I'll say it again: I love this man!
Not only does he respond with class, but he does it on their turf! Apparently the interview with Michael Smerconish (Philadelphia) will air tomorrow.
Obama on Ayers: 'I assumed that he had been rehabilitated'
UPDATE: I should note (having learned this from commenters below) that while Smerconish IS a conservative, his show is not of the wing nut variety like Limbaugh and Hannity. Also, he seems generally supportive of Obama. But given that he is a conservative, I am leaving my title as is.
I don't know how to embed the radio clip, but you can listen to it on Ben Smith's page linked above.
Here is some of what he says:
In the interview, which was taped this afternoon and will air tomorrow, and which you can listen to above, Obama recalled moving back to Chicago after law school, and becoming involved in civic life there.
"The gentleman in question, Bill Ayers, is a college professor, teaches education at the University of Illinois," he said. "That's how i met him -- working on a school reform project that was funded by an ambassador and very close friend of Ronald Reagan's" along with "a bunch of conservative businessmen and civic leaders."
"Ultimately, I ended up learning about the fact that he had engaged in this reprehensible act 40 years ago, but I was eight years old at the time and I assumed that he had been rehabilitated," Obama said.
....
"This guy is not part of my inner circle, he doesn't advise my campaign, he's not going to advise me as president," Obama assured listeners.
....
"The fact that Senator McCain wants to make this the centerpiece of his campaign is pretty remarkable," he said. "We are going through an enormous challenge right now. "
"Senator McCain surely doesn't believe that I've endorsed any of the actions that [Ayers] has taken," he said. "They're trying to distract from the economy."
"We've got the biggest economic crisis on our hands since the Great Depression and Senator McCain's team has said in the newspapers, they've said it publicly, 'If we talk about the economy, then we lose the election,'" Obama said.
It makes perfect sense to me.