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== Interactions between Obama and Ayers == |
== Interactions between Obama and Ayers == |
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Obama was introduced to Ayers and his wife, [[Bernardine Dohrn]] in 1995 at a "meet-and-greet" political meeting the couple held for Obama at their home in the [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]] section of [[Chicago]], where all three lived.<ref>Becker, Jo and Drew, Christopher, [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/us/politics/11chicago.html?pagewanted=print "The Long Run: Pragmatic Politics, Forged on the South Side"], article, ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[May 11]], [[2008]], retrieved [[June 5]], [[2008]]</ref> State Senator [[Alice Palmer (Illinois politician)|Alice Palmer]] introduced Obama as her chosen successor at |
Obama was introduced to Ayers and his wife, [[Bernardine Dohrn]] in 1995 at a "meet-and-greet" political meeting the couple held for Obama at their home in the [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]] section of [[Chicago]], where all three lived.<ref>Becker, Jo and Drew, Christopher, [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/us/politics/11chicago.html?pagewanted=print "The Long Run: Pragmatic Politics, Forged on the South Side"], article, ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[May 11]], [[2008]], retrieved [[June 5]], [[2008]]</ref> State Senator [[Alice Palmer (Illinois politician)|Alice Palmer]] introduced Obama as her chosen successor at that meeting, many of the guests being her past supporters. One attendee described the event as a campaign "launch."<ref>Warren, Maria[http://warrenpeacemuse.blogspot.com/2005_01_23_archive.html Get to know Barack Obama] ''Musings & Migraines'', January 27, 2005</ref> Ben Smith at Politico.com first reported on this subject over three years later.<ref name="bsp222">{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8630.html|publisher=politico.com|title=Obama once visited '60s radicals|author=Ben Smith|date=February 22, 2008}}</ref> Obama and Ayers also served together for three years on the board of the [[Woods Fund of Chicago]], an anti-[[poverty]] foundation established in 1941. Both served from 1999 to 2002, and Ayers was board chair for two of those years. Obama attended approximately a dozen quarterly meetings, usually administrating grant funding, before he left his position on the board.<ref name="bddm418">Drogin, Bob and Morain, Dan, [http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-radicals18apr18,0,131233.story "Obama and the former radicals"], article, ''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'', [[April 18]], [[2008]], retrieved [[June 5]], [[2008]]</ref><ref name="abn51"/><ref name="pswp418"/> The two also appeared together on a 1997 [[University of Chicago]] panel discussion on juvenile justice. They again appeared in 2002 at an academic panel co-sponsored by the Chicago Public Library. <ref name="bddm418"/> Ayers donated $200 to Obama's 2001 state senate campaign.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/04/17/fact_check_obama_clinton_and_the_weather_underground/|publisher=Associated Press|title=Fact check: Obama, Clinton and the Weather Underground|date=April 17, 2008}}</ref> |
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== Rise in public awareness == |
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Obama and Ayers served together for three years on the board of the [[Woods Fund of Chicago]], an anti-[[poverty]] foundation established in 1941. Obama had joined the nine-member board in 1993, and had attended a dozen of the quarterly meetings together with Ayers in the three years up to 2002, when Obama left his position on the board,<ref name="bddm418">Drogin, Bob and Morain, Dan, [http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-radicals18apr18,0,131233.story "Obama and the former radicals"], article, ''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'', [[April 18]], [[2008]], retrieved [[June 5]], [[2008]]</ref> which Ayers chaired for two years.<ref name="abn51"/> Laura S. Washington, chairwoman of the Woods Fund, said the small board had a collegial "friendly but businesslike" atmosphere, and met four times a year for a half-day, mostly to approve grants.<ref name="pswp418"/> The two also appeared together on a 1997 [[University of Chicago]] panel discussion on juvenile justice. They again appeared in 2002 at an academic panel co-sponsored by the Chicago Public Library. <ref name="bddm418"/> Ayers donated $200 to Obama's 2001 state senate campaign.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/04/17/fact_check_obama_clinton_and_the_weather_underground/|publisher=Associated Press|title=Fact check: Obama, Clinton and the Weather Underground|date=April 17, 2008}}</ref> |
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Little attention to Obama's association with Ayers was given in news organizations until [[February 2008]],<ref>Michael Dobbs, [http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/02/obamas_weatherman_connection.html Obama's 'Weatherman' Connection]The Fact Checker, ''The Washington Post''</ref> when reports were published in the British press. [[Fox News]] was one of the few US media outlets covering the story before the ABC debate.<ref>Kurtz, Howard, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042100776_pf.html "The Military-Media Complex"], ''[[The Washington Post]], [[April 21]], [[2008]], retrieved [[June 6]], [[2008]]</ref> These first reports were also noted by Obama's primary challenger [[Hillary Clinton]], who viewed the revelation of their ties as a general election vulnerability.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adgAs9YOxRSc|publisher=bloomberg.com|title=Obama's Ties Might Fuel `Republican Attack Machine'|author=Timothy J. Burger|date=February 15, 2008}}</ref> The issue then lay relatively dormant until the [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential debates, 2008|Democratic Party primary debate]] in [[Philadelphia]] on [[April 16]], [[2008]], where moderator [[George Stephanopoulos]] was fed a question by [[Fox News]] [[pundit]] [[Sean Hannity]],<ref>[http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/17/steph-hannity-audio/ AUDIO: Hannity Feeds Stephanopoulos Debate Question On Weather Underground»]</ref> and asked Obama to "explain that relationship," causing Obama to distance himself from the professor and note that Ayers' criminal activities had occurred when the candidate was eight years old.<ref name="abn51">Berman, Ari, [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080519/berman "Obama under the weather"], ''[[The Nation]]'', [[May 1]], [[2008]]</ref> <ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/DemocraticDebate/Story?id=4670271&page=2 Transcript: Obama and Clinton Debate], April 16, 2008</ref><ref name="pswp418">Slevin, Peter, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041703910.html "Former '60s Radical Is Now Considered Mainstream in Chicago"], article, ''[[The Washington Post]], [[April 18]], [[2008]]; p A04, retrieved [[June 6]], [[2008]]</ref> Hillary Clinton also re-raised the connections at the debate, inadvertently bringing up her husband's own pardoning of other Weather Underground members,<ref name=abn51/><ref>[http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2008/04/an_almost_oppo.html An Almost Oppo Free Zone], The Hotline: On Call, ''National Journal Group'', April 16, 2008</ref> and the following Sunday [[John McCain]] would say that Obama's "relationship with Mr. Ayers is open to question."<ref name="abn51"/> |
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Ayers and Dohrn are fixtures of their Chicago neighborhood, "embraced, by and large, in the [[Liberalism|liberal]] circles dominating Hyde Park politics", according to Smith.<ref name="bsp222"/> But they have not been embraced everywhere. Since the [[September 11 terrorist attacks]], alumni at the at the [[University of Illinois]] at Chicago, where Ayers is a tenured professor of education, and at [[Northwestern University]], where Dohrn is a law professor, protested their presence and said the couple were unrepentant, though colleagues believe their achievements since overshadow those actions. "This is a community that has regularly elected former [[Black Panther]] [[Bobby Rush]] (D) to Congress and mostly sees Obama's former pastor, the Rev. [[Jeremiah Wright|Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.]], as the onetime heart of an established [[African American]] church with thousands of members," according to an article in ''[[The Washington Post]]''. <ref>Slevin, Peter, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041703910.html "Former '60s Radical Is Now Considered Mainstream in Chicago"], article, ''[[The Washington Post]], [[April 18]], [[2008]]; p A04, retrieved [[June 6]], [[2008]]</ref> |
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==Reaction to the debate== |
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Little attention to Obama's association with Ayers was given in news organizations until [[February 2008]],<ref>Michael Dobbs, [http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/02/obamas_weatherman_connection.html Obama's 'Weatherman' Connection]The Fact Checker, ''The Washington Post''</ref> when a couple of reports were published in the British press. [[Howard Kurtz]] later wrote that the connection between the two Chicagoans was "all but ignored by the news media, other than [[Fox News|Fox]]" until it was raised in a presidential debate.<ref>Kurtz, Howard, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042100776_pf.html "The Military-Media Complex"], ''[[The Washington Post]], [[April 21]], [[2008]], retrieved [[June 6]], [[2008]]</ref> |
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Obama's rival, [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]], also brought up Ayers. In a [[February 15]], [[2008]] article, a [[Bloomberg L.P.]] reporter quoted Clinton, who stated that the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] might use the supposed connection with Ayers to discredit Obama if he were chosen as the nominee of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adgAs9YOxRSc|publisher=bloomberg.com|title=Obama's Ties Might Fuel `Republican Attack Machine'|author=Timothy J. Burger|date=February 15, 2008}}</ref> |
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At the [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential debates, 2008|Democratic Party primary debate]] in [[Philadelphia]] on [[April 16]], [[2008]], moderator [[George Stephanopoulos]] (after being fed the question by [[Fox News]] [[pundit]] [[Sean Hannity]]<ref>[http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/17/steph-hannity-audio/ AUDIO: Hannity Feeds Stephanopoulos Debate Question On Weather Underground»]</ref>) questioned Obama about his association with Ayers, asking the candidate: "Can you explain that relationship for the voters, and explain to Democrats why it won't be a problem?"<ref name="abn51">Berman, Ari, [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080519/berman "Obama under the weather"], ''[[The Nation]]'', [[May 1]], [[2008]]</ref> Obama described Ayers thusly: |
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{{quote|This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of [[English studies|English]] in Chicago who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis. And 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.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/DemocraticDebate/Story?id=4670271&page=2 Transcript: Obama and Clinton Debate], April 16, 2008</ref><ref name="pswp418">Slevin, Peter, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041703910.html "Former '60s Radical Is Now Considered Mainstream in Chicago"], article, ''[[The Washington Post]], [[April 18]], [[2008]]; p A04, retrieved [[June 6]], [[2008]]</ref>}} |
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Obama's response led to an exchange between him and Clinton, in which Clinton said, "Senator Obama served on a board with Mr. Ayers for a period of time, the [[Woods Fund of Chicago|Woods Fund]], which was a paid directorship position." <ref name=abn51/> Obama then referred to President [[Bill Clinton]]'s pardoning of [[Linda Sue Evans]] and [[Susan Rosenberg]].<ref>[http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2008/04/an_almost_oppo.html An Almost Oppo Free Zone], The Hotline: On Call, ''National Journal Group'', April 16, 2008</ref> The two were convicted for their actions after they had left the Weather Underground for the splinter group [[May 19 Communist Organization]]. The following Sunday, Stephanopoulos asked Republican presidential candidate [[John McCain]] about Obama's patriotism, and McCain responded: "I'm sure he's very patriotic", then added, "But his relationship with Mr. Ayers is open to question."<ref name="abn51"/> |
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==Reaction to the controversy== |
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After the controversy arose Ayers was defended by officials and others in Chicago. Mayor [[Richard M. Daley]] issued a statement in support of Bill Ayers the next day (April 17), as did the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' in an editorial.<ref name==Dorning>Mike Dorning and Rick Pearson, [http://blogs.trb.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/daley_dont_tar_obama_for_ayers.html Daley: Don't tar Obama for Ayers] ''The Chicago Tribune'', April 17, 2008</ref><ref name="ChicagoEd">Chicago Tribune editorial board, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0418edit3apr18,0,7443216.story Guilt by association] ''The Chicago Tribune'', April 17, 2008</ref> Ayers remains on the Board of Directors of the Woods Foundation, along with representatives from [[Skidmore, Owings and Merrill]] and [[UBS AG]] Investment Bank.<ref>[http://www.woodsfund.org/about/staff Board of Directors and Officers] '''Woods Foundation'''</ref> |
After the controversy arose Ayers was defended by officials and others in Chicago. Mayor [[Richard M. Daley]] issued a statement in support of Bill Ayers the next day (April 17), as did the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' in an editorial.<ref name==Dorning>Mike Dorning and Rick Pearson, [http://blogs.trb.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/daley_dont_tar_obama_for_ayers.html Daley: Don't tar Obama for Ayers] ''The Chicago Tribune'', April 17, 2008</ref><ref name="ChicagoEd">Chicago Tribune editorial board, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0418edit3apr18,0,7443216.story Guilt by association] ''The Chicago Tribune'', April 17, 2008</ref> Ayers remains on the Board of Directors of the Woods Foundation, along with representatives from [[Skidmore, Owings and Merrill]] and [[UBS AG]] Investment Bank.<ref>[http://www.woodsfund.org/about/staff Board of Directors and Officers] '''Woods Foundation'''</ref> Another board member noted, "He has a national reputation as an educator. That's why he's on our board."<ref name="bddm418"/> Media reaction was generally equally muted, with some wondering about Obama's "terrible judgement," |
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and others noting his subsequent condemnation of Ayers and lack of any record of support for political violence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/Kinsley_on_Ayers.html |title= Kinsley on Ayers |accessdate=2008-06-01 |last=Smith |first=Ben |date=2008-05-30 |work=Ben Smith's Blog |publisher=[[Politico]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Kinsley |authorlink=Michael Kinsley |title=Rejecting Obama's Radical Friends |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1810338,00.html |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=2008-05-29 |accessdate=2008-06-01 }}</ref><ref name="Scheiber">Scheiber, Noam, [http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_stump/archive/2008/02/22/parsing-the-ayers-allegation.aspx "Parsing the Ayers Allegation"], blog post, ''The Stump'' blog at ''[[The New Republic]] website, [[February 22]], [[2008]], retrieved [[June 5]], [[2008]]</ref> The issue has been more heavily discussed outside the mainstream media, on talk radio and internet forums; there are currently nearly 900,000 Google hits<ref>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Obama+Ayers&btnG=Google+Search</ref> for "Obama-Ayers," yet less than 300 for the same term on Google News.<ref>http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Obama%20Ayers&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn</ref> |
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Liberal pundit [[Michael Kinsley]], a longtime critic of Ayers,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/Kinsley_on_Ayers.html |title= Kinsley on Ayers |accessdate=2008-06-01 |last=Smith |first=Ben |date=2008-05-30 |work=Ben Smith's Blog |publisher=[[Politico]] }}</ref> argued in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' that it was "absurd" to make a campaign issue out of Obama's relationship with Ayers: "If Obama's relationship with Ayers, however tangential, exposes Obama as a radical himself, or at least as a man with terrible judgment, he shares that radicalism or terrible judgment with a comically respectable list of Chicagoans and others — including Republicans and [[conservative]]s — who have embraced Ayers and Dohrn as good company, good citizens, even experts on children's issues."<ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Kinsley |authorlink=Michael Kinsley |title=Rejecting Obama's Radical Friends |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1810338,00.html |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=2008-05-29 |accessdate=2008-06-01 }}</ref> |
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Noam Scheiber, writing on the ''Stump'' [[blog]] of ''[[The New Republic]]'', a magazine supporting Obama's candidacy, wrote, "Given that there’s no trace of support for [[terrorism]] or political violence anywhere in Obama's record — to the contrary, Obama condemned Ayers' and Dohrns' past through a spokesman — I just don't see how this tells us anything useful about Obama."<ref name="Scheiber">Scheiber, Noam, [http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_stump/archive/2008/02/22/parsing-the-ayers-allegation.aspx "Parsing the Ayers Allegation"], blog post, ''The Stump'' blog at ''[[The New Republic]] website, [[February 22]], [[2008]], retrieved [[June 5]], [[2008]]</ref> |
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== References == |
== References == |
Revision as of 22:23, 7 August 2008
The Obama–Ayers controversy during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign disputed the extent of a connection between former Weather Underground leader Bill Ayers and Barack Obama and its inferences. The matter was covered by news organizations and brought up by the campaign of competing candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton in February 2008, and was revisted during a debate between Clinton and Obama in April 2008. Republican presidential candidate John McCain subsequently also questioned[1] Obama's relationship with Ayers. Ayers was one of the five-member central committee of the Weathermen in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[2]
Obama condemned Ayers' past through a spokesman,[3] and Ayers is considered to be a well-known and respected member of the Chicago community.[4] Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daley and the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune immediately issued statements in support of Ayers in response to the controversy.[5][6]
Interactions between Obama and Ayers
Obama was introduced to Ayers and his wife, Bernardine Dohrn in 1995 at a "meet-and-greet" political meeting the couple held for Obama at their home in the Hyde Park section of Chicago, where all three lived.[7] State Senator Alice Palmer introduced Obama as her chosen successor at that meeting, many of the guests being her past supporters. One attendee described the event as a campaign "launch."[8] Ben Smith at Politico.com first reported on this subject over three years later.[9] Obama and Ayers also served together for three years on the board of the Woods Fund of Chicago, an anti-poverty foundation established in 1941. Both served from 1999 to 2002, and Ayers was board chair for two of those years. Obama attended approximately a dozen quarterly meetings, usually administrating grant funding, before he left his position on the board.[4][10][11] The two also appeared together on a 1997 University of Chicago panel discussion on juvenile justice. They again appeared in 2002 at an academic panel co-sponsored by the Chicago Public Library. [4] Ayers donated $200 to Obama's 2001 state senate campaign.[12]
Rise in public awareness
Little attention to Obama's association with Ayers was given in news organizations until February 2008,[13] when reports were published in the British press. Fox News was one of the few US media outlets covering the story before the ABC debate.[14] These first reports were also noted by Obama's primary challenger Hillary Clinton, who viewed the revelation of their ties as a general election vulnerability.[15] The issue then lay relatively dormant until the Democratic Party primary debate in Philadelphia on April 16, 2008, where moderator George Stephanopoulos was fed a question by Fox News pundit Sean Hannity,[16] and asked Obama to "explain that relationship," causing Obama to distance himself from the professor and note that Ayers' criminal activities had occurred when the candidate was eight years old.[10] [17][11] Hillary Clinton also re-raised the connections at the debate, inadvertently bringing up her husband's own pardoning of other Weather Underground members,[10][18] and the following Sunday John McCain would say that Obama's "relationship with Mr. Ayers is open to question."[10]
Reaction to the debate
After the controversy arose Ayers was defended by officials and others in Chicago. Mayor Richard M. Daley issued a statement in support of Bill Ayers the next day (April 17), as did the Chicago Tribune in an editorial.[19][6] Ayers remains on the Board of Directors of the Woods Foundation, along with representatives from Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and UBS AG Investment Bank.[20] Another board member noted, "He has a national reputation as an educator. That's why he's on our board."[4] Media reaction was generally equally muted, with some wondering about Obama's "terrible judgement," and others noting his subsequent condemnation of Ayers and lack of any record of support for political violence.[21][22][3] The issue has been more heavily discussed outside the mainstream media, on talk radio and internet forums; there are currently nearly 900,000 Google hits[23] for "Obama-Ayers," yet less than 300 for the same term on Google News.[24]
References
- ^ Cooper, Michael, "Republicans Focus on Obama as Fall Opponent", article, The New York Times, May 8, 2008, retrieved June 5, 2008
- ^ Montgomery, Paul L., "Last of Radical Leaders Eluded Police 11 Years", article, The New York Times, October 25, 1981, retrieved June 8, 2008
- ^ a b Scheiber, Noam, "Parsing the Ayers Allegation", blog post, The Stump blog at The New Republic website, February 22, 2008, retrieved June 5, 2008
- ^ a b c d Drogin, Bob and Morain, Dan, "Obama and the former radicals", article, The Los Angeles Times, April 18, 2008, retrieved June 5, 2008
- ^ Mike Dorning and Rick Pearson, Daley: Don't tar Obama for Ayers The Chicago Tribune, April 17, 2008
- ^ a b Chicago Tribune editorial board, Guilt by association The Chicago Tribune, April 17, 2008
- ^ Becker, Jo and Drew, Christopher, "The Long Run: Pragmatic Politics, Forged on the South Side", article, The New York Times, May 11, 2008, retrieved June 5, 2008
- ^ Warren, MariaGet to know Barack Obama Musings & Migraines, January 27, 2005
- ^ Ben Smith (February 22, 2008). "Obama once visited '60s radicals". politico.com.
- ^ a b c d Berman, Ari, "Obama under the weather", The Nation, May 1, 2008
- ^ a b Slevin, Peter, "Former '60s Radical Is Now Considered Mainstream in Chicago", article, The Washington Post, April 18, 2008; p A04, retrieved June 6, 2008
- ^ "Fact check: Obama, Clinton and the Weather Underground". Associated Press. April 17, 2008.
- ^ Michael Dobbs, Obama's 'Weatherman' ConnectionThe Fact Checker, The Washington Post
- ^ Kurtz, Howard, "The Military-Media Complex", The Washington Post, April 21, 2008, retrieved June 6, 2008
- ^ Timothy J. Burger (February 15, 2008). "Obama's Ties Might Fuel `Republican Attack Machine'". bloomberg.com.
- ^ AUDIO: Hannity Feeds Stephanopoulos Debate Question On Weather Underground»
- ^ Transcript: Obama and Clinton Debate, April 16, 2008
- ^ An Almost Oppo Free Zone, The Hotline: On Call, National Journal Group, April 16, 2008
- ^ Mike Dorning and Rick Pearson, Daley: Don't tar Obama for Ayers The Chicago Tribune, April 17, 2008
- ^ Board of Directors and Officers Woods Foundation
- ^ Smith, Ben (2008-05-30). "Kinsley on Ayers". Ben Smith's Blog. Politico. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Kinsley, Michael (2008-05-29). "Rejecting Obama's Radical Friends". Time. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Obama+Ayers&btnG=Google+Search
- ^ http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Obama%20Ayers&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn
External links
- Barack Obama campaign statement on Ayers, April 17, 2008