Jeffery M. Frederick, chairman of the Republican Party in Virginia, compares Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden, saying "Both have friends that have bombed the Pentagon." In a statement, the McCain campaign calls the comparison "inappropriate" but also reinforces Obama's ties to "domestic terrorist William Ayers."
By Julie Bosman, The New York Times:
Last weekend, the chairman of the Republican Party in Virginia climbed on a folding chair and addressed campaign volunteers with a rallying cry linking Senator Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden. “Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon,” said the chairman, Jeffrey M. Frederick. “That is scary.”
The comment, exaggerating Mr. Obama’s association with the 1960s radical William Ayers, was reported by Karen Tumulty in Time magazine and it set off a commotion in the blogosphere.
Contacted on Monday, a spokesman for the Virginia Republican Party offered this defense: Mr. Frederick was quoting Rush Limbaugh.
“He saw a guy with a Rush Limbaugh shirt on, and he was trying to fire up the troops,” said Gerry Scimeca, the spokesman. “He was making a larger point about who’s prepared to lead the nation. It was a vivid way to drive the point home.”
But several minutes later, a spokeswoman for the McCain campaign disavowed Mr. Frederick’s remark.
“While Barack Obama is associated with domestic terrorist William Ayers, the McCain campaign disagrees with the comparison that Jeff Frederick made and believes that his comment was not appropriate,” Gail Gitcho, the spokeswoman, said in an e-mail message.
Recent polls suggest that Mr. Obama holds a lead of five to six points in Virginia.
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