Clinton: Obama Has Answered Ayers Questions

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who was the first presidential candidate to bring up Barack Obama’s ties to Weather Underground bomber William Ayers, said it’s time to move on from the issue.

Clinton, who opposed Obama in the Democratic primaries and now supports him, said that Obama has already answered the questions he needs to answer about his relationship with Ayers.

She addressed the topic when asked about it on CNN.

“Well, look, I think that all kinds of issues are raised in campaigns, but it really depends upon how they are raised,” she said on Tuesday. “And, you know, Senator Obama and his campaign have responded to this.”

Pressed by CNN’s John Roberts on what the relevance of Obama’s ties to Ayers was, Clinton said: “Well, I think that the relevance is that people, when you run for president, everything is wide open, and obviously, voters are going to want to know a lot about you.”

She added that it’s “certainly it’s time to move on and focus on what Americans are concerned about.”

Roberts also saw similarities between the current turmoil within John McCain’s campaign and the turmoil seen in Clinton’s campaign. When Roberts asked Clinton about it, she said she wouldn’t give the Republican any advice.

“You know, he has to decide what is best for him to do,” she said. “But, you know, certainly, one thing I hope is that at the debate Wednesday night and in the next three weeks, we have a clash of ideas here, different policies. You know, defend your proposal to privatize Social Security, defend your health care plan which would undermine employer- based health care.”