Weather Underground Prosecutor Speaks Out

In a letter to the editor in today's New York Times, the lead federal prosecutor of the Weathermen, William C. Ibershof, is not impressed with John McCain's attempt to link Barack Obama to Bill Ayers's acts of 40 years ago.

As the lead federal prosecutor of the Weathermen in the 1970s (I was then chief of the criminal division in the Eastern District of Michigan and took over the Weathermen prosecution in 1972), I am amazed and outraged that Senator Barack Obama is being linked to William Ayers’s terrorist activities 40 years ago when Mr. Obama was, as he has noted, just a child.

Because Senator Obama recently served on a board of a charitable organization with Mr. Ayers cannot possibly link the senator to acts perpetrated by Mr. Ayers so many years ago.

I'm pleased to see this letter but I doubt it will have any effect on the more rabid McCain/Palin crowds. Some of those people are irreparably damaged with hate.

I remember Bill Ayers because I was one of those "dirty effing hippies" at the time. However, no one I knew approved of the tactics taken by the Weather Underground. They actually did more damage to the get-out-of Nam-now and peace movement than the government infiltrators---yes, Nixon had people infiltrating the peace movement. Violence was not the answer. I'll never defend their despicable actions.

Regardless, Bill Ayers has done a great deal of good work in the fields of child education and juvenile justice since he and his wife emerged from hiding. Yet Ayers still remains unapologetic and has chosen to go on with life. In some small ways he has redeemed himself by positive contributions to society in the intervening years. But even that small amount is not acceptable to some. It amazes me to see that there is no room for any amount of redemption from certain Americans. Worse yet is that these ugly sentiments often times are coming from those identifying themselves as Christians and patriots. I'm not a fan of organized religion but their hypocrisy is astounding.

The whole truth about Obama kicking off his political career in Ayers's living room is never told by Republicans and unfortunately even by some unknowing Democrats. The truth is that Barack did not seek out Ayers and his wife. What happened was that in 1995 State Senator Alice Palmer was retiring and wanted to introduce her chosen successor to a group of people. It so happened that she chose the Ayers's home in which to do it. Both Ayers' were well known for opening their doors for political and academic discussions. In other words, nothing nefarious. That both Bill and Barack ended up serving on 2 charitable boards together and happen to live in the same neighborhood is of no consequence except in the minds of the terminally angry right. But the kicker is that if you had mentioned the name Bill Ayers to these same people over a year ago they wouldn't have had a clue who he was for the most part.

I can only hope that some rational people will read Ibershof's letter and think a little more clearly. This guilt-by-very loose association attack line is a sad condemnation of the state of our political discourse. John McCain would do well to examine some of his own very close associations with the likes of Charles Keating, G. Gordon Liddy ( both convicted felons and supporters ), and others before throwing accusation stones in OBama's direction.