Obama's other radical friends: Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn

You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows
Bob Dylan, "Subterranean Homesick Blues," 1965

Obama has other creepy friends. Call it guilt by association, but like Tony Rezko, the Rev. Wright, former Weather Underground terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn figure into Obama's past. I don't know where they fit into his present--perhaps not at all. Guilty by association perhaps, but for whatever reason, Obama has some pretty interesting associations.

From Ben Smith of Politico on February 26:

I didn't get to ask Obama about his relationship with Bill Ayers today, but did ask his chief strategist (and reigning expert on Chicago's political tribes), David Axelrod, about the two men.

"Bill Ayers lives in his neighborhood. Their kids attend the same school," he said. "They're certainly friendly, they know each other, as anyone whose kids go to school together."

He called Ayers current defense of his 1960s bombings "objectionable, and I think Barack would also say that was objectionable. I don't think he's ever had an in-depth discussion [with Ayers] about them."

Ayers' kids are adults, Obama's daughters are six and nine. Axelrod got the part about the kids wrong, which is why Obama, not Axelrod, should be answering these inquiries--Yes, I know presidential candidates have to ration their time--well, maybe Mike Gravel doesn't, but unless he's forced into a corner with no other way out, Obama has a noticeable pattern of avoiding situations where he might be asked tough questions.

After State Senator Alice Palmer announced she wasn't running for re-election (she later changed her mind) so she could run for Congress, she brought Obama around to the homes of prominent residents in her district--including the graystone of Ayers and Dohrn, who are now both tenured university professors. In 2001, Ayers donated $200 to Obama's State Senate campaign fund, and the two served together on the board of The Woods Fund. Interestingly, The Woods Fund invested $1 million into a partnership run by Allison S. Davis, a former boss at the law firm Obama once worked and a contributor to his campaigns.

From RezkoWatch last month:

In November 1997, Ayers and Obama participated in a panel at the University of Chicago entitled "Should a child ever be called a 'super predator?'" to debate "the merits of the juvenile justice system".

In April 2002, Ayers, Dohrn, and Obama, then an Illinois state senator, participated together at a conference entitled "Intellectuals: Who Needs Them?" sponsored by The Center for Public Intellectuals and the University of Illinois-Chicago. Ayers and Obama were two of the six members of the "Intellectuals in Times of Crisis" panel.

Obama's ties to Rezko and Wright are far deeper. But he needs to explain to the voters where he stands on Ayers and Dohrn, two unrepentant former terrorists.

So speak up, Obama, about Ayers and Dohrn. You. Not Axelrod, not Bill Burton.

UPDATE 10:15 PM: While trolling Technorati, I noticed that John Stephenson of Stop The ACLU covers much of the same territory, and more, in this post.

Related posts:

Bill Ayers watch: New York, March 24-28
It was thirty eight years ago yesterday...
Weather Underground's 2008 Tragical History Tour
SDS' 1968 Tragical History Tour
Obama visited home of ex-Weather Underground terrorists in '90s
Obama's Bill Ayers problem
Jonah Goldberg: Left wing terrorists never have to say "sorry"
Axelrod throws Ayers ball on ex-terrorist
University of Illinois at Chicago's Bill Ayers: Not a jarhead
The Weather Underground and Ward Churchill-UPDATED!
Bernardine Dohrn watch
David Horowitz says you should know about Bernardine Dohrn and William Ayers
Moron Professor Bill Ayers
More on Bill Ayers' wife, Bernadine Dohrn
Update on another campus radical: Bill Ayers of the Weather Underground

Technorati tags: democrats Barack Obama Obama Politics Bill Ayers terrorism Weather Underground Left Wing Extremists Bernardine Dohrn Jeremiah Wright Tony Rezko