I missed last night’s Dem debate, but host George Stephanopoulos asked candidate Barack Obama about his tawdry relationship with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers of the Weather Underground, who conspired to destroy federal buildings in the 1970s then, decades later, expressed regret that he did not succeed.

The unexpected came when Stephanopoulos, under what he termed “the general theme of patriotism,” asked Obama about “a gentleman named William Ayers. He was part of the Weather Underground in the 1970s. They bombed the Pentagon, the Capitol, and other buildings. He’s never apologized for that.”

According to the account given by Scott Whitlock at NewsBusters.org, Obama responded by comparing Ayers to Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma):

Obama’s response included stating that Ayers’s actions happened when he was very young and asserted they weren’t relevant. Oddly, he went on to compare a man who was involved in bombings that killed people to his colleague, Republican Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma. Obama stated, “The fact is that I’m also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions.”

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Whitlock also tells us that MSNBC sportscaster Keith Olbermann whined after the debate:

The real story of his debate may not be found where they found the answers, but where one of the moderators found his questions: Sean Hannity of Fox News, and separately a local New York right wing radio host [presumably Steve Malzberg], each insisting during interviews this week with George Stephanopoulos of ABC that he ask Senator Obama about his tenuous past link to 60s and 70s terrorist radical William Ayers. Tonight, Stephanopoulos did that.

If you cannot argue with the message, you report that you think the messenger, Hannity, has cooties. That’s not very Murrow-esque, Keefums, but did you see the Yankees-Red Sox game last night? ‘T was another high-scoring affair, you know.

Not just Steph;
Hillary blasted Barry well:

She also blasted Mr Obama for sitting on the board of a Chicago philanthropic group with links to William Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground. In comments published, coincidentally, on September 11 2001, Mr Ayers was unrepentant about bombing the Pentagon and other US government buildings.

Mrs Clinton said: “If I’m not mistaken, that relationship with Mr. Ayers on this board continued after 9/11 and after his reported comments, which were deeply hurtful to people in New York and, I would hope, to every American, because they were published on 9/11, and he said that he was just sorry they hadn’t done more.”

In its main article on the Dem Debate, the Los Angeles Times mentions only “Obama’s relationship with fellow Chicagoan William Ayers, the 1960s radical who is now an education professor at the University of Illinois.” The paper mentioned nothing about bombing the Pentagon or Ayers’ published regret that the plot failed.

The Washington Post did a bit better:

He was then asked about his association with William Ayers, a member of the Weather Underground, a radical group from the 1960s and ’70s. Ayers was quoted after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as saying he did not regret setting bombs and that “we didn’t do enough.”

Obama said he does not have a close relationship with Ayers. “The notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values doesn’t make much sense,” he said. He also noted that President Bill Clinton had pardoned members of the group.

Barry, it would be one thing if the Weather Underground had been a discussion group and Ayers disavowed those discussions and that philosophy, but we’re talking about conspiracy to destroy federal buildings for which Ayers is entirely unapologetic. That speaks directly to your inability to discern a difference between an intellectual proposition and A is A reality and your willingness to embrace evil. It is a dangerous trait in the President of the United States, and it is why, though he will be the Democratic Party’s nominee this year, he will not be elected President.