WHY DID THE NY TIMES PUBLISH A RECYCLED STORY ABOUT AYERS NOW?
by Joan Wile, Author
"Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace"
Citadel Press (May 2008)
I have looked in vain for articles and for letters to editors denouncing the New York Times for publishing on Oct. 4 a front-page story which practically handed over to McCain and his running mate material for their end-of-the road smear tactics against Obama. I have found nothing so far, so I guess it's up to me to scold the Times for their unconscionable act of political sabotage.
The article I am referring to is the one entitled "Obama and '60s Bomber: A Look Into Crossed Paths," written by Scott Shane. It deals extensively with Obama's very cursory connection to William Ayers, a convicted Weatherman of the 60's era, who participated in planning various bombings of government facilities in protest of the Vietnam war. Some 40 years later, now a respected Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Times strongly implies that Obama may have had an association with Ayers which puts into question his judgment and his anti-terrorism stance.
This is nothing but recycled gossip, extensively written about previously in the Times and elsewhere, as well as surfacing in Hillary Clinton diatribes against Obama during their primary battle, and I see absolutely no reason for the Times publishing it now other than a desire to derail Obama's increasingly promising campaign for President. There's nothing new in the story, nothing essential for the public to learn. It's odd that the Times, whose editorial policy seems to very much favor Obama, would nevertheless print this damaging piece which could only do him harm. It appears there is a serious disconnect between the editorial editors and the news editors.
In any case, if their object was to throw a monkey wrench into his campaign, they certainly succeeded. Immediately, Sarah Palin made the Times article the centerpiece of her disgraceful and dishonest rally speeches, which escalated into the frightening near-riot spectacles where her most ardent followers scream racial epithets and such dangerous words as "Kill him" into the frenzied crowds.
It is now THE big media story -- not the economy, not the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, not the health care crisis. This bunch of false suppositions is being stoked up to the max by all media, even liberal media such as MSNBC. I lay the blame for the resurgence of these discredited rumors squarely at the feet of the New York Times. It is supposed to print only the news that's fit to print. Well, this news is not fit to print, certainly not now as we head into the final days of the presidential race.
I can only conclude, given that it is near the end of the trail and McCain is tanking, that the venerated New York Times had one and only one reason to print this tripe -- to try to help McCain dig himself out of his slump before it's too late.
One can only fervently hope that this McCain dirty trick of falsely accusing Obama of terrorism backfires and voters are wise enough to see it for what it is -- a desperate attempt to undermine Obama's credibility and thereby allow McCain to slither through to victory. If that happens, we can hold the paper of record accountable.
