Final Debate: McCain Brings Up Ayers, ACORN

McCain goes where he hasn't before in a debate: Bill Ayers. "We need to know the full extent of that relationship," he declares. Then he accuses the community organizing group ACORN of committing, potentially, "one of the greatest frauds of voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy in this country."

It is a wild accusation, not grounded in any bit of reality. Just asked Florida Gov. and McCain surrogate Charlie Christ, who says the allegation is being overblown.

Obama responds by explaining his relationship with Ayers: "Bill Ayers is a professor of education in Chicago. 40 years ago when I was eight years old he engaged in despicable acts with a domestic group. I have roundly denounced those attacks. Ten years ago he and I served on a school board funded by one of Ronald Reagan's close friends ... The fact that this has become such an important part of your campaign," he concludes, "says more about your campaign than it does me."

McCain glared and smirked during the exchange.

Here's Maude Hurd, of ACORN, responding to McCain's accusations:

"We appreciate that Senator McCain's effort to stir up the Republican base by attacking a community group that is trying to increase public participation in our democratic processes. However, these attacks reflect an increasingly panicky candidate; unfortunately the Senator McCain we saw tonight is very different than the Senator McCain who stood shoulder to shoulder with ACORN at a February 20, 2006 immigration reform event.

It is clear for us to see that John McCain was for ACORN before he was against ACORN; he was for reform before he was against reform; and he was a maverick before he became erratic. What is really going here is that Senator McCain and his allies are part of a coordinated effort to engage in what appears to be an unprecedented effort to suppress voter turnout."

Comments

[Ashoka911]

Bill Ayers, the Domestic Terrorist: During war time, under the Nixon administration, admittedly bombed the Capital Building and the Pentagon and WALKS (on a technicality) ! Has it occurred to anybody that he might have been a J Edgar Hoover agent/provocateur ? Your Mission Bill , is to infiltrate SDS and form the weather underground, and draw out the crazies so we can neutralize them ! DUH !!!!

[Sammy00400]

McCain's ACORN comments were way way way over the top. If I didnt know any better I would think he was comparing them to socialists... or communists. After all, he did use several other words and phrases that are related to the same thing.

[DMcD]

With all the "actual" pressing issues of our time , I do wish that Obama hadn't allowed McCain to "hijack" the debate with the bogus Joe-the-plumber nonsense. Similarly , I wish Obama had taken control and point-out that these trivial Acorn reports should be rightly overshadowed by the "true" threats to our voting system --- Sequoia/Di­ebold/Prem­eire.

[BarackMarley]

Here's how Obama won the Ayers issue
http://newsone.blackplanet.com/elections/top-5-ayers-counter-attacks/

Here's how Obama won the John Lewis issue
http://newsone.blackplanet.com/elections/john-lewis-vs-john-mccain/

[allicansayiswow]

From Ohio....just saw an add questioning Obama's association with Tony Rezko and others. Guess McCain the eye-roller forgot to bring those up last night? When will this be over so President Obama can get to work?!

[LHoney]

11/4

[jaydb]

ameritocracy.com featured this BS statement from mccain on its homepage! check it out and fact-check the hell out of it (and give it the lowest rating possible!)

http://ameritocracy.com/site#amcy--7eXHxP

[BannedFromCommenting]

Never heard of the site, which is a good thing, it means I never visit it! Now you just gave it advertising for free!

[TheBlackCat]

BrighterStar,
Re: your endless, factless attacks on Obama's relationship with Ayers
Have you even checked this for yourself? Have you gone to factcheck or politifact or any other non partisan fact checking website? Have you read articles from the press conferences Obama held regarding Ayers in which he talked ad nauseum about his association? Do you even know, while you call the board they worked on a socialist education board, that it was funded by multiple CONSERVATIVE organizations, including the Annenberg Foundation, and had Republican members?

No, you obviously haven't, because if you did you would see the results have cleared him time and time again. You just listen to McCain and Palin beat a dead horse and you are so gullible you think "well, Mccain said this- it must be true"

I would NEVER believe something about McCain just because someone said it was true. For instance there was a Rolling Stone article lambasting McCain, but I completely ignored ANYTHING that was just one person's word- I only paid attention to things they could back up with facts, then I checked these facts myself on military.com.

I have respect enough for democarcy to take the time and find out ON MY OWN if something is true or not. You have so little respect for democracy that you think it's okay to just believe what someone tells you because it's what you want to hear, and don't even bother to find out for yourself.

[ffny]

October 13, 2008
John McCain Was for ACORN Before He Was Against It

"Bertha Lewis, ACORN Chief Organizer:
It has deeply saddened us to see Senator McCain abandon his historic support for ACORN and our efforts to support the goals of low-income Americans. We are sure that the extremists he is trying to get into a froth will be even more excited to learn that John McCain stood shoulder to shoulder with ACORN, at an ACORN co-sponsored event, to promote immigration reform..."

McCain only anti Acorn when it doesn't work to his delight.

[fedupwithignorance]

I thought Obama did a decent job of exposing the Ayers/ACORN smears as bogus and unworthy of our attention.

I do wish he had finished his remarks with something like...

" we all, including Senator McCain have associations in our past that could be cast in a "questionable" light if the opposition is willing to distort the truth to match their intended message"

That would have opened up McCain to trying to defend his past and possibly given Obama an honorable way of bringing up McCain's own "questionable" associations.

[pavoterinde]

Huffington Post...I want this Alaska independence party looked in to ASAP. Enough of Ayers. Sarah Palin also has dirt on her hands and it also smells very unpatriotic. GET ON IT..

[BellGirl08]

HuffPo, you forgot to post the entire thing. Here's the rest from ACORN:

The Facts:

- ACORN has helped 1.3 million citizens from all parties and all walks of life apply for voter registration.

- In most states, ACORN is required by law to turn in every voter registration card -- even in cases where the cards are not valid.

- It is ACORN that has reported almost all of the issues regarding voter registration cards.

- Invalid voter registration cards do NOT constitute voter fraud. Even RNC General Counsel Sean Cairncross has recently acknowledged he is not aware of a single improper vote cast as a result of bad cards submitted in the course of an organized voter registration effort.


- ACORN hired 13,000 field workers to register people to vote. In any endeavor of this size, some people will engaged in inappropriate conduct. ACORN has a zero tolerance policy and terminated any field workers caught engaging in questionable activity. At the end of the day, as ACORN is paying these people to register voters, it is ACORN that is defrauded.

[BannedFromCommenting]

They have posted that data on many other articles, I have read them

[jpmdevildog]

Obama's got nothing to worry about, now that he's secured the mutant vote:

http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/election-08/bat-boy-backs-obatma/

Barack Obama has received the political endorsement of America’s favorite precocious mutant: Bat Boy.

“This boy is a shining example of the American dream,” Obama said at a small press conference held after the meeting.

“Coming from meager beginnings, cast out for who he is, he now enjoys the freedom and limitless possibility granted to every American.”

[lunchlady]

Why does McCain have the gall to ask Obama to repudiate Lewis, and then bring up Ayers? Doesn't he understand how transparently manipulative he looks? I'm glad Obama didn't then bring up Keating, Liddy, ROVE, Bush, and so on. It would have made him look similar to McCain- petty, fake, ridiculous, desperate. I'm actually worried about McCain's Evil Associates, but Obama's Evil Associates are fabrications.

[grizhead63]

Someone tell me why John Lewis should even be repudiated. I think the man knows hate speech when he hears it, even if its been coded in "family values" terms.

[BarackMarley]

Here's a detailed analysis on why Obama made the right decision in countering Mccain on Ayers
http://newsone.blackplanet.com/elections/top-5-ayers-counter-attacks/

Here's another on why Obama was right to defend John Lewis
http://newsone.blackplanet.com/elections/john-lewis-vs-john-mccain/

[TheBlackCat]

As an independant, I just don't understand what undecided independants are waiting for. I am a left leaning independant who almost always votes Democrat, though for local and state elections I have voted for Republican, Independent, or Green Party candidates.

Even though I am an independent, I knew I would voted Deomcrat this year for president. I knew I wanted Barack Obama to be president since the start of the primaries. McCain has been in the spotlight for years and Obama ever since his keynote address in 2004- I feel like we have had plenty of time to learn what we need to know about both candidates.

Are there any independents out there, or anyone who knows any, who could explain to me what they are waiting for to make up their minds? You've had YEARS to get to know these candidates, how are you still undecided with 3 weeks before the election? I am just really curious, as I don't know anyone personally who hasn't made up their minds months ago.

[Thecuddlyleft]

we all know why certain independents have not decided and it has nothing to do with issues. I am an independent and I vote exactly the same as you and felt the same way about BO way back in 2003 when I read his biography.

[labman]

Mccain sees his campaign circling the drain and is trying anything he can to stop it.