Bill Ayers in February 2000. Photo for the Tribune by Kevin Tanaka
by Frank James
Many people are likely wondering "Who's this Bill Ayers guy?" about whom so many words were expended at last night's Democratic presidential debate between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Ayers was a 1960s radical, a leader in the Weathermen, a group which exploded a few bombs, one of which accidentially killed three of its members. Ayers, along with his wife Bernadine Dohrn, went undergound for years only to eventually reemerge to become a University of Illinois education professor, a Hyde Park neighbor to Obama and, now, a touchpoint in the 2008 presidential race.
Chicago Tribune reporter Don Terry back in 2001 wrote a very informative profile of Ayers. For those who wish to get a better understanding of who he is, here it is:
School reform crusader Bill Ayers works within the system now, but don't ask the former Weatherman to apologize for his radical past
Sunday, September 16, 2001
By Don Terry. Don Terry is a Tribune staff reporter.
A good-looking married couple from Chicago, professional, accomplished and just the other side of middle age, are on their annual August vacation in northern California, reminiscing about their youth, their fugitive days.
They are sitting on a bluff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the soothing sounds of the crashing surf floating up to surround them like background music in yoga class. A chilly fog has rolled in.In the old days, the couple enjoyed coming to such places. The sea air tasted like freedom. But they had to be careful about who saw them trying to be normal. They had to remember to use their phony names.
For years, his was "Joe." Hers was "Rose."
"I was at the top of my field," the wife says. "I was on the FBI's 10 most wanted list."
She smiles at her husband.
"He was on the bottom," she adds. "I was most wanted, he was just wanted, sort of wanted."
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Comments
"MCCAIN'S NEIGHBORS SPEAK"
COLO SOLO, PANAMA CANAL "COALITION ZONE" PEOPLE FROM 1936 REMEMBER THE "BIRTH" OF JOHN MCCAIN. IT WASN'T ON A COALITION BOAT, IT WASN'T ON "AMERICAN SOIL" IT WASN'T NEXT DOOR TO A RADICAL AMERICA, OR A RADICAL INDIVIDUAL. MY NEIGHBORS WERE "IMMIGRANTS" FROM AROUND THE WORLD, BUILDING "COLO SOLO" COALITION BRIDGE COLO SOLO.
WE DIDN'T HAVE "WEATHERMEN" WE DID HAVE BLACKS, MEXICAN, INDIANS, ASIANS, AND ANY ONE ELSE WE COULD FIND TO BUILD MY DADDYS "COALITION BOAT" COLO SOLO.
WE DIDN'T HAVE RADICAL BLACK PEOPLE, WE HAD BLACK WOMEN FEED ALL THE BABIES, CLEAN ALL THE BABIES, WASH ALL THE BABIES AND CARE FOR ALL THE BABIES. WE HAD MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS, COOK, SLAVE, AND PICK UP WHERE THE BLACK MAN OR WOMAN REFUSED TOO. I WASN'T OF THE "ELITE" I WAS JUST BORN IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY OTHER THAN AMERICA. "CONSTITUTIONALLY SPEAKING"
THERE WERE NO JACK ARMSTRONGS, OR JOHN KEATINGS THEN. IT WAS JUST ME, COLO SOLO, COALITION BOAT, ADMIRAL MCCAIN!
THEN I CAME BACK TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND MOVED DOWN THE STREET TO BLACK PEOPLE, ASIAN PEOPLE, OTHER PEOPLE.
"GOD WANTS WORLD CUP NOT FALSE PROPHETS"
Posted by: Roger Morris | April 17, 2008 3:06 PM
And how'd he get to keep a university job? PLEASE.
Do some research into how the case 'failed'
We needed to have a non violent left.
Ayers and Dohrn were out for their own selfish glory.
Sound familiar?
Posted by: Cointelpro? | April 17, 2008 3:09 PM
....oh, I get it, because Obama was his neighbor then Obama must be guilty of Ayers crimes too.
What A Flipping Joke!!!
Posted by: xxx | April 17, 2008 3:19 PM
Was it the maid he grew up with in daddy big energy's house that made him feel he was more important than the rest of the SDS kids?
Posted by: Hazel | April 17, 2008 3:28 PM
what Hillary thinks of working folks:
"Screw 'em," she said, according to several witnesses. "You don't owe them a thing, Bill. They've done nothing for you. You don't have to do anything for them." -- 1994
Posted by: John | April 17, 2008 3:58 PM
I love how Frank casually writes, "a group which exploded a few bombs," like exploding bombs is nothing, something to just shrug off.
Ayers blew buildings up. He is responsible for the deaths of people. What is more people died or were injured because of those "few bombs?"
Please.
Posted by: John D | April 17, 2008 4:12 PM
So, what does this have to do with Obama anyway? Even if he likes the guy, it seem like a stretch to tar him with this big a brush--maybe it's time to start "turning in" all of our suspicious neighbors and friends.
Posted by: Mandela | April 17, 2008 4:33 PM
Ayers blew buildings up. He is responsible for the deaths of people. What is more people died or were injured because of those "few bombs?"
Please.
Posted by: John D | April 17, 2008 4:12 PM
Show us what you are talking about, Little Johnny D.
Posted by: janet | April 17, 2008 4:59 PM
One of the saddest developments of our era is how isolated we have become from our neighbors and those with whom we disagree. This situation, in which we don't talk to anyone but those with whom we safely agree, leads to the kind of blindly dogmatic national policy and wedge politics that haunts us today. Are we headed back to the guilt-by-association mindset of the McCarthy era?
Hooray for Ayers and Obama and Rev. Wright and all others who have the courage to stand for something. We can all remain friends. We can all stay in touch. We can all learn from each other. We can try to correct our own errors, and, after that, those of our brothers and sisters. Yes we can.
Posted by: Ross Romine | April 17, 2008 5:01 PM
John D.. Yes, Ayers was in the weathermen, but there is absolutely no proof he ever planned or plotted to blow up anything. Last time I looked, people in this country are innocent until proven guilty.
For those less read. Obama was on the board of the Wood Fund for 9 years until 2002. Ayers was on the board from 1999. Many different people served as paid board members, are they all to be termed radicals and killers?
The people Bill Clinton pardoned WERE convicted of crimes? Which is worse, serving on the board of a charitable foundation with Ayers for 3 years or pardoning one convicted radical and commuting the sentence of another?
Posted by: justbuzz | April 17, 2008 9:04 PM
Also on the same board of the Woods Foundation is Patrick M. Sheahan, Executive Director of Public Affairs for UBS, a major Wall Street bank. How a prestigious institution like UBS could employ a man such as Mr. Sheahan, who serves on the same board as Ayres, is beyond me. In my opinion, UBS should dismiss Mr. Sheahan for his involvement with William Ayres. I cannot see how UBS can maintain its good reputation while continuing to employ a man like Patrick Sheahan in such a prominent position.
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Of course, I'm joking. I mean, why would it be at all reasonable to hold Patrick Sheahan (or UBS) accountable for the past actions of William Ayres just because they both serve on the board of the same charity? The standard that presidents need to meet in their conduct should be higher than the standard that Wall Street executives meet. But just as certainly as it would be ridiculous for UBS to fire an employee over this fleeting association, it would be ridiculous for the American people to vote against someone like Obama for the same thing, someone who represents their economic interests so well.
Posted by: ts | April 18, 2008 2:23 AM
Ayers blew buildings up. He is responsible for the deaths of people. What is more people died or were injured because of those "few bombs?"
Please.
Posted by: John D | April 17, 2008 4:12 PM
I wonder who's bombs killed more innocent civilians, Ayer's or John McCain's?
Posted by: Dead is dead | April 18, 2008 8:42 AM
Bill Ayers is a good dude with a big heart. Obama should count himself lucky to be his neighbor.
Posted by: PJ | April 18, 2008 9:55 AM
Believe it or not, "a few bombs" is entirely accurate and appropriate.
"According to data in government reports, there were at least hundreds, and perhaps thousands of successful bombings during the period of January 1969 to mid-April 1970. But Weatherman carried out only six of those. The Weatherman organization was only the most well-known of that era's bombers. Other bombers took the lives of bystanders, something Weatherman never did. Other bombers also blew themselves up, as did some in Weatherman."
See a review of Ayers' book.
Posted by: Dean | April 18, 2008 4:20 PM
" Dead is dead " posts a nice comment. Equating McCain with some murdering commie piece of crap?
Yes sir, dead is dead and come the upheaval and the following purging of the liberal scum from this society you will know what dead is.
Posted by: Danford | April 18, 2008 4:37 PM
Ayers is a self confessed terrorist, who stated in his book, he should have done more, so that also makes him unrepentive. The Pentagon and the NY police dept were two of the buildings bombed by him and his group. He also threw a fund raiser for Obama, just a neighborly thing to do. You can tell a lot about a man by the company he keeps. I just don't want the next president of the US to keep company with terrorist and racists. Sorry, my bad!
Posted by: Lindiane | April 19, 2008 4:15 PM
Barak Obama kicked off his campaign at this guys house. Then he spoke with him at a intellectuals forum in Chicago. Then he sat on a board with him.
I have one question for Obama, "If Bin Laden threw you a kick off party, or was speaking at an engagement you were speaking at or was on a board with you would you stay there?"
I find it very easy to see that he's a radical. I did about one half of a seconds worth of research and saw this guy is scamming us. That's why his slogans are so vague. "Yes we can!" What? "Hope!" In what? "Change!" What kind? "Change we can believe in!"
If your really interested in knowing what Obama would do as a President, check out his voting record last year. He was the most liberal Senator of 2007.
I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in having a President who consorts with people like Reverend Wright and the the Weatherman.
Posted by: Publius | April 23, 2008 7:36 PM
Ross Romine...He killed people you moron. How can you shrug that off and sleep at night? Disagreeing is fine, but planting bombs and killing people to make a point is terrorism. Back away from the Kool-Aid. We're here to help. Stop, take a deep breath and let's all Hope, you come back down to Earth.
Posted by: dave | August 23, 2008 2:24 AM
wake up america if you cant seethat the associations obama keeps isnt ateltale clue of what hes all about then i am moore afraid of you
Posted by: carter clay | August 26, 2008 2:26 PM