The character assassination portions of this piece have evidence links, but the claims regarding the Obama/Ayers connection have no support. I can find no evidence for the claim that Ayers held a fundraiser in his house for Obama, for example. The information about Daley corruption is interesting, but again the evidence is left as an exercise for the reader. The handful of links point not to specific evidence, but to Chicago Tribune topic searches. Like many opinion pieces, this is targeted at those who already agree with it's tenets.

Reads more like an opinion piece than news analysis. For example, Kass writes that "the reason Ayers is not a big deal in Chicago has to do with the Chicago way..." This isn't analysis. It provides a reasonable overview of the opinion being expressed.

I'm just using Roland Hirsch's tactics here. The Chicago Tribune is such a rag, who can believe anything in it? This isn't journalism at all, it's just the opinion of some conservative radical who's frustrated about the turn of events which has turned the tide against the turncoats in the Republican Party. I'm sick of these people who can't argue on a level of intellect, so they fight on a level of emotion and personal ambition. There can't be anything good about William Ayers because he opposed their beloved Vietnam war. They hate Obama because he is black and threatens to change their world, not because he brushed up against a radical protester at the beginning of his career. Contrary to what pundits for the Chicago ... More »

Excellent treatment of the subject matter. What Ayers did forty years ago may not matter much now, and to call him a "terrorist" is certainly a purposeful distortion, however his association with Obama is real enough. This article provides much needed perspective, especially in revealing why Ayers and his even more radical wife enjoy such privilege in Chicago.

Quality is too good a word...still worth reading.....not your mindless rabble rousing rant. I wonder why citizens felt the need to start a weather underground?

This news analysis has considerable journalistic merit. It shows how the Daley machine pays people to attack his opponents. It is important for analyzing journalism here at NewsTrust, as it demonstrates that the defenses of Ayers and the like are paid for, not objective analyses. It brings out the way in which Obama is enmeshed in Chicago politics.