I came in here to express exactly what Wendy pointed out about Ayers. I'd like to particularly note the:
"The group was the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, started by a $49 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation, which was established by the publisher Walter Annenberg, a prominent Republican whose widow, Leonore, is a contributor to the McCain campaign."
Does this mean that McCain also pals around with terrorist associates? Does that make him frightening and should we consider not voting for him? After all he is taking contributions from "terrorist" supporters.
No of course not.
It is amazing to me how ugly and horrible people have been toward this man. He is very well respected in his field now and has worked to turn his life around and the life of others. He has worked with groups concerning poverty and many other worthwhile organizations. Much more than I would gather other people in this thread have done for underprivelaged children and poverty stricken families. (However I may be wrong. Maybe some of you have done this. It is not my place to assume but I can tell you he has done far more than most people I personally know.)
I was a Christian Studies major in college and I find it appalling how many good Christian people I have seen turn on this man and call him a terrorist with little provocation. Aren't we taught forgiveness and that people can change? This man has shown he has changed and all people want to do is point a finger for crimes from 40 years ago. Crimes he has been atoning for through his service to the community and through his works to make things better for those who don't have the resources to do so.
I'd also like to point out that many quotes attributed to Bill Ayers have been taken out of context (below from wikipedia):
Much of the controversy about Ayers during the decade since 2000 stems from an interview he gave to The New York Times on the occasion of the memoir's publication. The reporter quoted him as saying "I don't regret setting bombs" and "I feel we didn't do enough", and, when asked if he would "do it all again" as saying "I don't want to discount the possibility." Ayers has not denied the quotes, but he protested the interviewer's characterizations in a Letter to the Editor published September 15, 2001: "This is not a question of being misunderstood or 'taken out of context', but of deliberate distortion."
In the ensuing years, Ayers has repeatedly avowed that when he said he had "no regrets" and that "we didn't do enough" he was speaking only in reference to his efforts to stop the United States from waging the Vietnam War, efforts which he has described as ". . . inadequate [as] the war dragged on for a decade." Ayers has maintained that the two statements were not intended to imply a wish they had set more bombs.
The article further goes on to state:
In a letter to the editor in the Chicago Tribune, Ayers wrote, "I condemn all forms of terrorism — individual, group and official". He also condemned the September 11 terrorist attacks in that letter. "Today we are witnessing crimes against humanity on our own shores on an unthinkable scale, and I fear that we may soon see more innocent people in other parts of the world dying in response."
