Barack Obama and Bill Ayers

Below I note how a debate question to Obama or Biden about Bill Ayers is long overdue. Do we even have to wonder for a millisecond what would happen if a Republican had even a distant relationship with Timothy McVeigh? Trick question: that Republican wouldn't even be on the stage. He would long ago have been hounded out of his first race for dog catcher -- and justifiably so.

It is truly sad and pathetic that one of America's major parties -- America's oldest political party, home of Jefferson, Jackson, FDR, Truman, and Kennedy -- has nominated for president a man with a long-standing, professional relationship with a homegrown unrepentant terrorist. The only differences between Ayers and McVeigh are McVeigh's higher body count and his death sentence (Ayers got off on a technicality).

I have found this entire campaign a bit surreal, as we all debate Obama's tax plan, his experience, his plan for Iraq, his soaring rhetoric, etc. The truth is the man has no business being in this race.

Let me state it as clearly as I can: I don't question Obama's patriotism. I'm convinced he is no patriot.

No patriot would have anything to do with someone who confessed to bombing the Capitol, the Pentagon, and police stations, and as recently as 2001 said "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." Obama's deeply deceptive response to the one Ayers question he faced during a primary debate -- from George Stephanopoulos, of all people -- was "He's a guy in my neighborhood."

Obama has no business running for any public office, much less president. The fact that he was was not forced to drop out of this race, for this fact alone, and is actually favored to win, bodes ill for America.

And for the record: John McCain -- a man who loves his country, who has suffered for his country, a man who has tremendous credibility on patriotism and pride in America -- has a moral obligation to alert America as to the true nature of the man we are about to elect as our president. And not just in some YouTube ad, which will likely be dismissed as a desperate, "negative" dirty trick, the equivalent of the stupid "Obama is a Muslim" emails. Nor should McCain rely on surrogates or partisans in the conservative media to continue to make this charge.

The gravity of this matter requires McCain himself to talk about Obama-Ayers, preferably at a presidential debate, in front of 50 million Americans.

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For quick background on Ayers, including his "not enough" quote, originally given to the New York Times, see "Who Is Bill Ayers?" in the Chicago Sun-Times.

For Obama's relationship with Ayers, see Stanley Kurtz in National Review Online.