WAUKESHA, Wis. — John McCain said Thursday that questions about rival Barack Obama’s association with a former war protester linked to Vietnam-era bombings are part of a broader issue of honesty.
In his strongest personal criticism since his faltering campaign began casting Obama as an unacceptable candidate, McCain told supporters that Obama had not been truthful in describing his relationship with former radical William Ayers.
The Arizona senator also said Obama himself has “a clear radical, far-left, pro-abortion record.”
Loud cheers from 4,000 people gathered at a sports complex near Milwaukee greeted McCain’s attacks over Ayers, who helped found the Weather Underground, a Vietnam protest group that bombed government buildings 40 years ago.
“Look, we don’t care about an old, washed-up terrorist and his wife,” McCain said. “That’s not the point here.” “He’s a terrorist!” a man in the audience screamed without making clear to whom he was referring.
“We need to know the full extent of the relationship,” McCain replied.
Obama has denounced Ayers and his violent actions and views. He dismisses McCain’s criticism as an effort to “score cheap political points.”
