OBAMA SHOULD PUT AYERS ISSUE TO REST

Wrote following column on Oct. 15, 2008

OBAMA SHOULD PUT AYERS ISSUE TO REST TONIGHT

By Martin Zabell

I hope John McCain brings up William Ayers at tonight’s debate so Barack Obama can put this inane issue to rest once and for all. He should say something like the following.

"I’m glad you’ve given me a chance to talk about William Ayers.

"I met Ayers in 1995 when he was an Education professor at the University of Illinois. I knew him only as an Education professor and knew absolutely nothing about his life history.

"It would have been a dereliction of my duty as a state senator to not work with Ayers on Education issues. Everyone interested in reforming and improving Chicago’s educational system worked with Ayers on educational issues – Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, civic leaders and business executives.

"By saying that I’m a pal of terrorists for working with Ayers you’re insulting not only me, but dozens, maybe hundreds, of people in Illinois who want to improve the education of children. Your insulting guilt-by-association game has impugned the integrity of the leaders of many institutions that supported work Ayers was involved with, including the Chicago Symphony, Loyola University, Northwestern University, the Chicago Children’s Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum, and the Logan Square Neighborhood Association.

"You have also insulted the integrity of the late Walter Annenberg, a longtime conservative Republican who funded the projects Ayers worked on, was once the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, and was close friends with your hero Ronald Reagan.

"I learned about Ayers’ activities in the 1960s a few years after I met him. I was a child in the 1960s. The individual who told me about Ayers’ history said it was impressive how he turned his life around and became an outstanding contributor to the civic life of Chicago. In 1997, the city of Chicago named Ayers its "Citizen of the Year."

"I learned in 2001 that Ayers said he had no regrets about his 1960s activities. I condemned him and have pledged that I would no longer work with him. He has zero role in my campaign or my plans for the future.

"You and Sarah Palin should apologize for talking about Ayers instead of talking about issues that Americans care about. You should also apologize for impugning the integrity of all of those people who have worked with Ayers on educational issues and were unfamiliar with his detestable ideas on American government."