Over the weekend John McCain’s campaign put Sarah Palin on pitbull duty - or should I say swift boat duty? In a stop in California, Sarah Palin dragged out Barack Obama’s loose association with 60’s radical/Weather Underground leader Bill Ayers. The group labeled as domestic terrorists, organized a riot in Chicago in 1969 and bombed government buildings in the 70’s. Ayers took to the ‘underground’ when the FBI came for him.

What’s the Obama connection? According to the Chicago Sun-Times.. “In the mid-1990s, Ayers and Dohrn hosted a meet-and-greet at their house to introduce Obama to their neighbors during his first run for the Illinois Senate. In 2001, Ayers contributed $200 to Obama’s campaign. Ayers also served alongside Obama between December 1999 and December 2002 on the board of the not-for-profit Woods Fund of Chicago. That board met four times a year, and members would see each other at occasional dinners the group hosted.”

Hillary Clinton attempted to use Ayers during a primary debate to little effect, but with John McCain’s campaign choking on poll numbers favoring Barack Obama in battleground states and Sarah Palin proving to be more toxic than beneficial for the ticket, McCain will try anything.

The New Republic said it perfectly..

“Bill Ayers isn’t going to save John McCain. The race is over.”

Just in case, Barack Obama is playing offense by reminding people of John McCain’s association with Charles Keating and the Keating 5. In a 13 minute documentary, the just released video reveals John McCain’s role with Keating in the Savings and Loan scandal in the 80’s

Keating Economics: John McCain and the Making of a Financial Crisis

“The Keating scandal is eerily similar to today’s credit crisis, where a lack of regulation and cozy relationships between the financial industry and Congress has allowed banks to make risky loans and profit by bending the rules. And in both cases, John McCain’s judgment and values have placed him on the wrong side of history.”