I‘m not sure, tactically, that it makes sense for the McCain campaign to use the Bill Ayers attacks against Barack Obama. But I do think it’s a perfectly legitimate issue and one that has been sidelined by the news media who have refused to ask what I consider to be a pretty obvious question: If Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says of Barack Obama and Ayers “they’re friends,” why is it improper for Sarah Palin to call them “pals?” I put this question to David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs, two of Obama’s top two advisers, in the spin room after the debate. Here is the Axelrod exchange:
TWS: If Mayor Daley has said that they’re friends — quote, unquote — about Ayers and Obama, why is it out of line for Sarah Palin to say that they’re pals? What’s the difference there? Axelrod: Well, I think Senator Obama explained what the relationship was. He served on boards — on school reform boards with him, along with the publisher of the Chicago Tribune, the head of the biggest business organization in the city, some of the corporate leaders there, and so on, and if they were guilty of “palling around” under the Palin — then Senator McCain should say so. Several of those people were Republicans. I would daresay some of them are supporting him. I don’t — let’s call this out for what this is. It is exactly what the McCain campaign said: They don’t want to talk about the economy because they feel if they have to talk about the economy, they will lose. And the problem is that the American people are losing every day and they need us to discuss the economy. TWS: But how do you explain Mayor Daley’s comments. I mean, why would he say that they’re friends if you say that they’re not? Axelrod: Well, I don’t know. I can’t speak — TWS: That’s a direct quote. Axelrod: Ask Mayor Daley about that.
And Gibbs:
TWS: On Obama and Ayers. You’ve got Mayor Daley saying they’re friends. Why can he describe Barack Obama and Bill Ayers as friends but Sarah Palin can’t say they’re pals? What’s the discrepancy there? Gibbs: Well, I — now I — I don’t want to — I don’t know what Mayor Daley said and I don’t want to get into the business of parsing the words of Governor Palin. I think what you heard tonight and what you’ve heard for the last two weeks is Senator Obama describe — describe what he knows and describe what John McCain says the American people need to know. And I think — then he went on to talk about the issues that the American people care about. You know, I think if you look at some of the national polling — not just he negative attacks — most people are satisfied with his answer. (Ed: At this point a second Obama campaign adviser stepped in an said: “We’ve got to get somewhere.” Gibbs, to his credit, answered the follow up.) TWS: Do you dispute what Mayor Daley says? Gibbs: I’ve got to be honest with you, I haven’t seen Mayor Daley’s — TWS: That’s what he said. He said: ‘They’re friends.’ Gibbs: I haven’t seen his quotes or anything like that, so I’d have to see, you know, his — if you’ve ever been to a Mayor Daley press conference, it’s good to see the question in the context.
