by Mark Silva
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin may be moving on:
From William Ayers, the Chicago college professor and onetime Sixties radical who has worked alongside Barack Obama in modern-day civic affairs, to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the former longtime pastor of Obama's church in Chicago whose incendiary remarks from the pulpit promoted Obama to renounce Wright and leave the church.
Campaigning through Republican strongholds of Gulfcoast Florida today, Palin continued her weekend theme of tying Obama to Ayers, who was a founder of the violent Weather Underground group blamed for several bombings during Vietnam War protests, when Obama was a child. Obama has denounced those activities.
Yet Palin also dialed back the attack today, calling Ayers "a former domestic terrorist.''
And in an interview with conservative New York Times columnist William Kristol published today, the Alaska governor suggested that there should be more discussion about Wright, who was Obama's pastor of 20 years at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Obama has denounced the pastor as well.
"Wright had appeared to be off limits for the McCain campaign ever since McCain himself condemned the North Carolina Republican Party in April for an ad that called Obama "too extreme" because Wright was his pastor, the Associated Press notes today. "Unfortunately, all I can do is, in as visible a way as possible, disassociate myself from that kind of campaigning," McCain said at the time.
But when Kristol pressed Palin about Wright, she replied, "I don't know why that association isn't discussed more, because those were appalling things that that pastor had said about our great country... To me, that does say something about character. But, you know, I guess that would be a John McCain call on whether he wants to bring that up."
At a morning rally in Florida today, Palin softened a line about Obama that she had employed in Colorado and California over the weekend: "This is someone who sees America as 'imperfect enough' to work with a former domestic terrorist who targeted his own country," Palin said of the Democratic presidential nominee.
On Palin's part, this marked a significant toning done of the weekend line, in which Palin had insisted that Obama "pals around with terrorists.''
Palin is campaigning from Naples and Clearwater to Pensacola today, Republican strongholds in a state that backed President Bush in 2004 but appears to be a toss-up in the 2008 election, according to recent opinion polls. Palin, popular with her party's base, could be a significant vote-getter in regions of the state heavily populated by active-voting Republican and also military retirees.
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Comments
What happened? Did the pitbull find out that folksy talk in a negative campaign still come off as "garbage"?
Posted by: bill r. | October 6, 2008 11:33 AM
Guess McSame can't do any attacks himself. He is too busy talking about his POW days...Heck of a reason to have chosen Palin. So she can be his little attack puppy...I always heard only dumb does bite...Fitting for her. But what else can she do?? Nothing!!
Posted by: Randollph | October 6, 2008 11:46 AM
"there you go again Joe, talking about the past." Sarah Palin to Joe Biden
;
Ummm who's talking 'bout the past now?
Posted by: steve braubacher | October 6, 2008 11:48 AM
Good job Sarah! Maybe the media will start to do it's job and start digging into Obama's relationships with his friends Ayers, Wright and Rezko. I remember asking myself how the media gave Obama a free pass when he "Denounced" His dirty fundraiser or left his church of 20 years after it became known, the hateful anti-american sermons of his pastor. Hopefully this will prompt news organizations to start digging into these people and tell us what is the truth instead of listening to what Obama says and then moving on.
Posted by: Dave | October 6, 2008 11:52 AM
Does she really want to go to Wright? Miss snake charmer has her own problems.
Posted by: bill r. | October 6, 2008 11:58 AM
Palin obviously feels the need to fall back to insulting Obama, instead of focusing on what she and McCain need to do in order to win back some of the "undecideds." Also, her obvious differences with McCain on this subject show how unstable their ballot is.
Palin isn't just a VP... she's McCain's attack dog. The Rebulicans need to lay off the attacks, and focus on the aspects of their own campaign that will aid them.
Posted by: Caleb | October 6, 2008 12:08 PM
Aw, gee, so now she's saying that he only "sort of" associates with terrorists? How nice of her.
Seriously, nothing says "I'm running a classy campaign!" like flat-out accusing your opponent of treason. When did this become an acceptable practice?
Does Sarah Palin, of all people, really want to start the discussion about crazy former pastors?
Posted by: Cat | October 6, 2008 12:09 PM
What about Palin's Pastor?
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/355545
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/09/05/pastor/
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/undergod/2008/09/palins_new_pastor_problem.html
Posted by: Mel | October 6, 2008 12:12 PM
Good job Sarah! Maybe the media will start to do it's job and start digging into Obama's relationships with his friends Ayers, Wright and Rezko.
Posted by: Dave | October 6, 2008 11:52 AM
Lets see.....Obama has been running for almost 2 years now.....this story has been out there for about the same time. What fool doesn't believe that if there was a story there other than smear, it would have been told already? Smear if you like...but this has absolutely no legs other than fodder for the weak minded supporters.
Posted by: bill r. | October 6, 2008 12:14 PM
Here's a question for you media bootlickers: Why do you quote anything Palin has to say about anything (unless, of course, she embarrasses herself). Until and unless she agrees to speak to you directly, why are you promoting her at all?
Posted by: My Aunt Fanny | October 6, 2008 12:28 PM
Why don't we discuss Palin's witch doctor, her ties to the Alaska secessionist movement, her refusal to heed subpoenas, or her pastor who thinks when the "end of days" comes, all the people God chooses to save, will live in Alaska. She's is a complete and utter joke. Not a funny one I may add.
Posted by: Tim | October 6, 2008 1:16 PM
Never mind that the economy is going to heck right now or that energy prices are through the roof today or that we're stuck in two wars that drain away trillions more thanks to the current administration (that John McCain supported 90% of the time)...
Did you know Barack Obama knows a guy who tried to blow up stuff in the US not much MORE THAN FORTY YEARS AGO?
Or that his black preacher was not properly grateful in his sermons for all the wonderful things (like slavery) that America has done for black people?
Sorry GOP faithful, after that darn Couric interview, there not much else I can do. That's really the best we've got...
So vote for McCain/Palin cause...(I'm drawing a blank here.)...I'll get back to you on that Katie.
Posted by: Sarah's New Theme | October 6, 2008 1:42 PM
All the con. comments here don't seem worried about the biggest terrorist involvement by Americans ever. And, I might add, much more recent.
That would be the American Catholic Church's involvement and support of the IRA. (Note to the youngsters out there. I ain't talkin' tax sheltered savin' accounts, you betcha!)
In the 70's and 80's hundreds of thousands of dollars in church collection plate money ended up in the hands of the IRA's and finally Gadaffy's hands.
The IRA credited the American Catholic church money as the only reason they could acquire plastique' and Armalite weapons.
Now there's a terrorist connection, right? Or is one mans terrorist another mans freedom fighter?
Posted by: C. Morris | October 6, 2008 1:45 PM
With the stock market sitting at about 9800 today....I doubt these smears will find much traction. While the country is looking for leaders to help us get out of the financial mess, they will only see Palin/McBush as 4 more years of Rove political tactics and send her back to the tundra, and him back to 1 of his 12 mcmansions.
Posted by: bill r. | October 6, 2008 1:59 PM
Yes, let's talk about patriotism and religion, Ms. Palin. Let's take up that discussion, indeed. We can talk about your family's involvement in the Alaska party who'd like to vote to remove Alaska from the union that is the United States of America. We can also talk about you and your church and its and your beliefs. I'm sure all this information on someone who's only been doing this for, what, 5 weeks, will be enlightening to the hundreds for millions not familiar with you. Yes, Ms. Palin, bring it on. We'll see if you take as good as you seek to give. That we will, you betcha ya!
Posted by: po | October 6, 2008 2:22 PM
When voting this Nov.PLEASE REMEMBER 9/11 and who represents us better......
So many of us are caught up in the world economic issues that we are forgetting what fear we felt on that fateful day....our freedom and what our troops are doing to preserve it....2000 troops voluntarily re-enlisted on 7/4/08.....why???
Posted by: sherry hodgson | October 7, 2008 10:22 AM
It's not very amusing to read some of these uninformed posts that don't understand what's really happening in this election. Here is where we stand. Less than a few weeks ago neither candidate knew what was about to happen in the stock market. Obama, was talking down Bush because it was easy and he's a democrat. McCain was informed at least about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae but didn't have a clue about what was coming with market. All of the CEO's on Wall St. knew which is why they got their money and were prepaired to bail themselves out. We have supposedly the two best choices who knew very litte and they are both US Senators and a bunch of slick criminals on Wall St. who knew everything about our basic economic structure well enough to be smarter than the entire Federal Gov.
Posted by: Sammy O'Banion | October 11, 2008 11:14 AM