In a Letter to the Editor in today's New York Times, William C. Ibershof, chief prosecutor of William Ayers and the Weather Underground in the 1970s, expressed outrage that McCain/Palin are deliberately misleading the public about the nature of Ayers' history in relation to Barack Obama's charitable work in Chicago.
The chief prosecutor wrote of those events that brought Ayers to trial 40 years ago: "Although I dearly wanted to obtain convictions against all the Weathermen, including Bill Ayers, I am very pleased . . . that he has become a responsible citizen." In the 40 years since those radical activities, which occurred when Obama was eight years old, Ayers has gone on to become a productive citizen, helping to promote public education, and even earning the distinction of Chicago's Citizen of the Year for his charitable work. William C. Ibershof also corrects a charge in the Times: "I do take issue with the statement in your news article that the Weathermen indictment was dismissed because of 'prosecutorial misconduct.' It was dismissed because of illegal activities, including wiretaps, break-ins and mail interceptions, initiated by John N. Mitchell, attorney general at that time, and W. Mark Felt, an F.B.I. assistant director."
And so, upon what, exactly, are McCain/Palin basing their muckraking and slander?
When McCain/Palin come to Waukesha and throw around terms like "palling around with terrorists," they are resorting to the lowest form of fearmongering. And when the conservative audiences in Waukesha and Ohio shout slogans and chants such as "Kill him!" "Kill him!" and "Off with his head!" and "Treason!" and "Terrorist!" while McCain, sits back and smiles, what are we to think of his integrity, his sense of ethics, his sense of justice and fair play? McCain evidently no longer has any of these qualities. What on earth has happened to John McCain?
Was this a Republican rally, or a Ku Klux Klan rally? From certain reports I have heard, one could hardly tell the difference.