MORNING READ

by Walter Alarkon - 10/07/08 9:15 AM ET

Barack Obama continues to come under scrutiny for his ties to Weather Underground bomber William Ayers, whom conservative bloggers liken to an al Qaeda terrorist. John McCain is doing nothing to stop unfair attacks on Obama by his supporters, according to liberal bloggers. And while Obama’s backers point out his clear lead in most polls, his conservative critics see a silver lining in one survey.

Ayers, who hosted an event for Obama’s first campaign and who worked alongside Obama to reform Chicago education, once tried to commit mass murder by bombing buildings, writes Power Line’s John Hinderaker, who wonders what it takes for reporters to remember his heinous past. The Weathermen, Ayers’s terrorist group, was like al Qaeda in that the group wanted to kill people, reminds RedState’s Moe Lane. Though Obama’s campaign says that Obama didn’t know about Ayers’s past when they met, it’s still telling of Obama that his political circle found Ayers unremarkable, writes The Corner’s Jonah Goldberg.

McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), are “sick people,” since they didn’t do anything to rebuke supporters who called Obama a “terrorist” and who yelled out “kill him,” writes TalkingPointsMemo’s Josh Marshall. McCain’s failure to respond to his supporter’s false “terrorist” charge reminds Daily Kos’s BarbinMD of the time McCain merely chuckled at a questioner’s sexist slur against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). McCain’s campaign is far different than even President Bush’s 2004 bid, which cast Bush as the optimist against angry opponents, writes Political Animal’s Steve Benen.

Palin’s tough attacks against Obama, who is ahead in national polls by significant margins, won’t stick because independent voters don’t see her as credible, writes Daily Kos’s DemFromCT. Obama is purely on offense, as the only real toss-up states are ones that Republicans won in 2004, writes MyDD’s Todd Beeton. But McCain is trailing by only three percentage points in the latest CBS poll of likely voters, which also shows that Obama could be hurt by attacks on his ties to unpopular black figures, writes Hot Air’s Allahpundit.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Ayers Tried to Commit Mass Murder – J. Hinderaker, Power Line
The Weathermen Were Out to Kill – Moe Lane, RedState
Obama: I Didn’t Know – Jonah Goldberg, The Corner
Who They Are, What They’re About – Josh Marshall, TPM
Hope vs. Hate – Steve Benen, Political Animal
McCain Again Afraid to Stand Up to Hate – Barbin MD, Daily Kos
Kos Poll: Obama 52, McCain 41 – DemFromCT, Daily Kos
338-200 – Todd Beeton, MyDD
McCain Within Three in CBS Poll – Allahpundit, Hot Air
Obama Goes Up, Stocks Go Down – J. Hinderaker, Power Line