Ayers On GMA - Still Lying

Chris Cuomo of Good Morning America delivers a faux-tough interview of Bill Ayers but hadn't done enough homework to know when Ayers was lying to him.

I lack a transcript but early in the interview (from -5:52 to -5:30) Ayers avers that he first met Obama at a campaign kick-off which occurred in the second half of 1995.  That bit of posturing had briefly been the official Team Obama position as well but was abandoned when it became clear that Obama and Ayers had worked together on the Chicago Annenberg Challenge in the first half of 1995.

A bit later in the interview Ayers backpedals and volunteers that he had served on a board to with Obama prior to the campaign event but at no point did "reporter" Chris Cuomo challenge him with specific facts.  Cuomo limited his toughness to an abstract defense of the public's right to understand Obama's friendships as part of evaluating Obama's character.  (Ayers claimed that this was guilt by association.)

One day Ayers may encounter a reporter who has researched the material and is interested in pushing for the truth.  But this was not that day.

Comments

[TCO]

Who cares about Bill Ayers? Shit, we have trillions of dollars heading out of the Treasury.

[boris]

Figures TuCO (the ugly) can't see the connection.

[Steven W.]

I remember a persistent reporter did catch up with him before the election ... and Ayers ran away + hid and called the police on them ;)

[MayBee]

As I understand it, Obama only knows Ayers because their kids go to the same school. Same with the Khalidis.

I really want to see that LA Times tape.

[Barney Frank]

Who cares about Bill Ayers? Shit, we have trillions of dollars heading out of the Treasury.

As the Romans and countless other civilizations have learned, and as fundamentalist libertarians seem constitutionally unable to ever learn, prosperity waxes and wanes, but when a nation loses its public virtues (such as imprisoning or executing traitors like Ayers, rather than selecting leaders who pal around with them) it seldom gets them back and seldom last too long.

[Captain Hate]

I like how Ayers talks about the great work he and Obammy did with the schools, where they stayed terrible, and his community organizing, where the community got worse. Tell me again why I should donate money to colleges. And will some interviewer ever ask Ayers about the Vietnamese boat people who fled the workers' paradise that he feels so positively about compared to the USA?

Ayers is the banality of evil.

[MayBee]

Who cares about Bill Ayers? Shit, we have trillions of dollars heading out of the Treasury.

We must only discuss one thing at a time!
Ayers gives us a peek into what Obama finds it important to spend money on. It will be Obama watching over that Treasury soon. Will he spend with Social Justice in mind?

[MayBee]

Bill Ayers also gives us a peek into how Obama operates. It's obvious he will lie to protect himself. It's obvious he can get other people to lie to protect Obama.

Just know that.

[kim]

Bill the Brute?
========

[Sue]

It has begun

Remarks against Obama probed

[Cecil Turner]

Anybody who doesn't understand how Ayers and the social justice agenda (i.e., "spread the wealth around") plays into a trillion dollars escaping the treasury just hasn't been paying attention. Still waiting for "the One" to come up with a plausible plan to address the underlying problem . . . or even to give back some of the bribe money he took from the perpetrators (instead of possibly rewarding them with jobs in his administration).

And the bigger issue is that the resulting credit crisis is choking out the economic engine that puts money back into the treasury. But I'm sure our compliant media will explain to us that the Dem "more of the same" plan will fix it all . . . or if it doesn't, at least how it was all Bush's fault.

[kim]

Obama Jones, you better... watch your speed.
===========================

[Lori]

I'm beginning to realize that most people in this world are just plain stupid. From congressmen to wall streeters to journalists.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

What Cecil said.

We are in this financial mess because people named Munnell, Frank, Dodd, Schumer.... used their bully pulpits to browbeat financial institutions to lend money they otherwise wouldn't have, to people who couldn't pay them back. If Obama shares Bill Ayers' outlook, he'll likely give the country another ticking time bomb that will explode in a decade or two.

[Louise]

Some are you are still so racist you just sit back and try to digup shit and call people out of their names. You need to get a life yourself and try to do something positive. Who cares about Bill Ayers.

[The Other Ed]

I think the most telling point of the interview was Ayers saying that he and Obama worked together not on Ayer's radical politics of the past but on "civic and educational" issues. Their relationship had nothing to do with Ayer's history, just their mutual interest in Chicago's future.

He also broke down the meme that Obama "launched his career" at his house. He acknowledged holding one of maybe 20 coffees that Obama had as he started his State Senate campaign. I guess all 20 homeowners "launched" Obama's career. Maybe we should vet the last 40 year history of all 20 of them?

[The Other Ed]

In other words, this was just a campaign issue. There isn't a lot of substance there.

[boris]

still so racist ...

It's called Affirmative Obamunism.

Get used to it.

[PrestoPundit]

Cuomo knew just as much as he wanted to know.

A large segment of the "mainstream" left has been blocking for the killer left for going on 5 generations.

It isn't going to end now.

[willem]

Remember the book "The Bell Curve" warned about the talent problem as society and technology become more complex.

That's the biggest problem in today's financial crisis. Poor quality of talent in the culture of banking. The Banking culture that built our society is practically non-existent. The wrong talents have become dominant and the dysfunction they presided over, normalized; both masked and selected for by regulation. I'm not saying regulations are bad, just that they select for a particular pathology which is typically left unmanaged. Stir in unions and that also describes our auto industry.

The best example of this talent crisis: Congress and the two political parties. A near-frozen stew of eunuchs, psychopaths and predators has congealed with tumoresque certainty around our organs of government power. The obstructionism, vanity and insipid moralism of self-loathing "failed giants" like William Ayers.

[PrestoPundit]

"Bill Ayers also gives us a peek into how Obama operates. It's obvious he will lie to protect himself. It's obvious he can get other people to lie to protect Obama."

And we know that the press corp with participate in the whole thing.

Rather sick, but there it is.

[Pofarmer]

It's racist to dispute Bill Ayers?

Really?

Why don't you look at something like graduation rates before and after CAC.

[MayBee]

If Obama shares Bill Ayers' outlook, he'll likely give the country another ticking time bomb that will explode in a decade or two.

He wants to do this with insurance. Insurance companies will not be able to turn away people that are already in need of treatment while he also tries to mandate low premiums.

[Steve Diamond]

I just watched it and Ayers says they first met while engaged in education and job loss issues in Chicago. While that is arguably vague, it was in 1987 and 1988 that Obama was working on job loss issues on the south side as well as school reform. In 1995 the issue was only education.

Clearly, if Ayers wanted to "clear the air" he could have simply said "we met on such and such date, and we saw each x number of times since then and that's all." He never does that, Obama never does that, and, unfortunately, even though the GMA interviewer was better than those who interviewed Obama on this issue, the press never nails him down.

Of course, now we have the dueling comments by Ayers that keep up the ambiguity: family friend or professional colleague?

There is only one reason to keep the answer ambiguous: the relationship is deeper and close than either Ayers or Obama want to admit.

While I would like to know the answer, we may never know. Frankly, Ayers comes across in the GMA interview as such a dissembling air head on a political level - once again trying to justify his destruction of the anti-war movement as actually helping end the war and therefore of some relevance to those who today are concerned about the war on terror - that it is just as likely he will sink from the scene altogether. Fine by me.

[Bill in AZ]

Some are you are still so racist you just sit back and try to digup shit and call people out of their names. You need to get a life yourself and try to do something positive. Who cares about Bill Ayers.

We demand coherent trolls. C'mon ax, you can send better... or can you?

[Captain Hate]

call people out of their names.

What does this mean, Louise, other than as an illustration of how illiterate you are? Did you learn this in one of those great Chicago schools that D'ohbammy and Billy Bombthrower made worse? Have fun trolling around and revealing your stupidity while telling other people they "need to get a life".

[jeanedcrusader]

I know... where is the LA Times tape? We all have questions about the illuminati prez that the reporters aren't asking. I guess they are waiting until after he's inaugurated to break the story... It's just so much more fun that way.

[romath]

Earth to Tom Maguire: If you knew the slightest thing about political activity or the way foundation or nonprofit boards work, you'd immediately recognize Ayers comments as wholly plausible. What is a campaign kickoff but a gathering of some-sized group of people? Obama was bouncing from one gathering to another that day, hosted by lots of different people; big deal. As for boards, members rarely see each other between meetings or organization events unless they have some other connection (usually another organization), which beyond passing in the street you haven't claimed. But all this obviously isn't your interest at all. You're fighting another war, perhaps still the Vietnam War among others, and the peripheral Ayers-Obama connection is now just a foil for it. Get a life.

[ljm]

Oh the i-r-o-n-y. Ayers doesn't believe in guilt by association.

This guy who planted bombs... ya know...bombs, those laser like instuments of destruction that take out the "guilty," and only the "guilty."

The WU planned to plant nail bombs - nail bombs - for G-d's sake at a soldier's dance. The potentially devastating plot only derailed because the bombs killed the perps.

But NOW Ayer's takes umbrage at anyone questioning Obama's associations.

To complete the irony, Ayers's is NOW making the media rounds to PROMOTE his book.

Yes, Ayers is absolutely tone deaf to irony.

[clarice]

Cuomo's no different than most tv interviewers/commentators. Except for hard workers like Greta (or on radio, Rush) they do little more than clip and read what their producers hand them. Most of these producers are young and not particularly well-educated journo types who simply don't know or care how to properly prepare for an interview like this. The thing is to book a big name, blahblahblah and drive up ratings.

[MayBee]

ljm -
So true!
He also is telling us it is wrong to question whether those in authority are keeping secrets from us: "This idea that we need to know more -- like there's some dark, hidden secret link -- is just a myth,"

Trust authority! Don't question it. Anyone that wants you to ask questions is just trying to scare you.
He.

[Ray]

The question you should ask yourself is, under what criteria would you believe anything anyone says?

As far as you're concerned it's obvious and clear that no matter what Ayers says he is lying.

That's the reason you should continue to support universities, so they can still teach classes in logic.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Bill Ayers on ABC Video

[ljm]

Ayer's worldview is incredibly immature and naive. As result, I believe, of his priviledged upbringing and the fact that he has never been held accountable for his actions. Quite the contrary the man has been rewarded. At least until now...he decries the treatment he has received from the blogosphere.

Theodore Kaszinski and Mark Hoffman are rotting in prison and Ayer's is writing books, chairing boards, teaching the youth of America and chatting it up on talk shows.

At the vary least, I would expect, Pres. elect BHO to condemn that glaring contradiction of the system.

[sbw]

Romath, do you suppose casual meetings happened at 115 S. Sangamon Street, Chicago? You know, the same floor where Obama chaired the Chicago Annenberg Challenge and Bill Ayers had his Small schools office?

How do you suppose Obama got the CAC chair job? Suppose that Bill Ayers, who engineered the grant, was influential?

Ya know, Romath, ignorance can foster such irate comments... and your comments are needlessly irate.

[Magic Dog]

Earth to Wingnuts: No one cares!

[sbw]

Maybee: Trust authority! Don't question it.

Maybee, that is brilliant! To reverse the never-trust-authority disease that launched the Weather Underground in the days of nasty Democrats like LBJ is the perfect pie in the face for liberal know-nothings.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

I'd like to see Obama answer his own questionaire:

"Have you ever had any association with any person, group or business venture that could be used--even unfairly--to impugn or attack your character and qualifications for government service?" (page 7, question 61).

Let's see, there are his father and mother, Frank Marshall Davis, the Marxist professors at Occidental, his pastor, his entire neighborhood....

[ljmwilliamson@yahoo.com]

No one cares Magic Dog?

Apparently somebody does, how else can you explain Ayers on ABC and the small fact that you clicked on this thread.

[Sue]

Earth to Wingnuts: No one cares!

Sad, isn't it? No one cares that the president-elect pals around with unrepentant domestic terrorists, but everyone, and I mean everyone, cared that George W. Bush knew Ken Lay. Strange how this all works, huh?

[PeterUK]

"He acknowledged holding one of maybe 20 coffees that Obama had as he started his State Senate campaign. I guess all 20 homeowners "launched" Obama's career."

Ayers hosted the first,thus started the ball rolling on Obama's political career.
About politics,a cardinal rule,be careful who you associate with,later it might come back and bite your arse.Second research your associates,for the above reason.
As for logic,if there is nothing to hide why dissemble ?
Very odd,is it not,that it is possible to be on a board that disburses some $150 million with a guy who lives in your neighbourhood without saying,"Hey are you the same Bill Ayers that is on my board"?
Stretches credulity does it not.
Why if the Obama/Ayers connection is so unimportant are so many, hitherto unknown trolls popping up like toadstools on a turd?

[PeterUK]

"Earth to Wingnuts: No one cares!"

Obviously you care Magic Dog, why else would you crawl out of the swamp to comment here?

[Extraneus]

It's heart-warming that they'd take the time away from basking in the glow just to come here and scream "Get a life!" so that we don't waste any of our effort on a non-story.

[Extraneus]

Speaking of arses, Peter, did you see Iowahawk's new gig?

[PeterUK]

Extraneus,
Obviously it is a scandal of great import to the left,that such even such lowly minions of the sinister should gibber forth from the ooze.If such dimwits are perturbed, then imagine the consternation amongst leftoids with an IQ larger that their penis size?

[PeterUK]

The first "such" is redundant,please retain it for a future posting whence it is omitted.

[ljm]

I wonder how many of us have attended a coffe clache at a terrorist's home.

There is a woman in my neighborhood who I have heard make anti-semetic remarks. I'm not ding dong ditching her house but I wouldn't consider giving so much as a Tupperware party with her either.

[Extraneus]

But of course.

I guess the problem is that they've spent so long dishonestly calling Bush dishonest, only to face the inconvenient truth that their new hero's foot fits right into that little glass slipper...well that must sting a bit.

After all, Obama did lie about Ayers.

[clarice]

Iowahawk's funny in any language..

[peter]

Did Cuomo ask Ayers if he was the ghost writer of Dreams From My Father? There really is a compelling argument to be made that the authors of both books are one and the same.