Something will be in the Ayers for Obama this fall

During this current presidential campaign, one thing is clear--Barack Obama does not handle criticism well--and he's asking not to be picked on. Which is unfortunate for Illinois' junior senator, as he's going to get a lot jabs this fall--and this summer as well, as Robert Novak reports:

Obama embraced that formula once it became clear that he would best Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. He began pounding McCain for seeking the third term of George W. Bush. At the same time, Obama implores McCain in the interest of "one nation" and "one people" not to attack him. The shorthand, widely repeated by the news media, is that the Republican candidate must not "Swift Boat" Obama. That amounts to unilateral political disarmament by McCain.

McCain is not about to disarm. His campaign has no intention of fighting this battle on Democratic turf. During the more than five months ahead, Republicans will explore the mindset of this young man who is a stranger to most Americans. That includes his association with the Chicago leftist William Ayers, who has remained unrepentant about his violent role as a 1960s radical. This will not be popular with McCain's erstwhile admirers in the mainstream news media, but America has not heard the last of Bill Ayers in this campaign.

Up above is the Hyde Park two-flat Ayers shares with his wife, the equally unrepentant ex-terrorist Bernardine Dohrn. In one of his first State Senate campaign stops in 1995, Obama's predecessor, whom he later turned against, brought the future Cult of Change leader to that three-flat above--as the pair sought approval for Obama's move to the Statehouse.

Obama served on the board of the Woods Fund for several years, and participated in a few panel discussions with Ayers, and one with Dohrn.

And about that "Bush third term" charge Obama has been making lately against John McCain. A little bit of information for you, Senator: President Bush and McCain are not personally or politically close.

H/T to Cal Skinner with the McHenry County Blog for the Novak column.

Related post:

KEEPING THE STORY ALIVE: A COLLECTION OF POSTS ON BILL AYERS AND THE "WEATHER UNDERGROUND"

Technorati tags: democrats Barack Obama Obama Politics Bill Ayers terrorism Weather Underground Left Wing Extremists Chicago media John McCain McCain Republican GOP Bernardine Dohrn Alice Palmer Robert Novak