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Oct
23
I couldn’t disagree more. How anyone could and why anyone would elevate what any one person thinks about Barack Obama to the level that O’Brien has raised Bill Ayers astounds me.
The Plain Dealer’s Kevin O’Brien makes an argument in this op-ed that concludes with the following:
Goodness knows we’ve all heard that none of this matters [the items O'Brien describes about Ayers' past], because when Ayers was a mean, America-hating revolutionary, Obama was just 8 years old. We’re told that Ayers is a nice, America-hating revolutionary now, and that Obama would struggle to pick him out of a lineup.
Fine. Let’s grant Obama his plea of ignorance. Who cares about what Obama knew about Ayers, or when he knew it? What matters far more is that Ayers thinks highly of Obama.
Ayers was Obama’s partner in the Annenberg Challenge, was present at the creation of Obama’s political career and has contributed financially to him since then. He knows Obama a lot better than we do, and he has liked what he has seen. (So has Louis Farrakhan, but that’s a whole ¤’nother column.)
Here’s the “association” that counts: If Bill Ayers thinks Obama represents the kind of change he can believe in, the rest of us ought to take note.
O’Brien is writing in a paper that endorsed Barack Obama. So, how would he construe that association between himself and his employer?
Again – I don’t think Obama’s exposure to or contacts with Bill Ayers matter and I don’t think O’Brien’s employment with the Plain Dealer matter.
However, just as we question John McCain’s decision-making abilities because they seem to be without sufficient long-term consideration and more like constant spur of the moment hopes and wishes, I have to question O’Brien’s decision to use his space in the PD this way. There are only 12 days left before the election.
O’Brien has been with the Plain Dealer since 1984, and has been its deputy editorial director and chief editorial writer since 1993. That’s 15 years and three presidential election cycles. Does he really not have the material for two additional persuasive columns on behalf of John McCain and the Republican Party that could be more persuasive on voters than this one today? I just cannot believe that this is the best or the second best he has to assist conservatives and give them, dare I say it, hope.
That is a very sad conclusion, for so many reasons.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:54 pm October 23rd, 2008 in Barack Obama, Campaigning, Elections, Media, Ohio, Politics, WH2008
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3 Responses to “PD’s O’Brien says: what Bill Ayers thinks of Obama should matter to us”
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Awesome Jill, let readers see just how low the standards of the PD have gotten. What a great way to become The National Enquirer.
I sent comments to the PD about some of what you say. Where is the intelligent counter opinion to the PD endorsement? One that lays out conservative philosophy on issues and why that makes McCain a better choice than Obama?
It’s disgusting. And as you said, sad.
For a long time now, O’Brien’s columns have consisted mostly of mocking people who don’t share his opinion. He hasn’t bothered to construct cogent arguments in a long time. It’s one of many reasons I’ll never spend another penny purchasing this rag.
I’d like to see O’Brien address the issue of all the Republicans that have been involved on projects with Ayres, who is a respected member of the Chicago education community and has been for years. He’s probably a more productive and contributing solid citizen than Kevin O’Brien. Oh, but then his “argument” would fall apart. The Ayres thing is so weak, you have to ignore a few dozen levels of reality to keep pushing it.
Seriously, how IS John McCain’s health-care plan better for me than Obama’s, or than what we have now? How WILL John McCain create meaningful jobs and increase wages? Let us know!
The fact that the PD continues to give this bitter hateful no talent hack a column (and gainful employment) demeans it as a newspaper that tries to be taken seriously. I have to believe that O’Brien is becoming a liability to the paper’s overall editorial reputation. I must conclude he was elevated to this position to give the PD street cred in the right wing nutbar community but he has transcended merely being a crank and now must count as a genuine journalistic embarrassment. And, sadly, he’s the top embarrassment among several at the PD. But I have the feeling that, having him pandering to what the PD must consider a money demographic, the PD long ago gave up on journalistic integrity and now is desperately pandering to save their bottom line.
As an aside, I’m waiting to see if the last newspaper I wrote for (and sadly the last newspaper I will probably ever work for), the Cedar Rapids Gazette will rise above it’s owner’s hardcore bias and endorse Obama. If not, I will LOVE reading their torturous defense of McCain. In any case, the fact that the PD endorsed Obama is to their credit. And I bend over backwards to give the PD credit where due.