Conservative Group Links Obama to Ayers in New Ad

WASHINGTON — A conservative nonprofit group with a past link to Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign is spending $2.8 million on an ad questioning Democrat Barack Obama’s relationship to a founder of the 1960s radical group Weather Underground. The ad, which is expected to begin airing Thursday in Michigan and Friday in Ohio, focuses on William Ayers, whose Weatherman organization took credit for a series of bombings, including nonfatal explosions at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol four decades ago. American Issues Project, the sponsor of the ad, is a nonprofit 501(c)4 organization. One of its board members, Ed Failor Jr., was a paid consultant for McCain’s campaign in Iowa last year. The campaign paid his firm $50,000 until July 2007. American Issues Project spokesman Christian Pinkston said Failor has no connection to the McCain campaign now. The ad signals the emergence of the type of tough advertising by independent organizations that operate outside the financial ... (link)