Barack Obama and William Ayers

Aside from Jeremiah Wright, there is another associate of Barack Obama that the candidate needs to explain if he hopes to become president. His name is William Ayers, and he is a Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His wife is Bernadine Dohrn, who teaches at Northwestern University. Both have been rather closely associated with Obama in recent years. Why should this be of concern? Both Ayers and Dohrn were members of the infamous Weather Underground (America's first home-grown terrorist association) during the 1960s and 1980s.

The Weather Underground was more than just a dissident group during the Viet Nam era. They participated in a wave of violence and bombings during that era. In March of 1970, Ayres, a member of the group, went underground after a bomb accidentally exploded in Greenwich Village (3-6-70), killing three Weather Underground members, including Ayer's then-girlfriend. Ayers spent his years underground carrying out bombings of various locations including the Capitol Building, the Pentagon and the New York PD Hqs. As a fugitive, he had two children with Dohrn, who later became his wife. In 1981, they turned themselves in. Charges against Ayers were dropped due to prosecutorial misconduct during the years-long search for the fugitive.

What is illuminating-and needs to be remembered-is that in September 2001, Ayres told the New York Times, "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough".

So Ayres and Dohrn went on to careers in academia. They also developed a relationship with Barack Obama as they continued their left-wing activism-albeit within the legal system. Obama reportedly first met Ayres and Dohrn in 1995, when he was taken to their home to seek their support for his first run for political office in the state senate.

Ayers has been since 1999 a board member of the Woods Fund of Chicago, a left-wing foundation that sponsors activist community organizing in Chicago. Barack Obama also served on that board from 1999-2002. It should be noted that in 2001, the Woods Fund gave a $40,000 grant to the Arab-American Action Network, followed by a $35,000 grant in 2002. This organization is headed by Mona Khalidi, the wife of Columbia University Professor, Rashid Khalidi. This man is an activist who supports terror against Israel and has worked for the PLO-including during the years when that organization was killing Americans. In 2005, Obama, Ayers and Dohrn gave testimonials at a farewell dinner for Khalidi.

In addition, Obama and Ayres have served on panels together over the years including an activist conference in Chicago April 19-20 of 2002.

This is not to suggest that Ayres and Dohrn are still involved in illegal activities, though it may be assumed that Ayres is unrepentent for his past. It might also be argued that one questionable association with someone who was involved in terroristic activity decades ago could be disregarded. The problem is that these questionable associations are starting to pile up. First Jeremiah Wright, then Ayers and Khalidi. Guilt by association? Yes, but it is cause for genuine concern.

As usual, the mainstream media is ignoring this story. But don't the American people have the right to at least be aware and consider this when they vote?