Lots of harrumphing this weekend in the media about Sarah Palin’s claim that Barack Obama has been “palling around” with terrorist Williams Ayers. There is this asinine “analysis” from someone named Douglass K. Daniel and fact-check style articles from CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times. The AP’s Daniel writes: “Her reference to Obama’s relationship with William Ayers, a member of the Vietnam-era Weather Underground, was exaggerated at best if not outright false. No evidence shows they were ‘pals’ or even close when they worked on community boards years ago and Ayers hosted a political event for Obama early in his career.” That assessment in consistent with the others. I haven’t looked into the Obama-Ayers relationship as closely as some others, but these attempts to distance Obama from Ayers seem a bit too eager and they rarely mentions facts that point in the other direction, such as Obama’s praise for Ayers very radical writings. But my big problem with these supposed “fact-check” articles is this: If Obama could never be accused of “palling around” with Ayers, why would Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who is close to both men, describe them as “friends?” “They’re friends,” he said. “So what?” Two questions: Shouldn’t Mayor Daley’s comments be included in articles assessing the relationship between Ayers and Obama? Are “friends” different than “pals”?
