Public Overwhelmingly Rejects Ayers Attack

Massive fail from the McCain campaign on their Ayers attack (PDF):

More challenges for John McCain: Likely voters overwhelmingly reject his effort to make an issue of Barack Obama’s association with 1960’s radical William Ayers. Fallout continues from McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin for vice president, with 52 percent saying it weakens their confidence in his judgment. And on optimism, it’s Obama by 2-1. Skepticism about the Ayers issue was one of the factors cited by Colin Powell in his endorsement of Obama yesterday, and in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll likely voters broadly agree: Sixty percent say Obama’s relationship with Ayers is not a legitimate issue in the presidential campaign; 37 percent say it is.

The Acorn numbers are less solid, but that issue hasn’t been explained as well. With Ayers, it’s as simple as, “he did those acts 40 years ago when I was eight, and the board I served on was headed by conservatives.” So Acorn needs to be explained a little better, but overall these are great numbers that show that McCain’s antics aren’t working to any appreciable degree. But hey, keep it up McCain. Maybe your favorables can get into Dick Cheney territory. Full results (including the head-to-head I presume) should be released later.