Gov. Sarah Palin Invokes Ayers, Wright In New Attack

Rev. Jeremiah Wright (left) and Gov. Sarah Palin (right)

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With most polls showing Sen. Barack Obama pulling ahead of rival Sen. John McCain in the presidential race,
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is going on the attack.

In an interview with conservative New York Times op-ed writer William Kristol, the self-described "pitbull" "made clear that she was eager for the McCain-Palin campaign to be more aggressive in helping the American people understand 'who the real Barack Obama is.' "

Here's more:

Part of who Obama is, she said, has to do with his past associations, such as with the former bomber Bill Ayers. Palin had raised the topic of Ayers Saturday on the campaign trail, and she maintained to me that Obama, who's minimized his relationship with Ayers, "hasn't been wholly truthful" about this.

I pointed out that Obama surely had a closer connection to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright than to Ayers -- and so, I asked, if Ayers is a legitimate issue, what about Reverend Wright?

She didn't hesitate: "To tell you the truth, Bill, I don't know why that association isn't discussed more, because those were appalling things that that pastor had said about our great country, and to have sat in the pews for 20 years and listened to that -- with, I don't know, a sense of condoning it, I guess, because he didn't get up and leave -- to me, that does say something about character. But, you know, I guess that would be a John McCain call on whether he wants to bring that up."

In its analysis, the Associated Press writes, "Palin toned down her description of the Obama-Ayers relationship after her weekend remarks were criticized as exaggerated, but at the same time she embarked on a discussion of Obama's relationship with his former paster, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., which Republican presidential candidate John McCain had signaled he did not want to be a part of his campaign."

What do you think about the McCain campaign's new strategy?

Geoffrey Bennett

Tags: Barack Obama | John McCain | Rev. Jeremiah Wright | Rev. Wright | Sarah Palin

11:26 AM ET | 10- 6-2008 | permalink

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