The New York Times has had some great editorial contributors in the past, and yesterday was no exception.
William Ayers, the individual originally brought up by Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary campaign, and later used to damn Obama in the general election by the McCain campaign (sparking great debate after Gov. Palin's "pal around with terrorists" remark), used the Times as a platform to tell his side of the great Obama-the-terrorist debacle. Included is his explanation of why he didn't comment during the campaign, the nature of his notorious work in the 60s and 70s, and his relationship with Obama. He goes on to comment on the nature of politics today.
The dishonesty of the narrative about Mr. Obama during the campaign went a step further with its assumption that if you can place two people in the same room at the same time, or if you can show that they held a conversation, shared a cup of coffee, took the bus downtown together or had any of a thousand other associations, then you have demonstrated that they share ideas, policies, outlook, influences and, especially, responsibility for each other’s behavior. There is a long and sad history of guilt by association in our political culture, and at crucial times we’ve been unable to rise above it.
His piece can be read here, where hearing the story from his perspective, in his own words, is gripping.
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