Why does MSNBC call Bill Ayers “Willie”? (County Fair, Media Matters for America)
Earlier today, MSNBC ran this chyron:

“Race gets personal: Willie Ayers & Keating 5 are latest topics on trail.” But Ayers’ name isn’t “Willie” Ayers, it’s “William” Ayers. Or “Bill” Ayers. Nobody calls him “Willie.” So what’s with MSNBC’s chyron? Maybe they were just trying to save space? No, that can’t be it - “Willie Ayers” takes up more screen real estate than “Bill Ayers.” Strange. Strange enough that we can’t help recall another “William” who became “Willie” during an election year: William J. Horton.

The Party of Atwater (by Marie Cocco)
Just as Atwater in 1988 made Willie Horton into a household name, now the McCain campaign seeks to do the same for the Vietnam-era domestic terrorist William Ayers. Obama sought Ayers’ political support when he needed the help of Chicago liberals to launch his political career. The two have had a number of associations over the years — none that seemed particularly recent — but that may turn out to be of little import. By the time he ran for president, Dukakis already had ended the flawed Massachusetts prison furlough program under which Horton had been released. This did not soothe the fears evoked by the image of a black inmate having been freed to commit more violence.

Fear was Atwater’s stock in trade. If there was nothing to be legitimately feared, then he would conjure something up. We have, at the moment, a collision of fears so powerful it is probably not possible to predict how the election on Nov. 4 will turn out. As voters peer into the economic abyss, they see Obama as most capable of managing the financial crisis and of reversing the downward economic spiral. But they also see the first African-American poised to win the White House, and one with an unusual name, at that. What might Atwater concoct if he were running this race? I recoil at the thought.
Obama’s choice of associates speaks to his judgment, Marie, which is what he’s running on, seeing as he has so little experience. That’s what makes Ayers relevant. As to what Atwater might concoct today, maybe he’d tell lies about Hillary Clinton and about Sarah Palin. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but it’s the Democratic Party that is the part of Atwater now.—Caro

Video: Obama didn’t know about Ayers? (Spin Cycle, New York Newsday)
[Monday], on CNN, Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod asserted that Obama didn’t even know about Ayers’ radical past as a founder of the Weathermen. On the surface, that is possible — Ayers was also the son of a former CEO of Commonwealth Edison, a member of a wealthy family, and a prominent education professor at the University of Illinois. But bringing it up seems to be a tactical error… All the McCain camp wants is for people to talk about Obama-Ayers, and Axelrod has provided fuel for the discussion.
Another nail in the coffin of the judgment argument.—Caro

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Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com