Gloves Off? Anti-Obama Ad References 9/11

By: John Bentley
Topics: John McCain

(CBS)

From CBS News' John Bentley:

(SEDONA, ARIZ.) – The gloves are coming off.

That's the word from the McCain campaign as two new ads attacking Barack Obama were released today after Obama criticized McCain for not knowing how many houses he owned.

The American Issue Project, a non-profit conservative organization, released an ad today linking Obama to William Ayers, a former member of the 1960s radical group the Weather Underground, which conducted bombings of the Pentagon and the Capitol 40 years ago. A co-founder of the group, Ayers is now a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago and served on a charity board with Obama.

The ad begins, "United 93 never hit the Capitol on 9/11. But the Capitol was bombed thirty years before - By an American terrorist group called Weather Underground that declared 'war' on the U.S."

Obama has said he "deplored" the actions of Ayers and the group, and his campaign called the ad "despicable."

"The fact that John McCain dispatched his paid consultant to launch this despicable ad from a so-called 'independent' committee shows how desperate he is to change the subject from his shocking disconnect with the economic struggles of the American people," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

"Instead of invoking Paris, Britney and obscure sixties radicals, Sen. McCain should take the day off at one of his seven homes to consider whether his support for outsourcing, tax breaks for companies who ship jobs overseas and continued spending of $10 billion a month in Iraq is really putting 'country first.'"

Also today, the McCain campaign released an ad that says a convicted felon helped Obama buy his home in Chicago, referring to former Obama fundraiser Tony Rezko. Obama has said it was a mistake to deal with Rezko, but none of the corruption charges that Rezko was convicted on are related to Obama or his home.

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by caliguy55 August 23, 2008 3:51 PM EDT: McSame has no room to talk. His sordid adulterous affair with Sindy, while waiting for his divorce from his crippled wife, and his participation in the "Keating 5" scandal are certainly not anything to brag about.

And then we have: Ralph Reed was a no-show at a fund-raiser for John McCain Monday evening, following nearly a week of considerable drama surrounding his involvement in the senator%u2019s campaign.

The Republican candidate had come under fire for associating with Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition who fell from grace after his involvement with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. McCain was one of the leaders of the investigation of Abramoff%u2019s lobbying activities that led to his imprisonment. Reed was never charged.

By many accounts, Reed injected himself into the recent debate. He sent an email to friends announcing his participation in the fund raiser, which he says was a call for more support. Others took it as an assertion of his involvement with the campaign, going so far as to insinuate he was hosting the event.; Reply to this comment


by misha128-2009 August 23, 2008 2:48 PM EDT: WellHell3 - I agree with you but now for the "REST OF THE STORY"

The price of freedom is not cheap in lives or $''''s. We got rid of some 20,000 plus terrorists in Iraq! (because the Bushies ran the war on a shoe string and failed to close the Iraqi borders to terrorists and allowed theft of munitions, supplies and other assets to subsidize terrorist efforts) Those were the people who were killing their own people! (largely already controlled with no fly zones and protections for the Kurds) NOT US soldiers! (right)

Good job to our troops and generals! (but the burden of failure falls on the Bushies and the oversold capabilities and underdelivered results of the State Department based on the benchmarks Bushie 43 signed into law and the lack of success for most of the benchmarks and lack of measurable progress for many of the benchmarks); Reply to this comment


by aj4321-2009 August 23, 2008 5:14 AM EDT: I wondered for some time why McCain is suddenly so interested in nuclear energy. "MY FRIENDS", we have an answer. Harold Simmons, the guy who is a financiar for this ad will make "billions" by dumping those nuclear waste in West Texas. Who says old style political back-scratching is dead?; Reply to this comment


by wellhell3 August 23, 2008 12:49 AM EDT: Obscamma has mentored himself old anti-American Marxists like Rev. WRONG and Ayers and Farrakhan, including funding members of the PLO and ACORN through the Woods Fund!

Obscamma is not fit to be POTUS!; Reply to this comment


by wellhell3 August 23, 2008 12:47 AM EDT: Posted by Mattcat25 at 02:26 PM : Aug 22, 2008

The price of freedom is not cheap in lives or $''s. We got rid of some 20,000 plus terrorists in Iraq! Those were the people who were killing their own people! NOT US soldiers!

Good job to our troops and generals!

Bringing the terrorists out of the mountains of Afghanistan into the desert of Iraq was a brilliant move and pro''bly saved thousands of our troops lives!

Now''s let''s finish the job and get the rest of the Islamofast bastwards that think they can get their jollies off murdering Americans whose only crime was getting up and going to work in a tall building that morning!; Reply to this comment


by shylove2 August 22, 2008 10:37 PM EDT: Well War and fighting are not the way to wage policy. In fact they fuel the anger and descention of defeat. We as a species on this planet need to learn how to use our minds more effectively. The genetic heritage we have of struggle for survival, aggression, tribalism and nationalism are not effective for planetization. If our political process is going to be ruled by winners and losers then we all lose. Taking off the gloves is a neanderthal world and our nostalgia for that is a return to the cave. If we do not learn how to utilize our minds then we may as a species lose our right to exist. We might listen more to the Dalai Lama and less to our hatred and anger.; Reply to this comment


by misha128-2009 August 22, 2008 8:16 PM EDT: With AG Mulkasey and the Supreme Court saying Bush''s transfer of detainees to Gitmo gave them access to the US courts and possible release in the US -- SO WE CAN FIGHT THEN HERE INSTEAD OF OVER THERE!! the Administration and the DOJ in congressional hearings having no recommendations how to draft a law to stop this McCain is the last person I want as President -- at least give the Democrats a chance to save us from Bush'' hundreds of worse-than-Willie-Horton-terrorists that can potentially be released in the US instead of letting McCain continue the Bush incompetence complacency allowing the terrorists to enter the US at the court''s direction.; Reply to this comment


by chancelast August 22, 2008 7:49 PM EDT: Obama is completely incapable of running our country. We can only hope that McCain can pull it off.
BTW buddyboy I like the website; Reply to this comment


by fjbuddyboy1 August 22, 2008 7:34 PM EDT: I heard of this website called pushdc.com where you have the ability to affect real change. Some of you may want to make your voices heard.; Reply to this comment


by truthchecker August 22, 2008 6:59 PM EDT: Think about this, the truly scary candidate for President of the U.S. is John McCain. This man is well known on Capitol Hill as a HOTHEAD who often loses his temper. Now this is TRULY SCARY: a senior citizen HOTHEAD as commander-in-chief---President of the United States!; Reply to this comment