The Ad Sen. Obama Does NOT Want You to See...

Barrack Obama doesn't want anyone to see or hear this ad and is going to great lengths to prevent it, as this story in the AP shows.

Obama seeks to silence ad tying him to 60s radical
Aug 25 08:47 PM US/Eastern
By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Press Writer
12 Comments
DENVER (AP) - Barack Obama is striking back fiercely and swiftly to stamp out an ad that links him to a 1960s radical, eager to demonstrate a far more aggressive response to attacks than John Kerry did when faced with the 2004 "Swift Boat" campaign.

Obama not only aired a response ad to the spot linking him to William Ayers, but he sought to block stations the commercial by warning station managers and asking the Justice Department to intervene. The campaign also planned to compel advertisers to pressure stations that continue to air the anti-Obama commercial.

It's the type of going-for-the-jugular approach to politics many Democrats complain that Kerry lacked and that Republicans exploit.

Obama's target is an ad by the conservative American Issues Project, a nonprofit group that questions Obama's ties to Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground organization that took credit for a series of bombings, including nonfatal explosions at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol four decades ago.

The lone financier of the anti-Obama ad, Texas billionaire Harold Simmons, was also one of the main funders of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth who targeted Kerry. Simmons, a McCain fundraiser, contributed nearly $2.9 million to the American Issues Project, according to documents filed by the group with the Federal Election Commission.

Fox News and CNN have declined to air the anti-Obama ad. But by Monday afternoon, the ad had run about 150 times in local markets in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and Michigan, according to Evan Tracey, head of TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group, an ad tracking firm.

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said Obama supporters have inundated stations that are airing the ad, many of them owned by Sinclair Communications, with 93,000 e-mails. He called the ad false, despicable and outrageous.

"Other stations that follow Sinclair's lead should expect a similar response from people who don't want the political discourse cheapened with these false, negative attacks," Vietor said.

Sinclair offices were closed late Monday and officials there could not be immediately contacted.

"It seems they protest a bit too much," American Issues Project spokesman Christian Pinkston said. "They're going all of these routes—through threats, intimation—to try to thwart the First Amendment here because they don't have an argument on merit."

Ayers is now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He and Obama live in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood and served together on the board of the Woods Fund, a Chicago-based charity that develops community groups to help the poor. Obama left the board in December 2002.

Obama also was the first chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a school reform group of which Ayers was a founder. Ayers also held a meet-the-candidate event at his home for Obama when Obama first ran for office in the mid-1990s.

Obama has denounced Ayers' past activities.

"Barack Obama is friends with Ayers, defending him as, quote, 'Respectable' and 'Mainstream,'" the group's ad states. "Obama's political career was launched in Ayers' home. And the two served together on a left-wing board. Why would Barack Obama be friends with someone who bombed the Capitol and is proud of it? Do you know enough to elect Barack Obama?"

In a letter to station managers, Obama campaign lawyer Robert Bauer wrote: "Your station is committed to operating in the public interest, an objective that cannot be satisfied by accepting for compensation material of such malicious falsity."

Bauer also wrote to Deputy Assistant Attorney General John C. Keeney, noting that the ad is a "knowing and willful attempt to evade the strictures of federal election law."

The campaign's aggressive tactics could draw more attention to a subject the campaign wants to go away. On Tuesday, the University of Illinois at Chicago will make available records of Obama's service on the board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. The group was set up to improve the city's schools. The documents could shed further light on whether Obama and Ayers had a relationship.

The American Issues Project is a 501(c)4 nonprofit corporation. It is permitted by law to air a political ad provided that the majority of its spending is nonpolitical. It cannot accept money from corporations and it must identify the donors that finance its ads in reports to the Federal Election Commission. Pinkston said the group has set aside money to carry out non-election related work to meet the legal requirements. It filed a report identifying Simmons as its sole donor for the ad last week.

In the Obama campaign's own response ad, an announcer states: "With all our problems, why is John McCain talking about the 60s, trying to link Barack Obama to radical Bill Ayers. McCain knows Obama denounced Ayers' crimes, committed when Obama was just 8 years old."

The McCain campaign cannot coordinate efforts with outside groups. But the campaign took advantage of being the target of the response ad.

"The fact that Barack Obama chose to launch his political career at the home of an unrepentant terrorist raises more questions about Senator Obama's judgment than any TV ad ever could," said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers.

"Above My Pay Grade" Doesn't Cut it for the President of the United States, Obama.

So, our two main candidates for President got together in the same place, Rick Warren (he of The Purpose Driven Life fame) got them at his church to answer the same questions, but not at the same time. Obama went first, and this was his response to the question of when life begins and when a baby should get human rights...

"Whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity... is above my pay grade."

What?! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! You know what that answer means to me? I'll tell you, when I hear that answer, this is what I hear in my brain, "Um... yea. I'm am an advocate of total abortion. All abortions all the time. But... I'm also terrified of this evangelical crowd and I don't want to get booed off the stage. So... I'm going to give a completely bull crap answer."

This is exactly what I hate about this campaign, these two candidates sometimes seem like they will say anything to get elected. But this is silly. We all know where you stand Mr. Obama. Your pro-abortion. So just say it. Say you don't think human rights come into affect until after the baby is born. Say whatever you want. But don't say that its "above your pay grade." Your running to be President of the United States, sir, you should be able to explain where you stand on issues and you should have the intestinal fortitude to tell us honestly.

Is this the Apocalypse? Paris Hilton has a better enery plan than Nancy Pelosi?!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Someone, please tell me if Doomsday arrived much earlier than I thought it would. How does Paris Hilton... or at least, whoever wrote this video for her (maybe it was her, I don't know) have a better energy policy than Nancy Pelosi, whose only energy policy is "NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I'm sure the major media is going to somehow say Paris is slighting McCain. But I don't think so. Its just a fun video, much like I think McCain thought his was. Besides, the video mostly agrees with McCain's policies... and maybe Obama's NEW policies. But Pelosi's policies... those have GOT to GO.

I'm Patrick, and I approved this message, because its totally hot.

The Revolution Will NOT be Televised...

"When the Revolution comes..."

So, it seems some Republicans in the House of Representatives finally grew some backbone. They were scheduled to go on vacation, but seizing on the high gas prices and the need for a new energy policy with more oil drilling, more coal, more nuclear and other measures... they decided they wanted to work through the break to discuss it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided that since she is a hard core leftist and she doesn't agree with any of that... that not only was the House going on vacation anyway, but that she was going to personally order the cameras and lights in the House turned off. Wow. Is this the new, open, democracy that Pelosi promised when she came into office.

The Republican Revolution is supposed to continue today. Obama now is giving a speech saying he would agree with new oil drilling, more coal, and more nuclear... but is also proposing hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending to create "green" technology and Obama is also trashing the oil companies and somehow blaming them for our energy infrastructure being old. But... at least he moved a little on this oil, coal, nuclear issues (at least for today).

The Republicans need to keep hammering this and hammering this, and hammering it. Oh my God. Hold on. Obama just said we can find every available source of oil in this country and it would only be enough for a few years. What is he talking about?! There is enough oil in the world for hundreds of years. This is the kinda stuff Obama says that makes him look like an idiot. He wants to tax the oil companies to pay for hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending. The federal government already makes billions off of the sale of oil through taxes already. He has proposed using oil money for about 15 different things. New schools, a tax refund, new green technology, new roads, new cars... it can't possibly pay for all of that stuff. And not only that, but how are new taxes going to decrease gas prices? And where do oil companies get their money from anyway? US! So who is really going to be paying these new taxes? US. This is just government populism at its worst.

Anyway, the Republicans need to hammer this. They need to make this part of the national election so they can tie the Presidential election to the Congressional elections. This is a losing issue for the Democrats in Congress. Republicans had better NOT lose their testicular fortitude on this one.