Barack Obama and the exercise of free speech

Barack Obama did a double-twist on free speech yesterday in reaction to
the ad produced by an outside political group regarding his association
with William Ayers. After his own campaign produced an……

Is this really an indication of Barack Hussein Obama’s “brilliance”?  It wasn’t moronic enough that Barry’s marketing dunces tried to smear Darth Queeg with a twice-removed “connection” to bipartisan crook Jack Abramoff, thus opening the do…

That’s why the ad is so “despicable”. Somebody could actually watch it and mistakenly believe that Obama endorses Ayers twisted views when there is no evidence that he does.

I see. So no one should ever say anything that someone might construe as being something other than what was said. And if you say something that people could take in a way that isn’t what you said, it’s despicable.

Um, no. People are responsible for what they say. People misquoting or misconstruing it are either stupid or a$$holes, like Obama was with McCain’s 100 years comment.

Bottom line fact here: Obama’s friend Bill Ayers is an unrepentant domestic terrorist. You’re not worried about that being misinterpreted. You’re worried about that true fact being groked by the electorate.

Terry McNichols probably doesn’t get much mail either. Poor guy needs friends too.

/

funky chicken on August 22, 2008 at 6:41 PM

Fixed.

If the Ayers/Dohrn-Obama meet and greet took place in November, 1995, it cannot have been the first time that Obama met Ayers. By that time Obama was already Chairman of the Board of the $50 million Chicago Annenberg Challenge Grant program that was designed by Ayers. Ayers began the grant proposal design process in December 1993 and the grant was formally announced in January, 1995. Barack Obama was identified as the Chair in press reports in June of 1995.

So, unless Ayers helped pick a board chair he had never met and would never meet until the “meet and greet,” Obama, in fact, met Ayers well before the launching of his state senate campaign. Of course, it is very likely that there would have had to have been a very close working relationship between Ayers, as the lead architect of the Annenberg proposal, and the first board chairman. They would have had to have agreed on basic educational policy issues. And Obama would have been crucial in leading fund raising efforts since the $50 million grant was conditioned on a 2-1 match from other donors (and something they were quite successful at – raising an additional $60 million by 1999).
http://globallabor.blogspot.com/2008/05/when-did-barack-obama-meet-bill-ayers.html

It’d be like if I decided to become pen pals with the Night Stalker. I was 10 years old or so when he committed his crimes. Would that let me off the hook in your eyes if I chose to be buds with him now? Of course not. And yet you insist on this impossibly feeble argument on Obama’s behalf.

Allahpundit on August 22, 2008 at 2:53 PM

Terry McNichols probably doesn’t get much mail either. Poor guy needs friends too.

/

Guess crr6 hit a nerve, eh?

No. I was pointing out that his, and you’re your, guy likes terrorists. A simple point.

As some added spice, your guy also hates babies.

Now if he will just eat a puppy…

Uh huh….except Obama was 8 years old when Ayers committed his crimes. I guess Obama should have been investigating Ayers while he was in junior high.
crr6 on August 22, 2008 at

Are you suggesting that Obama was sufficiently dense as to be unfamiliar with the history of Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn or the the weather underground? Such a contention is laughable.

Would it make a difference if instead of murdering cops and trying to bomb an NCO dance the weathermen were instead unrepentant bigots who murdered blacks and attempted to blow up churches?

The fact is, Bill Ayers is a self admitted, unrepentant terrorist who feels his group should have done more says it all. One can reasonably conclude that by “more”
he means more bombings and murders.

Most reasonable people feel that terrorism crosses a threshold that is not permissable in a free society and are repulsed by people who engage in such activity. Obviously, Obama was not sufficiently repulsed by Ayers so as to disassociate himself from this guy.

Granted, one bad relationship doesn’t not a pattern make. However, the bodies are piling up and Obama has demonstrated that either he is the most unlikely guy in America (”who knew what these people were really like?”) or he has made politically expediant choices as it pertains to his relationships. At most one could say that he is is simply not very discerning regarding the character of others.

Since he has a thin record of leadership he has placed judgement as the cornerstone of his qualifications for the job he is applying. It is reasonable to look closely at the choices he has made. Simple enough.

“Adolf Eichmann’s crimes were so long ago, yeah he still feels he should have done more…but he did those things long before I was born…..”

I’ll take old over idiot, thank you.

It appears to be linked…to William Ayers?

Please enlighten us as it seems the lightworker’s resume is a little light in those areas.

Tom

Look crr6, maybe you don’t realize this, but Obama is a pinhead.

BKennedy on August 22, 2008 at 3:34 PM

Wow. I think you just summed up Obama’s entire campaign in one statement.

Well done.

If Bobby Jindal served on a board with an English professor who committed crimes (although I’m not sure where you got “murdered a bunch of people from) before Jindal developed object permanence…I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t “dump in my pants”.

crr6 on August 22, 2008 at 3:16 PM

Probably from Ayers close cohort Bernadine Dohrn.

Look crr6, maybe you don’t realize this, but Obama is a pinhead. A man with that many horrendous associations should never try to play the guilt by association game because they will always lose. It would be like John Edwards attacking Rudy Guiliani for cheating on his wife.

Nevermind you have completely ignored Obama’s active collaboration with Ayers on a whole host of “community organization” projects that just happen to be under lock-and-key now at the Richard J. Daly library at University of Illinois at Chicago.

Tell me, does twisting yourself that much hurt, or do you get used to it? I mean, socialists have internalized apathy to mass murder, its entirely possible run of the mill leftists have generated an immunity to logic and history.

I suppose your next defense of Obama is that he really didn’t know Rezko was a scummy landlord, he just thought he was an honest real estate agent. How dare we insinuate Rezko and The One are connected simply because of a real estate transaction!

crr6 on August 22, 2008 at 3:23 PM

So was Reverend Hagee a domestic terrorist who declared war against the United States of America and planted bombs and then said he wished he did more and has never repented . I dont think so .

you might be able to try this weak ass spin to defend the one for his ties to Wright . But not to defend his sucking up to a terrorist POS that should have been frog marched out to the firing line and shot .

Has factcheck.org made a determination in the culture wars yet? This shortcut to who’s right and who’s wrong is handy. If the past 25 years have taught anything, it’s beware of institutions.

JiangxiDad on August 22, 2008 at 3:26 PM

Interesting thought. Wonder how we could get them to tackle this one.

crr6 on August 22, 2008 at 3:23 PM

I think his overall point is that the Ralph Reed ad is less accurate than the Ayers ad, and you should be acknowledging its silliness instead of putting out your Hagee straw man.

Instead of using anything Obama has actually done or said in his career as indicative of his character, the ad says we should make a value judgement on him based on what some dude he served on a board with did 40 odd years ago.

and just what has the One said in his career that tells us about his character ???

I come from the old school way of seeing things . Actions speak louder then words . You can talk and try and blow smoke up my *** . But your actions will tell the real story about who you are, what you are and what you will do .

By the way why are the records of “some board ” all of a sudden not open to the public . Could it be there is simply more to this so called ” some board ” and somebody is trying to play CYA for the one.

Instead of using anything Obama has actually done or said in his career as indicative of his character, the ad says we should make a value judgement on him based on what some dude he served on a board with did 40 odd years ago, called “mainstream,” started his campaign from his house, treated as a friend, and allowed to blog on his campaign website.

crr6 on August 22, 2008 at 3:16 PM

Yes, we should.

Fixed.

Allahpundit on August 22, 2008 at 2:53 PM
Let’s cut through all the crap then, what’s your overall point? Do you really think Obama shares or endorses Ayer’s views? This silly game can go both ways. McCain didn’t just know Reverend Hagee, he actually actively sought out his endorsement despite his numerous abhorrent remarks. Does McCain share his views? And round and round we go.
That’s why the ad is so “despicable”. Somebody could actually watch it and mistakenly believe that Obama endorses Ayers twisted views when there is no evidence that he does.

The fact that Osama Obama worked with — and palled around with — Ayers while the latter was actively pursuing his radical agenda (if not his bomb-making skills) would destroy any candidate other than The Messiah.

Ayers remains unrepentant for his crimes. So does Obama.

Someone hit a nerve. Hence TNR’s exclamation of how revolting the Ayers ad was without so much as an attempt at explaining why.

Allahpundit on August 22, 2008 at 2:44 PM

Yep I’d say that an ad implying that a democratic presidential candidate wants to commit or approves of domestic terrorism would hit a nerve. God us liberals are so sensitive.

Instead of using anything Obama has actually done or said in his career as indicative of his character, the ad says we should make a value judgement on him based on what some dude he served on a board with did 40 odd years ago.

Which has nothing to do with anything, as you well know. If it turned out that Bobby Jindal was palling around with a guy who murdered a bunch of people when he was a kid and who, moreover, was unrepentant about it to this day, you’d be dumping in your pants over it. Don’t be such a robotic little hack.

Allahpundit on August 22, 2008 at 2:42 PM

If Bobby Jindal served on a board with an English professor who committed crimes (although I’m not sure where you got “murdered a bunch of people from) before Jindal developed object permanence…I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t “dump in my pants”.