ home, those STUDENTS were known to have appeared in Ayres’ classroom as often as(gasp!) 3 times a week and, indeed, for months on end. SOME, in fact, may have met privately with him in his office, and despite claims that these meetings and class sessions were school related, how do WE know that’s true? Wake up, people; any number of these former students could be teaching our kids RIGHT NOW!!!
****************
Folks, I’d really hope that some of you might pause; take a look at yourself; and realize and how easily you’re letting yourselves be manipulated and stampeded. Indeed, it SHOULD strike you particularly ironic that PALIN or MCCAIN would insist that ANYONE should answer questions about ANYTHING. The last I looked, she’s the same lady who had problems with inconvenient questions during her only two interviews with mainstream journalists; decided to avoid that problem at her debate by completely ignoring such questions and, instead, resorting to the recitation of memorized, 90 second blurbs; has since refused entirely to meet with the mainstream media; and, in the meantime, refused to either testify in an investigation she purportedly "welcomed", or release some 1100 e-mails.
I realize that some of you don’t remember this, but the Republican party has a long history of resorting to innuendo, and the like, dating all the way back to their distinguihed senators from Wisconsin (Joe"Do you now or have you ever…..?" McCarthy) and California ("Tricky Dick" Nixon) during the 50’s.
Here, McCain is insisting that Obama "answer questions" about his relationship with Ayres, and while running as far and as fast away from George Bush as he can. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but Obama’s relationship with Ayres is NOTHING compared to that between McCain and Bush.
If you want four more years of the same, feel free to vote that way and persuade others to do so. But don’t let yourslf be drawn into a campaign of slander. We’re better than this.