Obama offers the lamest Ayers excuse yet...

Version 3.0;

Ben Smith's Blog: Obama on Ayers: 'I assumed that he had been rehabilitated' - Politico.com

Obama on Ayers: 'I assumed that he had been rehabilitated'

In an interview with the sympathetic conservative talk radio host this afternoon, Obama offered the clearest explanation yet of how an extremely careful politician allowed himself anywhere near a former '60s radical who would become a Republican target in this year's presidential campaign.

Obama "had assumed" from Bill Ayers' stature in Chicago, he told the Philadelphia-based Michael Smerconish, that Ayers had been "rehabilitated" since his 1960s crimes.

In the interview, which was taped this afternoon and will air tomorrow, and which you can listen to above, Obama recalled moving back to Chicago after law school, and becoming involved in civic life there.

"The gentleman in question, Bill Ayers, is a college professor, teaches education at the University of Illinois," he said. "That's how i met him -- working on a school reform project that was funded by an ambassador and very close friend of Ronald Reagan's" along with "a bunch of conservative businessmen and civic leaders."

"Ultimately, I ended up learning about the fact that he had engaged in this reprehensible act 40 years ago, but I was eight years old at the time and I assumed that he had been rehabilitated," Obama said.

That may not have been an unreasonable assumption for Obama in the 1990s. Though Ayers never repented his part in the Weather Underground bombings, he had not yet become notorious for advertising them. That notoriety returned in 2001, when he published his memoir, "Fugitive Days," and reminisced about the bombings in a New York Times interview that happened to appear September 11 of that year.

"This guy is not part of my inner circle, he doesn't advise my campaign, he's not going to advise me as president," Obama assured listeners.

Obama also lashed McCain for focusing on Ayers on a day of dramatic economic turmoil, calling th issue a "red herring."

"The fact that Senator McCain wants to make this the centerpiece of his campaign is pretty remarkable," he said. "We are going through an enormous challenge right now. "

"Senator McCain surely doesn't believe that I've endorsed any of the actions that [Ayers] has taken," he said. "They're trying to distract from the economy."

"We've got the biggest economic crisis on our hands since the Great Depression and Senator McCain's team has said in the newspapers, they've said it publicly, 'If we talk about the economy, then we lose the election,'" Obama said.

In case you forgot, Version 1.0 was "he just a guy in my neighborhood" and his children went to the same school. Version 2.0 is "well we worked a few boards together but didn't really interact on anything" which brings us to Version 3.0 which is he "assumed he was rehabilitated" even though he described himself as unrepentant. To me someone as to be repentant before they can be rehabilitated.

Obama says he has the judgment to run the country but so far he has shown absolutely ZERO judgment on any issues at all. Now he wants us to believe that he thought Ayers was rehabilitated? That ranks as a WHOPPER of a misjudgment considering Ayers has said he does not regret his actions and wishes he could do more and recently as 2001 he said he wouldn't rule out taking up his favorite pasttime again.

UPDATE:  How can Obama now say he thought he was rehabilitated when he previously said that he didn't know about Ayers' past at all!  He is lying to the country about this relationship with Ayers.  The media will ask him about this because they know what will happen.  He will lose the election over this association.