Read more reactions from Huffington Post bloggers to ABC's Pennsylvania Democratic debate
During Wednesday night's Pennsylvania debate, George Stephanopoulos didn't flinch from trying to smear Barack Obama by association with former 60's radical Bill Ayers. Too bad George didn't ask Hillary about her own summer spent working for a law firm run by Communists.
The facts: Obama met with former Weather Underground radical Ayers and his wife, former 60's SDS leader Bernardine Dohrn, at a 1995 Chicago meeting. From 1999-2002, Obama served on the board of a charity organization with Ayers that gave out a couple of grants. Now, I knew these Weathermen folks back in the 60's, and they were quite unsavory then. There were plenty of us who were in SDS at that time who thought the Weathermen were despicable. And, frankly, I have no particular affection for them now. I found Ayers' memoir, published in 2001, to be execrable.
But by the time Obama met them in the 90's, they had cleared their violent past with the criminal justice system, they had served their punishment, gone back to school and by then become legitimate and even respected educators, and players in Chicago liberal politics.
When Ayers and Dohrn were running amuck advocating violent revolution, Obama was literally eight years old.
Compare and contrast those facts with Hillary's own association with 60's radicals. In the summer of 1969, when Hillary was just entering Yale Law School, she went to work for the foremost radical law firm in, yes, Berkeley. Carl Bernstein recounts the episode in his Hillary biography of last year titled "A Woman in Charge."
This is what Bernstein told interviewer Jon Wiener last summer:
"That summer she went to work at the most important radical law firm in America at that point: Treuhaft, Walker and Bernstein in Oakland. They defended the Panthers. Two of their partners were members of the Communist Party--including Bob Treuhaft, who was married to Jessica Mitford. I talked to Bob Treuhaft not long before he died, and he said he was certain that Hillary came there because she subscribed to some of the kind of law they practiced and the kind of clients they defended. In her so-called autobiography, "Living History," she put in a couple of sentences about living in Berkeley with Bill that summer and working at that law firm, but she makes it sound like their work focused on postal rate increases. There's not a word about radicals."
I have no desire to flesh out any of this information as my position is simple. Every one deserves the best legal defense possible, and I have no problem with Hillary having worked for a law firm run by Communists and engaged in defending Huey Newton and other radicals accused of killing cops and other violent acts.
But the hypocrisy by Clinton on this matter and the acrobatic cherry-picking by Stephanopoulos are simply staggering.
Read more reactions from Huffington Post bloggers to ABC's Pennsylvania Democratic debate
This is similar to the lie about Bill Clinton pardoning the two women of the Weathermen. He did NOT pardon them. Their sentences were commuted, there is a big difference if you can understand it. They had served over 15 years of a 40 and 58 years sentence which was FAR more than the average time for their crime of transporting explosives. I suppose you are in favor of increasing prison time for political offenses too. Go back to the GOP or stop buying into their lies.
If McCain sat on a board with a Nazi, it would be a real scandal and it would be wrong. The same standard applies to our candidates as well Ayers is an unrepentent terrorist, Stalinist, elitist, and totalitarian today. THAT is the problem. I remember when it was a big scandal if a candidate belonged to an all white country club which was not illegal or even necessarily racist. Sitting on a board and accepting support from such people as Ayers is today is a bad act and is a legitimate indicator of Obama's lack of sense.
Obama was 6 - 8 years old when Ayers was protesting the war. When McCain was 6 - 8 years old some of his future partners in the US Senate were in the KKK. And he later served on boards and in commitees with these admitted former racists.
Would a thinking person not hold McCain "just as responciple" for the long past crimes of his "future" associates as the right wants to hold Obama for his "sins" as a child?
Think people!
Now if either one of their pizza boys, pool boys, maids, or accountants of these fine Americans is found to have committed a crime in he past ... or in the near future, I am sure that will tip the scales of "justice" and the results of this election .
Was that the firm that defended the murder suspects in the Black Panther Shackley (I am not sure of the spelling) torture and murder? Yes, it was said that Hillary did work there.
All of that was a long time ago. But, they shouldn't try and use things against Obama unless they want things to come back at them.
Do they not own their law books? Do they have to apply to the Ministry of Reproduction to get a copy made? Does Writing Implement Factory #3 supply their pencils?
The mere fact that they were attorneys acting as an adversary against the government belies they're being Communists. By leftists work for the state.
Some posters on here are blaming conservative news meda outlets for not reporting this. If they had would any of us have listened???
Why didn't the so-called liberal news media outlets not report it? Wheter we agree with the choiced she has made or not, at least the truth would be out there.
This is what I cannot stand about the Clintons. When they were young they embraced the far left. Once they went on to run for public office they hid their past alliances and the press (liberal and conservative) helped them to do it.
But, I doubt that Hillary and Bill would have been elected dog catcher with the stances they took in their Yale years.
Hillary said her grandfather worked in a lace factory in Scranton until he retired. Was he "working the line" all that time, as she implied? Does anyone have the skinny on Mr. Rodham's work history?
Death by innuendo and association.
And if that doesn't kill them - then dig into their PARENTS PAST.
Yeah, that's it - - - - the SINS of the fathers WILL visit the children, and THEY will be made to PAY
Another good one is, "Whenever you point the finger of blame at another, there are always three fingers pointing back at you".
Ofcourse, what is true is that neither Clinton or Obama have given us any evidence that their politics are reflective of those contacts they've had in their younger years.
Let's remember folks, that no matter what, we cannot have another Republican as president. Especially not one as conservative as McCain.
Neither Hillary nor Barack is any kind of saint. They ARE human, after all. But, come on, people, there should be a time limit -- for both politicians and the media -- as to how far back into a candidate's past one should be allowed to go to try and smear someone who's running for elective office. Come on! The '60s?!? For Pete's sake! Geez! While they're at it, how about going back to their childhoods for some "dirt.." Did Barack cheat at marbles on the school playground? If Hillary ran for student body president in high school and won, did she rig the election? SHEESH!! Give me a break!