“Ex-Radical Talks of Education and Justice, Not Obama”
Ex-Radical Talks of Education and Justice, Not Obama
By COLIN MOYNIHAN
Published: October 26, 2008
Over the last several months, as pundits and partisans have debated the significance of his relationship with Senator Barack Obama, William Ayers has avoided the limelight, steering clear of political commentary and public pronouncements.
But on Sunday afternoon, Mr. Ayers, 63, a founder of the 1960s-era radical group the Weather Underground, a former fugitive, former Chicago Citizen of the Year and current professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, appeared without fanfare at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, in Chelsea, to participate in a symposium on educational justice.
In 1995, Mr. Ayers held a fund-raiser for Mr. Obama, who was running for a seat in the Illinois State Senate. The two men later served together on the boards of two Chicago philanthropic groups as well as on the board of an education reform organization. The two men have been described as friendly, but not close. (“FRIENDLY, BUT NOT CLOSE”? BOOK BLURB, BABYSITTING, HOW CLOSE YA WANT?—B.P.)
The campaign of his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, has used Mr. Obama’s ties to raise questions about his fitness to be president.
On Sunday, after Mr. Ayers was introduced to an audience of about 50 people who had bought tickets to the event, the moderator, the WNYC radio host Leonard Lopate, asked, “Does this mean I can’t run for president?”
“It means you can win,” Mr. Ayers said in response.