William Ayers: Funded by GOP

(h/t Republicans for Obama)

Republicans for Obama:

In their best efforts to portray Barack as out of the mainstream, some on the right have tried characterizing the Chicago Annenberg Challenge as a dangerous fringe organization. What they do not discuss is the fact that the CAC was funded by a foundation belonging to Walter Annenberg, the billionaire Republican philanthropist who served as Richard M. Nixon's ambassador to the U.K. Annenberg and his wife, Leonore, gave the CAC $50 million in the 90's.

But Walter and Leonore weren't just giving money to educational foundations started by William Ayers. They were also giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Republican National Committee and various other Republican groups, as well as to a whole host of Republican candidates, including the following:

· George W. Bush $4000
· Mitt Romney $5000
· Strom Thurmond $1000
· Fred Thompson $500
· Rick Santorum $3000

Here's the icing on the cake: just yesterday, the McCain campaign put out a press release bragging about the fact that Leonore Annenberg has endorsed him for president. Yes, you heard it-- a McCain backer bankrolled William Ayers with millions of dollars.

More icing: You know that Republican Arnold Weber I mentioned earlier? The one that served on the board of the CAC with Barack? Not only did he work with William Ayers in the 90's, he has also donated at least $1000 to the McCain campaign. That's right-- McCain is accepting money from associates of William Ayers, and so far has not given the money back.

Not so good news for McCain:

McClatchy Newspapers:

Confident of holding all the states that went for Kerry in 2004, Obama’s playing offense in several Republican states. He has an edge or is competitive in such states as:

• Colorado, where he’s up by an average of 4 percentage points, according to recent polls there compiled by RealClearPolitics.com.
• Florida, where he’s up by 3 points.
• Nevada, where he’s up by 3 points.
• Ohio, where he’s up by 3 points.
• Virginia, where he’s up by 5 points.
Most of those are still close enough to be considered toss-ups.

Also, from Miami Herald:
Republican Florida Gov. skips McCain rally to go to Disney World.