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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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Obama Out to Stop Ad Linking Him to Radical

Calls TV stations, DOJ to silence spot funded by 'Swift Boat' backer

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(AP) – Barack Obama is striking back to stamp out an ad that links him to a 1960s radical, eager to demonstrate a far more aggressive response to attacks than John Kerry did when faced with the 2004 "Swift Boat" campaign. Obama not only aired a response ad to the spot linking him to William Ayers, but sought to block stations from running the commercial by warning station managers and asking the Justice Department to intervene.

Obama's target is an ad by the conservative American Issues Project, a nonprofit group that questions Obama's ties to Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground organization that took credit for a series of bombings. The lone financier of the ad was also a main funder of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth who targeted Kerry. An Obama spokesman said supporters have inundated stations airing the ad with 93,000 e-mails.

This May 17, 1982 file photo Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground, walks with wife, Bernardine Dohrn, and their son, Zayd Dohrn, 4, outside Federal Court in New York.
This May 17, 1982 file photo Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground, walks with wife, Bernardine Dohrn, and their son, Zayd Dohrn, 4, outside Federal Court in New York.   (AP Photo)
Barack Obama talks to Ron Friedhof of Bettendorf, Iowa, at the urging of his wife Cynthia Friedhof during a rally at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008.
Barack Obama talks to Ron Friedhof of Bettendorf, Iowa, at the urging of his wife Cynthia Friedhof during a rally at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waits to talk during a rally at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waits to talk during a rally at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa, Monday, Aug. 25, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks with aide Reggie Love on the tarmac in Chicago, Ill. Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks with aide Reggie Love on the tarmac in Chicago, Ill. Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008.   (AP Photo)
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Obama response 'desperate, misleading'
MarketWatch

Obama reaction may remind voters of Ayers link
ABC News

McCain-linked group spent $3M on ad
Talking Points Memo


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