Now that Sarah Palin has made Barack Obama's history with William Ayers front and center in the campaign the mainstream media is doing their best to ignore some of the more explosive aspects of Ayers' past. On Monday's "Today" show NBC's Andrea Mitchell merely identified Ayers as a "sixties radical" and cited the New York Times as dismissing the Obama connection as, "the two men do not appear to have been close."
As the following excerpt shows, Mitchell conveniently forgot to mention the reason Palin and others regard Ayers as a terrorist, the fact the he, as a part of the Weather Underground, actually bombed police stations and the Pentagon.
Palin was referring to William Ayers, a sixties radical, now a Chicago education professor. In 1995 Ayers hosted a coffee for Obama, then a state senate candidate. The New York Times reported this weekend that, "the two men do not appear to have been close." And the Obama campaign says they have not spoken since Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Mitchell, continuing the trend she started last week, also aired portions of "Saturday Night Live," that mocked Palin but didn't bother to excerpt any of the moments that made fun of the Democratic ticket.
Story Continues Below Ad ↓MITCHELL: Her high energy performance after two faltering network news interviews reassured some concerned Republicans but not her critics.
[BEGIN "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE CLIP"]
TINA FEY AS PALIN: Can I call you Joe?
JASON SUDEIKIS PLAYING BIDEN: Of course.
FEY: Okay because I practiced a couple of zingers where I call you Joe.
SUDEIKIS: Okay great.
[END CLIP]
MITCHELL: Palin's style and substance were skewered again on "Saturday Night Live."
[BEGIN "SNL" CLIP]
FEY: We are not afraid to get mavericky in there and ruffle feathers and not got to allow that and also to, the great Ronald Reagan.
[END CLIP]
The following is the full segment as it aired on the October 6, "Today" show:
ANN CURRY: Now to the race for the White House and the presidential election just 29 days away and both campaigns are launching some very tough attacks. NBC's Andrea Mitchell has the latest on this. Andrea, good morning.
[On screen headline: "'Heels Are On, Gloves Come Off,' Palin Steps Up Attacks On Obama."]
ANDREA MITCHELL: Good morning, Ann. The economic crisis has shifted the political map in Barack Obama's favor. So now John McCain's campaign has signaled it wants to turn the focus off the economy and on what it claims are character issues about Obama. With less than 30 days to go the heat started coming from the Republicans and Sarah Palin.
SARAH PALIN: Okay now the heels are on, the gloves come off! Okay!
MITCHELL: As John McCain stayed home to prepare for this week's second presidential debate Palin led the charge against Barack Obama.
PALIN: Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country.
MITCHELL: Palin was referring to William Ayers, a sixties radical, now a Chicago education professor. In 1995 Ayers hosted a coffee for Obama, then a state senate candidate. The New York Times reported this weekend that, "the two men do not appear to have been close." And the Obama campaign says they have not spoken since Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate. That's not the way Palin describes it.
PALIN: I thin it's fair to talk about where Barack Obama kicked off his political career, in the guy's living room.
MITCHELL: At a rally in North Carolina, Sunday, Obama hit back.
BARACK OBAMA: His campaign has announced that they plan to, and I quote, "Turn the page on the discussion about our economy," and spend the final weeks of this campaign launching swift boat-style attacks on me.
MITCHELL: And online today his campaign is trying to link McCain's involvement in the Keating Five S&L scandal two decades ago, to the current banking crisis. McCain was cleared of wrongdoing but cited for poor judgment. But since Palin's big debate with Joe Biden, she, not McCain, has been the public face of the Republican ticket.
PALIN: Hey can I call you Joe?
JOE BIDEN: You can call me Joe.
MITCHELL: Her high energy performance after two faltering network news interviews reassured some concerned Republicans but not her critics.
[BEGIN "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE CLIP"]
TINA FEY AS PALIN: Can I call you Joe?
JASON SUDEIKIS PLAYING BIDEN: Of course.
FEY: Okay because I practiced a couple of zingers where I call you Joe.
SUDEIKIS: Okay great.
[END CLIP]
MITCHELL: Palin's style and substance were skewered again on "Saturday Night Live."
[BEGIN "SNL"CLIP]
FEY: We are not afraid to get mavericky in there and ruffle feathers and not got to allow that and also to, the great Ronald Reagan.
[END CLIP]
MITCHELL: All of this comes before the next dramatic moment in this remarkable campaign, the second presidential debate, a town hall meeting format that could play to McCain's strengths, moderated by our own Tom Brokaw in Nashville, tomorrow night.
—Geoffrey Dickens is the senior news analyst at the Media Research Center.
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Ayers and Obama connection,
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:26 ET by LiberalliesAyers and Obama connection, much deeper than the media is letting on.
I just looked at the drudgereport.com this morning.....
I want the media to now ignore THIS!
As it has been known, William Ayers and the Obama connection go way, way deeper than the MSM media is letting on!
those of us that live in Chicago, know Chicago politics, know Illinois politics know very well that the Ayers and Obama connection goes way deeper then merely two individuals who live in the same neighborhood.
Spread the news people...it is time to take down Obama. Let us take his campaign down with the truth!
How Much CYA Before The Reactions Go Against The Effort?
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:34 ET by JDWMcCain attacks Obama: Too dangerous!
JDW
DAILY WAVE
'Hey Chuck, Stand Up!'
Same With Tim
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:27 ET by JoelCTI'll be waiting for Mitchell to call Timothy McVeigh a "nineties radical" some day.
What a lying, scheming, wretch she is. I am willing to bet that she has a hard time looking into her own eyes in the mirror in the morning. No one can have that empty of a soul.
Not spoken since....
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:29 ET by krendlerAnd the Obama campaign says they have not spoken since Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate.
That's their defense? They haven't spoken since he became a US senator?
In other words, they haven't spoken since Obama started campaigning for president.
Oh, then never mind. Our mistake.
LOL.
BTW, love Harry Smith's poo-pooing this as "drudging" up the past. As Biden said in the debate the other night, "the past is prologue"
Mitchell is WRONG
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:55 ET by ricklailAccording to Sweetness and Light they both spoke at a Juvenille Justice forum, Nov 20, 1997. He was elected to the state senate in 96. She is going to try and make me belive that they haven't spoken since he became a senator when they were both on a panel at U of Chicago. By the way, Michele Obama set the thing up.
I was wrong. It since he became a US Senator. I still don't believe it.
That both of these men are truly enemies of America...
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:31 ET by ThalpyThat both of these men are enemies of America is lost on the worthless Andreq Mitchell.
The New York Times reported
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:36 ET by Dan The Man 2The New York Times reported this weekend that, "the two men do not appear to have been close. - And the eternal question of what is, is?
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
"And the Obama campaign
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:41 ET by suzycreamcheese"And the Obama campaign says they have not spoken since Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate."
Oh, well, since he was elected. That makes me feel so much better about the connection.
Bottom line: No decent person would even be a casual acquaintance to someone like Ayers. This is a serious problem with Obama and it's frightening that it just gets shrugged off.
It is difficult for me to
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:42 ET by SeashellIt is difficult for me to understand how a "responsible, hard-hitting" journalist such as Mitchell uses a comedy routine in her story. I can understand Wille Geist on Morning Joe showing this parody of Sara but not an esteemed member of the media while reporting a story as important as the Ayers connection. Ms. Mitchell couldn't possibly be trying to discredit Sara Palin to try and marginalize Palin's discussion of Ayers this weekend? Surely not.
"Liberal elite"
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 12:42 ET by iveseenitallMitchell just represents more of the "elite" media's attack on Sarah. The AP, calling her a "racist", Newsweek saying she is "too common" to be V.P. These ignorant people insult the intelligence of every American, every day. They are disgusting ---empty heads and empty suites. You can give a pig a written forum, you can put a pig with a microphone in front of a camera--- it's still a PIG. Hey Andrea, WILLIAM AYERS BOMBED AMERICA'S BUILDINGS! You and Obama need a kick in the ass!
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
Views
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:44 ET by KC MulvilleThat's because Andrea Mitchell does not report on reality. Like most journalists, she reports on what she thinks reality is. And, apparently, comedy routines in SNL play an important role in Andrea's view of the world.
Michelle "For the first
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:44 ET by TEMichelle "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country" Obama invited the unrepentant terrorist Ayers to speak at the University of Chicago with none other than the unqualified community organizer.
"[William] Ayers will be joined by Sen. Barack Obama, Senior Lecturer in the Law School, who is working to combat legislation that would put more juvenile offenders into the adult system; Randolph Stone, Director of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic; Alex Correa, a reformed juvenile offender who spent seven years in Cook County Temporary Detention Center; Frank Tobin, a former priest and teacher at the Detention Center who helped Correa; and Willy Baldwin, who grew up in public housing and is currently a teacher at the Detention Center."
...
"One hundred years later, the system is 'overcrowded, under-funded, over-centralized and racist,' Ayers said."
"Michelle Obama, Associate Dean of Student Services and Director of the University Community Service Center, hopes bringing issues like this to campus will open a dialogue between members of the University community and the broader community."
"'Students and faculty explore these issues in the classroom, but it is an internal conversation,' Obama said. 'We know that issues like juvenile justice impact the city of Chicago, this nation and -- directly or indirectly -- this campus. This panel gives students a chance to hear about the juvenile justice system not only on a theoretical level, but from the people who have experienced it.'"
http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/971106/justice.shtml
The McCain campaign and
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:49 ET by Chris NormanThe McCain campaign and even some conservative critics keep referring to Obama's association with Ayers and Wright as a matter of poor "judgement". Is this a more polite and softer way to criticize Obama? "Poor judgement" implies that Obama's association with certain radicals are slips of man who is normally mainstream. No, he has a pattern of this, that doesn't lead to questions of "judgement", rather it leads to the conclusion that he's hiding his own radicalism behind a newly adopted mainstream persona
McNotObama '08
Andrea M. is just another
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:55 ET by Clear thinkerAndrea M. is just another media dolt in the tank for Obama. What drives me crazy is how liberals see her. The following quote proves that liberals are pretty much devoid of working brain cells...
"I literally have to change the channel whenever Andrea Mitchell comes on. The harsh, monotone voice …. the snideness ….. the angry ultra-conservative bent.”
- Posted by R.B.D.
Now keep in mind these are some of the very same people that cry themselves to sleep every night hoping their saviour Barak Obama becomes president. Leaving the future of our country in these people's hands is down right scary!
Fuhrer Obama Hitler Youth
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
Barry
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:10 ET by iveseenitallAs Barry would say---" The American military is bombing cities and killing children in the Middle East---shame on us. Bill Ayres bombed American government buildings--What a guy! I think I'll go to his house, have a beer, sit on a few committees with him, help ACORN get some low-income mortgages with him. After all, his terrorism was 40 years ago. Even though he won't repent, I think I'll kick off my campaign in his living room. Maybe Looie and Wright and Pfleger will be there too. Get your best dress on, Michelle, you commie cutie."
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
ives...
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:38 ET by Clear thinkerThat last sentence was funny as you know what!
Fuhrer Obama Hitler Youth
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
Radical or Militant
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:19 ET by Lee BoggsBy definition, shouldn't the MSM be referring to Ayers and the Weathermen as militant instead of radical?
Murderous anarchist would
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:32 ET by SickofLibsMurderous anarchist would more accurate.
Somebody PLEASE tell Mitchell Tina Fey is not 'news'
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:30 ET by SickofLibsHey Mitchell, you jerk: enough with the Tina Fey already. What's this, like the 10th time you've resorted to this crap? It ain't news.
In other breaking non-news, Greenspan had nothing whatsoever to do with the financial meltdown.
Who Knew What When
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:36 ET by Lee BoggsAndrea Mitchell and the other liberal MSM talking heads are not focusing on the correct question.
The question is not about how close Obama is with Ayers now.
The question is did Obama know who Ayers and Dohrn were and that they had bombed American buildings and killed a police officer when he agreed to announce his run for office at their home?
Sure he did, he's a smart guy. Did he care? Apparently not.
MSM
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:39 ET by ForbusThe MSM won't touch this subject with a 10-foot pole. Already it's about "mud-slinging", "name-calling," "Swift-boating." Don't expect them to even inquire...they just want it to go away.
Now if a really BIG story comes along...like Palin's tanning bed or her call to a librarian...they'll dig till their fingers are bloody.
My coworkers
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 12:01 ET by Kirk HallYep, I get asked about things here at work if it is political. You can learn a lot by the questions they ask.
Today: Is it true McCain said he was not going to talk about the economy anymore?
They heard he was and they heard it on the Today show. I told them it sounded to me like someone on the Today show said it, not McCain.
Don't take this as a
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 11:50 ET by racDon't take this as a defense of this guy in anyway.
But I have always wondered why is it when someone underaged commits a crime they are considered an adult who knew the consequences of their actions but when it comes to something like sex or alcohol they are considered to young and naive to know what they are doing?
This was supposed to be a reply to a link above....Sorry
Andrea Mitchell? What a laugh..........
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 13:14 ET by XfreeXNBC's Andrea Mitchell is one of the most idiotic old goats in media today. The Old ass hag would not know the truth if it actually slapped her up side her hugly head. I heard that the bitch almost overdose on gerital once. "Almost is just not good enough"
I just hope I get the
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 13:27 ET by bigtimerI just hope I get the pleasure once again of seeing Andrea shedding a tear or two again, speaking in a stilted wavering voice in less than a month...better have the tissue handy for her other buddies at msnbc/NBC.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Too Bad Andrea Is Not a Lions Fan
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 13:52 ET by BW222She's be wearing a paper bag over her head and doing the world a favor. I think the 18 million cracks Sarah Palin referred to may be in Andrea's face.
BW222
she is a fan of lyin'
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 13:54 ET by Jack Bauershe is a fan of lyin' though.
The big question is...
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 16:36 ET by silver357WHY would ANYONE befriend an admitted terrorist with blood on his hands? Personally, I'd not want to have anything to do with a man like Ayers. He's an enemy of the United States. But he's just one in a long list of Friends of Obama who hate the country.
What gives with that anyway? Why is Barack Hussein Obama and nutjob ministers, domestic terrorists and Marxist radicals so drawn to each other?
Hey Andrea, when do we get profile photo of you? All we're getting are straight-ons. We want to see how big your nose REALLY is.
Andrea Greenspan?
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 17:52 ET by TheAssessorIsn't she married to Alan Greenspan? Or do I have her mixed up with another equally tedious frump?
And why is NO one on Drudge, Fox or anywhere that I can see, talking about the scary, scary expose' Hannity did last night? I listened to democritters all day today, laughing about how "he was only 11 years old when that guy did that", and "how much of a reach this all is". Now these aren't total idiots.. they're judges, attorneys.. etc. (wait, I take it back.. most of em are total idiots which is depressing enough.. but 'nother story). The helluva job Hannity did on Fox last night, bringing all the dots together is as interesting as the silence that has followed.
"I have a bracelet too" ..Barak Obama, Political Psychopath
TA... I agree..it was
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 17:57 ET by bigtimerTA...
I agree..it was excellent.
The silence about it...well, you know how the msm is and the reasons for that...aggravating and pathetic as it is.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Andrea, wipe the kool-aid off your lying lips
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 20:43 ET by TN MomI wonder Andrea, if you have kids/grandkids? Do you really want someone like ayers to be Sec. of Education? Some animal with such hate to rule our schools?
Get a clue andrea: The AMERICAN middle-class see through your bias and I for one think you are as DANGEROUS as ayers, obama, barney frank, and pelosi!
Andrea Mitchell
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 20:52 ET by divasmomArkieRepub
Ms Mitchel, aka Mrs Greenspan, has been in the spotlight so much she thinks she can report the news from only her narrow liberal point of view and the viewers will have to take her word as the only truth out there. Saying that Ayers was "just" a 60's radical, is lke saying Clinton was "just" an admirer of pretty women.
These slips(? )of judgement in reporting are just like headlines in a newspaper....the liberal publishers hope the 'dumbed -down" electorate will only read the headline and skip over to the cartoons. These elitest Democrats are willing to overlook the strong, close connection between Obama and bomber Ayers but if the situation was reversed and the connection was between someone so suspect as Ayers and McCain, the Democrats would be howling all night, every night until the election! Bottom line,... America loses with an Obama win in Nov. and the damage will be severe. God help us...