You could say that about any political leader though. There were people that felt like Bush was the new messiah (if you can remember that far back, before he was villified and potentially rightly so), there are people that have their heads shoved so far up McCain or Palin's butts that they can't see straight. You're going to have that with anyone. Some of Obama's followers are Nutty McNuttersons. So is Ann Coulter. So there you go.

TexasWSP's comment was inappropriate and did not add any intelligent thought to the discussion. Even though there were good thoughts in the comment, it was lost in all the "Black Jesus" crap every other word.

ETA: I took a look at the video - at first I was like "it's a step show - neat." Then - I don't know. It's obviously meant to be based on stepping/marching. But I don't think it's Obama's version of the Hitler youth. It seems closer to a bunch of kids trying to find a culturally relevant way to say that they support Obama. Not sure though.

You know. Comments like these really really disturb me. :mad:

And the "Black Jesus" comment, no words. :mad:

McCain's political career wasn't started in Ann Coulter's living room.

And was he responding to an intelligent thought? No? Flippancy meets flippancy.

I didn't mean that McCain's signs on to Ann Coulter's particular brand of nuttiness. I was just making a point that there are nuts on either side of the political tree, so to speak.

True, but some nuts are more validly associated with the candidates. While you can't possibly say Anne Coulter, for example has anything to do with McCain, you can definitely say that Bill Ayers at least appears to be a very influential figure in Obama's political life.

I don't know about that. Bill Ayers is a tricky subject, IMO. Yes, unrepentant domestic terrorist, yes. But I don't know that he's had such a huge impact on Obama politically (until now, and to Obama's detriment). It's my understanding that you can't be active in the education "community organizing" game in and around Chicago without coming across and working with Bill Ayers.

Kevin, obviously the post I was responding to was a paradigm of intelligent and mature thought. It was created by, I assume, an ObamabotmessiahBlackJesus supporter and they are like...totally enlightened and all-knowing and stuff.

No, Kevin, you can't definitely say that, at least not with any credibility. That's not what any of the reports I've seen suggest. I've served on boards and been in the homes of many people over the years, and been supported by some of them on one thing or another, without them being "very influential figures" in my life. Some of them I could barely tolerate, but sometimes you work with people you barely tolerate in order to achieve what you're trying to achieve.

I realize hyperbole is the political currency of the day, but it's not buying you much in this instance.
Sorry, Kevin, but I'm invoking Godwin's Law on you. You lose, but thanks for playing. ;)

Watch this story done by CNN's Drew Griffin, cataloging the Bill Ayers-Obama connection and see if you continue to believe as you do. Bill Ayers recruited Obama to administer a 50-million dollar grant from the Annenburg Foundation (and Ayers was not a hands-off sort of guy). This relationship was instrumental in helping Obama make the leap from community organizer to legitimate state politics.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblog...n_ayerso_1.asp

I suppose "very influential" is a bit of a subjective term, but I fail to see how one could possibly brush aside Ayers presence in Obama's life as not being substantial.

Damn you. :)

I don't think Ayers shaped Obama's political views or world view. Wright, however, I feel did and that's why McCain needs to let them let the dogs out on that one again. Partly because I don't think Wright can resist the temptation to get on TV to "clarify" and say something else damaging.

BUT Obama and Ayers are closer than the Obama camp and the New York Times article a few days ago let on. The GOP Fact Sheet discusses it more, and yes it's the GOP website I know, but the fact sheet is just a collection of media quotes.

Hooooooly crap. What happened to this thread? Make some room on the sidelines KSigkid, I'm gettin' out of this lane.

But but but.. you cussed!

I saw that on CNN last night, and yes, I continue to believe that it does not support saying Ayers was "a very influential figure in Obama's political life." That different from saying, say, that they had many political connections.

Sorry, but somebody had to do it. :p

Again, I'll admit that "very influential" is a very subjective term. My interpretation of the information I have has led me to believe that Ayers was an influential, if not very influential person on Obama's political career.

As to whether Ayers shaped Obamas views, I doubt that, but perhaps the adage about birds of a feather flocking together might at least be a reasonable interpretation on what's going on. At no point in Obama's career that any of us are aware of (the Presidential race excepted), has Obama repudiated any of Ayers [alleged] domestic terrorist history. Obama didn't seemed the least bit bothered that he was meeting his ends as a community organizer by conspiring with a known domestic terrorist.

Perhaps that doesn't bother you, but it bothers me.

On a side note, one of my father's high school/college/law school friends was an FBI agent who went undercover with the Weather Underground. Those were some crazy mother-effers.

See, this is where you're losing me. How can he be influential (very or just plain influential) without shaping Obama's views (i.e., exerting influence)?

Apparently, neither were the Annenbergs or others associated with the Annenberg Foundation. Neither was former Illinois State Diana Nelson (R), who said "It was never a concern by any of us in the Chicago school reform movement that [Ayers] had led a fugitive life years earlier." (She added that fellow Republicans "might snort when they hear the name Bill Ayers, because they know he comes from a wealthy family, they know he became a radical activist early in his life . . . but beyond just snorting, I don't think anyone gives it another thought.")

Indeed, based on what I've seen and what Sen. Nelson says, no one was bothered about it before Hillary Clinton's campaign.