WLS at Patterico thinks this could sink Obama. It’s no idle claim in my opnion.
Keep in mind that when Obama was made Chairman of the Board in 1995, he was three years out of Harvard, was an associate at a small Chicago civil rights law firm, and had no great political contacts to speak of. Nevertheless, he was appointed to the position of Chairman of a non-profit educational foundation with a $50 million grant — which came with the obligation to raise matching funds from gov’t or other charitable sources (the Board eventually raised another $60 million). Other members of the Board were such Chicago luminaries as former University Presidents and Presidents of other charitable foundations. Yet they were led by a 3rd year associate from a small Chicago law firm.
The unreported fact of this episode is that Obama as Board Chairman, and Ayers as Collaborative Co-Chair, worked hand-in-hand in the process of reviewing and approving grant proposals that came to the CAC. One of Ayers’ roles at the Collaborative was to write “Requests for Proposals”, and then to assist potential grantees in fashioning their Application Proposals to match. It is inconceivable that during the period from 1995 to 1999, Obama and Ayers did not have a close working relationship as they went about parceling out tens of millions of dollars to applicants for funds from the CAC.
…
This connection through the CAC casts great doubt on the well-rehearsed story that Obama first got to know Ayers only when he was introduced to him and his wife while contemplating his first run for the Illinois State Senate, and has since remained only a casual friend “from the neighborhood.” Frankly, if the records being withheld show what I suspect they show, as outlined above, they’ll represent the spark that caused the immolation of the Obama campaign.
For those that haven’t been following, Ayers is a terrorist who got off on a technicality, who is on record as suggesting he regrets he didn’t plant enough bombs. This is the sort of person who was instrumental in getting Obama into politics, and Obama has good reason to pretend that he never had anything to do with him.
Read it all and decide for yourself.
Another knucle dragger repeating what he hears without checking facts. For instance, Ayers never said that he regrets that he didn’t plant more bombs. He was talking about not having done enough, in general, to end the Vitnam war.
“on record as suggesting he regrets”? Try reading the record.
By: Richard Koppel on November 3, 2008
at 6:48 pm
This is incredible.
“This connection through the CAC casts great doubt on the well-rehearsed story that Obama first got to know Ayers only when he was introduced to him and his wife while contemplating his first run for the Illinois State Senate, and has since remained only a casual friend “from the neighborhood.” ”
What is so incredible is that what you say is Obama’s well-rehearsed story isn’t his story, since he has never denied being on the board of the Woods Foundation with Ayers and 6 other people, including some good Republcans.
Do you people sit around making this stuff up as a group or just wing it by yourselves?
By: Richard Koppel on November 3, 2008
at 7:01 pm
knucle dragger yourself. Ayers only said in retrospect that he was referring to “ending the war”.
But at the time he was trying to end the war, he was also discussing the best way to kill 25 million of his countrymen.
No, not a nice guy. Had he apologized for what he did, that attempted whitewash might cut some ice but he didn’t so it doesn’t.
The fact is, Obama has had close relations with this guy for years, and is now trying to pretend he didn’t. You’re quibbling on details.
By: scrubone on November 3, 2008
at 10:03 pm