In Support of Bill Ayers
by Leslie R. Bloom and Warren J. Blumenfeld

We feel compelled to speak out to correct distortions and insinuations perpetrated by the McCain campaign against our friend and colleague Bill Ayers (Des Moines Register AP story, 10/6/08, "Obama pals shed light of character" Palin asserts).

McCain, through Palin, is slandering a man who has never been convicted of a crime, but rather, someone who is a respected scholar in the field of education and whose professional and civic contributions have received extensive recognition. He received the Chicago Citizen of the Year award in 1997 after securing the city a prestigious $49.2 million grant for school reform. He is a man of integrity and kindness who has committed his life to ensuring high quality public education for everyone.

Like former Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy whose attacks on respectable citizens during the 1950s were baseless tactics grounded in fear, the McCain campaign is attacking Ayers as a diversionary strategy to get off the important issues that face our nation. According to all reliable polls, the number one issue to the electorate is the current state of the economy, an issue that has not done well for McCain. So why not a diversion? By engaging in character assassination against Obama through the scapegoating of Ayers, McCain draws attention away from an issue that he admits he knows little about. We have confidence, however, that the electorate and specifically our fellow Iowans will see this ploy for what it is.

Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld
Assistant Professor
Multicultural and International Curriculum Studies
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
wblumen@iastate.edu
515.294.5931 office
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