Would Obama consort with Manson?

Barack Obama's justification for a long and intimate working relationship with Weather Underground bomber William Ayers is that he was only 8 years old when Ayers performed his infamous deeds in behalf of an international communist revolution that literally declared war on America.

This explanation has been picked up by Obama's media partisans without question.

Actually, however, what Obama means is that Ayers, and his wife, Bernardine Dohrn, began their deadly reign of terror when he was about 8 years old. But these most-wanted fugitives who attacked the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, police stations and other targets continued until Obama was 20 years old!

Ayers and Dohrn didn't turn themselves in until 1980. At least one more murderous attack by their Weather Underground friends, an armed assault on a Brinks truck that left guard Peter Paige dead and his partner, Joe Trombino, severely wounded, took place a year later. One of the perpetrators of that attack was Ayers former girlfriend, Kathy Boudin. Ayers and Dohrn later became legal guardians of a son born to her and another Brinks assassin, David Gilbert. (Parenthetically, Trombino was killed on 9/11, while Ayers was, on that same date, defending his record of domestic terrorism in a New York Times interview.)

This is a striking example of the way Obama has twisted his deep involvement with unrepentant communist revolutionary terrorists. But there are many more examples:

Obama accepted cash political contributions from Ayers and Dohrn, not as an 8-year-old, but as a "community organizer" ready to launch his campaign for the Illinois Legislature in 2001.
Obama launched his first bid for political office in the living room of their home in 1995.
From 1995 through 2001, Obama was chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, while Ayers served as chairman of the foundation's education arm. Together, they helped give tens of millions of dollars away to promote radical indoctrination in Chicago schools. Obama cited his experience at the foundation as the basis for his qualifications for his failed bid for a seat in the House of Representatives in 2000.
Michelle Obama invited Ayers to speak to a conference she organized in 1997.
Barack Obama endorsed Ayers' book in 1997 – a book that references Ayers' neighbor, Obama.
There are growing suspicions that Ayers and Obama even collaborated on the candidate's book, "Dreams From My Father."

Obama has claimed variously that he didn't know about Ayers' history with the Weather Underground when they got involved with one another, that he assumed he had been "rehabilitated" and that their relationship was limited to being neighbors.

How can I put this delicately? None of that is true. Obama and Ayers found each other and supported one another for years because they shared radically "transformative" beliefs. There is every reason to believe – since Obama seems committed to obscuring his relationship with Ayers – they still do.

But back to Obama's favorite stump line about Ayers.

He says he was only 8 years old when Ayers performed his "despicable" deeds. As I pointed out, that's not true. However, suppose it was?

Obama was also 8 years old when another American performed despicable deeds. His name was Charles Manson. Would it be a legitimate excuse – a worthy rationalization – if Obama had maintained a working political alliance with Manson for five years? Would it be acceptable for Obama to say, "Gee, I didn't know about his history. I was only 8 years old at the time"?

I don't think so.

I believe Americans would see through that smokescreen.

Yet, Manson and Ayers are not so dissimilar.

Just before Ayers and Dohrn went underground, the Manson gang committed their brutal murders of actress Sharon Tate and others.

Do you know what Dohrn had to say about that notorious event?

"Dig it. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, then they shoved a fork into a victim's stomach! Wild!"

Dohrn went on to suggest her fellow radical, homicidal maniacs adopt a "fork" salute to greet one another.

I've heard some Obama partisans in the media actually refer to Ayers as "an anti-war activist." He was not an anti-war activist. His stated goal during his terror career was to "bring the war home" – meaning leading a violent revolution in America. That's what he did. And he got away with it. He got away with murder.

As he put it not too long ago: "Guilty as hell. Free as a bird. America is a great country."

The real reason Obama is distancing himself from this history is because it is indefensible. He knows the truth about his relationship with Ayers, and, more importantly, their shared values, would end his political career – and deservedly so.