BlogWonks

If you still need more evidence that Barack Obama and Bill Ayers have had a close relationship for at least the past 13 years (and you really shouldn’t with all the proof that’s out there) all you need to see is that Barack Obama is putting together a preemptive strike to try to negate the attacks by the McCain campaign on Obama and Ayer’s close association.

The spot features that quote we highlighted here yesterday — in which a McCain adviser admitted to The Washington Post that his campaign is “looking forward to turning the page on this financial crisis” and getting back to attacking Obama as too liberal and too “risky.”

The ad opens with bad news about job losses and the financial meltdown, then hits him as “erratic in a crisis” and “out of touch.”

“No wonder his campaign wants to change the subject — turn the page on the financial crisis, by launching dishonest, dishonorable assaults against Barack Obama,” the ad says. “Struggling families can’t turn the page on this economy.

The Obama ad is really quite ridiculous. It attacks the McCain campaign for trying to change the subject away from the economy, and towards Ayers, while it does the exact same thing that it bashes the McCain campaign for. The Obama ad offers no proof that Ayers and Obama have not maintained a close relationship, while changing the subject to the economy.  The economy is also  an issue on which Obama really has no beneficial policy prescriptions, unless you consider raising taxes, and passing a trillion dollars in new spending programs beneficial during a weakening economic situation.

If Obama can prove that he has not had close ties to Ayers over all these years let’s see them.  Stop trying to change the subject and hope nobody notices.  The fact that Obama feels he needs to launch a preemptive strike in the first place means McCain’s allegations are in fact true. Otherwise, Obama would merely say that the allegations were false and that he would not comment on them further.  All Obama has done here is to bring more attention to this subject, attention which Obama can ill afford.