McCain Trumpets Endorsement From Figure Of Foundation That Established Ayers Board

On Wednesday morning, John McCain's campaign released a list of 100 former ambassadors endorsing the GOP presidential nominee.

Second on the list, though her name is misspelled, is Leonore Annenberg, currently the president and chairman of the Annenberg Foundation and widow of ambassador and philanthropist Walter Annenberg. Ms. Annenberg was herself the "chief of protocol" at the State Department under President Reagan.

If the last name sounds familiar, it's because it also graces the name of the Chicago education board where Barack Obama and William Ayers sat in the room six times together.

In recent days, the McCain-Palin ticket (and particularly Palin) has faulted Obama for having served on that board with Ayers, who was a founding member of the radical 60's Weather Underground group when Obama was in grade school.

Since then, however, Ayers has been rehabilitated in Chicago society, carving out a niche in education circles. As a former Republican representative in Illinois told NPR on Monday, smearing Obama for his board association with Ayers is "nonsensical."

"It was never a concern by any of us in the Chicago school reform movement that he had led a fugitive life years earlier ... It's ridiculous," Republican Rep. Diana Nelson said. "There is no reason at all to smear Barack Obama with this association. It's nonsensical, and it just makes me crazy. It's so silly."

Separate calls to the Pennsylvania and California offices of the Annenberg Foundation were not immediately returned Wednesday morning.

UPDATE: An Annenberg official called the Huffington Post back on Wednesday afternoon. "You wanted to speak to Ms. Annenberg? She's very elderly; she doesn't do press interviews."

Comments

[naeldwyck]

ef you see kay aye ennn ghee rac1st double standards

[SantaFeStars]

McCain and Palin need to get their facts straight! Former Ambassador Walter Annenberg, a conservative Republican, founded this foundation and it just so happens that Ayers and Obama sat on the board. Lenore Annenberg was not the ambassador as stated in McCain's list of endorsements. Even the Republicans in Chicago are fed up with the vile accusations against Obama.

[HarryMonster]

all the hate mongering (and the crowds reaction to it) the Palin McCain ticket has been doing lately has caused me great concern. This ittle bit of information was just what I needed in order to heave a sigh of relief and actually laugh out loud! Just who in the hell is running the campaign of John McCain? I want to make sure to thank the right person.

[useyourbrain]

Team Obama and/or 527's have to do ads:

Annenberg-­Reagan-Bus­h-McCain-A­yers connection

Keating Five: Charlie and John, butt buddies from the start

Commerce Committee: McCain's four years as Chairman -- did nothing

Mortgage Fiasco - Phil "Donny Best" Gramm is the root cause of this.

Freddie & Fannie -- Obama's donations were from employees. McCain got 10x as much from executive and F/F lobbyists than Obama.

For Deregulation two months ago, now he's for Regulation

Against Bailouts, now he's for them

Against the government helping out with mortgages, now he's for them (and the dummy didn't realize that this "great" proposal he made during the debate is already in the bail out bill)

Why does McCain Pallin continue to lie and deceive? Don't they trust Americans to do the right thing?

McCain will say/do anything to fulfill his self-professed ambition to be President.

Why won't he release his medical records?

Why won't Pallin release her medical records (and recent baby records)?

Why won't Pallin release her government emails sent/received on her private account?

[cyclewerker]

since Obama's pastor is back on the table as well, lets take a long hard look at just what Sarah Palin believes, such as the end times, witch doctors and the like as well...

[FatJurgi]

use your brain, if they were to run an ad connecting ayers to sen. mccain then it would do nothing more than legitimise the republican attacks while at the same time show that the link is weaker than the one between sen. obama and ayers.

while this would not be useful politically i would be interested in knowing if sen. Mccain had any sympathy for the position that Ayers took, one that was against the war that Sen. Mccain was suffering in.

[voidware]

Hey Reckless,

You're not even close on several of your concepts but I can tell you've been studying your wacko talking points.

You're not honest enough to see that Barack Obama was the greatest recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie and Freddie next to Chris Dodd and you'd like Sarah Palin's baby records released?

[research]

Interesting Ideas.

I have come to trust Obama's judgments in these matters.

And he does seem to listen.

[OxnardDad]

do you know the details of the Annenburg foundation and how Ayers and Obama channeled money that was supposed to be used to teach the less fortunate math and english?

After Walter Annenberg's foundation offered several hundred million dollars to American public schools in the mid-'90s, William Ayers applied for $50 million for Chicago. The purpose of his application was to secure funds to "raise political consciousness" in Chicago's public schools.

After he won the grant, Ayers' group chose Barack Obama to distribute the money. Between 1995 and 1999, Obama distributed the $50 million and raised another $60 million from other civic groups to augment it. In doing so, he was following Ayers' admonition to grant the funds to "external" organizations, like American Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), to pair with schools and conduct programs to politicize them. Gee, I wonder which party they steered them to??? Saul Alinsky in action...

[gopSTEALSyourTAXmoney]

OxnardDad-­------you'­re too isolated from the big city, forward thinking crowd.
Go and chill out at the beach -------it's a hot day today-----­--especial­ly in
beautiful Pacific Palisades!

[Bwine]

LOL.....go­od one!!!

[SugarMan]

How much money was involved in the Keating 5 scandal? Lincoln Savings & Loan

Your racist double standards have been revealed!!! HA

[BuzzingAlong]

How much did Wendy Graham swindle from the Enron retires?

[SurrealPumpkin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Annenberg_Challenge

[eggman]

The key fact about Ayres is that he is a Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois. If he was considered a terrorist, he would be in jail, on trial or a fugitive.

Palin and her running mate might as well say it: the Bush Administration's war on terrorism is so inept that known terrorists are allowed to openly hold positions of authority without fear of arrest.

[notthistime]

and there you have it.

[armason]

Actually, none of it matters. Who among us knows everything about the people we barely have any really close relationship with. Barack is going to win. Let them rant rave and pitch a fit. Barack Obama will be their President in 28 days.

[useyourbrain]

Not if the caging, suppression of voter registration, challenges, etc. that the Republicans use to deny people the right to vote. Team Obama has an infrastructure but the RNC/Rovians are like lice, they embed themselves into places. That is why there has to be a total scrubbing of the government, new computer systems, passwords, firewalls throughout the WH and West Wing. AND, they need to have a trusted firm check the WH for microphones and electronic devices that Rove et Cheney have placed throughout the WH.

[cyclewerker]

while at first glance, I thought, damn,that sounds paranoid..­.on second thought, that makes a ton of sense...

[notthistime]

which is why the Obama campaign intends to have lawyers out in full force on election day.

[voidware]

Barack thought he would be president in 28 days, too. Duh.

If elected, though, he won't be president until late January.

[jeanwny]

President Elect, Einstein

[Coyote2]

Poor McCain. I feel so sorry for him. he just can't seem tom get any traction.

[Miss Lola]

gotta love NPR. they did a story about the conservative republicans who also served on various committees with ayers...an­d said palin was making a mistake pulling that out--as it would come back to haunt them!

[radiojunkie]

Oh MacGoo, you've done it again!

[seabass]

GOODNIGHT GRANDPA YOU ARE TOAST AND BAKED...br­ain...gone­.

[ivegotblisteronmefingers]

I can fell it Dave......­.
My mind is going.....­I can feel it

[Candyland]

They magically dropped all references to Ayers from the McCain/Palin campaign trail today.

"Ayers? Who's Ayers? Oh, we don't care about him."

[Donnat]

Probably grinding their teeth that someone let Sarah Palin loose to screw it all up again...

[Bubba Gump]

Yet another maverick moment that is biting into the credibility of John McCain and Sarah Palin and is tainting the Republican party. Even Republicans in Illinois can't believe McCain's charge. What exactly is McCain trying to prove? That no one who has ever made a mistake in life can be rehabilitated? Once again, John McCain and Sarah Palin abandon Christian principles to attack Barack Obama because Obama is trying to help people; Barack Obama is willing to unite with anyone who supports education. Perhaps John McCain and Sarah Palin need to listen to Jesus Christ, who said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 19:19 KJV) With the Troopergate investigation looming (not to mention the Keating 5 scandal), is the McCain/Palin team leading by the example they want us to do to them? (I think not.) This smells of hypocrisy, incompetence, and desperation.

[idabamaho]

A Republican acting Christ-Like is an oxymoron

[Greg285]

We all know the media is not going to talk about this at all! Especially David Gregory, who is a clown and a joke of a journalist­... This race is over and McCain-Palin will go down in history as the biggest jokes to ever run for President & VP in the history of the USA...

[JustLynn]

I just sent the story to CNN, FOX and MSNBC...le­t's see if anyone has the cojones to pick it up and run with it....

[notthistime]

this is too funny. This is a must send to Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow.

RAOTFL

[HarryMonster]

I can't wait to get the reaction of KO! I might tape it so I can watch it over and over and over again!

[PioneerKing]

LETS SEE HOW MUCH ATENTION THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA GIVES THIS STORY NOW?

Not a single person fro the main stream media has questioned the patriotism of the republicans who sat on the board with Ayres or got campaign contributions from Ayres.

The main stream media did not question why a conservative republicans such as the late Walter Annenberg would have appointed someone like Ayers to the board of the Annenberg Challenge.

[Justsaynodeal]

William Ayers applied for grant money ($50 million), which was awarded by the Annenberg foundation. I rather doubt Walter's widow was that involved with the foundation at that time.
After Bill Ayers received the grant, he hired a neighbor, BHO, which he really didn't know that well to be the person to disperse all these millions. Do you think Bill Ayers saw 0bama mowing his yard, doing such a good job, that he on the spot decided this man should be the one to disperse $50 million?

[bigbluenat4]

link to the story please? I have not heard of this.

[chgoblue]

Right, but if Ayers is as infamous as the Rethugs would have you believe, why would a conservative foundation award him the grant anyway?

[ebanks84]

Your idiotcy is showing again. Are you sure you want to go there?

[SurrealPumpkin]

No, I think he said "Wow! here's this guy right in my own neighborhood, who happens to be a State Senator, who is working on cleaning up the Juvenile Delinquency mess. I bet he'd be great on the board. Calls out "Anyone have a phone number for that Obama guy?"

[goldbry]

You can't use "guilt by association" logic to smear Obama and then refuse to use it on your own candidate. You have to use it all the time, or drop it. I suggest dropping it, because it's ugly, and beneath us all.