... The Ayers-Obama story has taken many twists as it moved from a topic in right-leaning media circles earlier this year to its recent prominence in the Republican ticket’s campaign.
As late as February, discussion seemed limited to the political blogosphere. Conservative talk-show hosts such as Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh also began giving attention to the Ayers-Obama ties, and momentum picked up.
The story jumped prominently into the media mainstream when George Stephanopoulos of ABC News asked Sen. Obama about it during an April 16 Democratic debate in Philadelphia.
Sen. Obama, in the nationally broadcast debate, downplayed their connection, referring to Mr. Ayers as “a guy who lives in my neighborhood,” and “not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.” He would later more explicitly condemn Mr. Ayers’ past actions.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Obama’s last remaining rival for the party’s presidential nomination, said that the question was legitimate, and she predicted: “I think that this is an issue that, certainly, the Republicans will be raising.”
In fact, four days later, Sen. McCain appeared on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” and said Sen. Obama’s connection to Mr. Ayers was “open to question.”
Hitting a Plateau
At that point, the flap over the Obama-Ayers connection appeared to plateau....
“If Hillary brought it up, it gives McCain more justification,” Mr. Edsall said, “that ‘we’re just raising a point a Democrat raised.’ ”
To be sure, the issue never really disappeared.
During the summer, two critics of Sen. Obama published books about him, devoting some of their pages to the Ayers-Obama issue—and ending up on the New York Times bestseller list.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/10/15/08ayers_ep.h28.html
Related: "When It Comes to Ayers, It is Participation that Matters"
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