Fact Check: Does William Ayers have any involvement in Sen. Obama's Campaign?

The Statement:

In a presidential debate Wednesday, October 15, in Hempstead, New York, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama sought to defend himself from comments by Republican opponent Sen. John McCain linking him to Weather Underground founder William Ayers. "Mr. Ayers is not involved in my campaign," Obama said. "He has never been involved in this campaign. And he will not advise me in the White House."

Get the facts!

The Facts:

Sen. McCain repeated at the debate his campaign assertion that Obama "had along association" with Ayers and said to Obama - "You launched your political campaign in Mr. Ayers' living room."

William Ayers was a founding member of the radical Weather Underground group that protested the Vietnam War by carrying out a string of bombings of federal buildings. The bombings were designed to cause property damage, not hurt people, members have said. The FBI listed the group as a "domestic terrorist group," but federal charges against Ayers were eventually dropped because of problems with evidence-gathering against him. He went on to become a college professor and was named Citizen of the Year by the City of Chicago in 1997.

Beginning in 1995, Ayers and Obama both worked with the non-profit Chicago Annenberg Challenge on a huge school improvement project. The Annenberg Challenge was for cities to compete for $50 million grants to improve public education. Ayers fought to bring the grant to Chicago, and Obama was recruited onto the board. Also from 1999 through 2001, both were board members on the Woods Fund, a charitable foundation.

Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt told CNN that after meeting Obama through the Annenberg project, Ayers hosted a campaign event for him that same year when then-Illinois state Sen. Alice Palmer, who planned to run for Congress, introduced the young community organizer as her chosen successor. LaBolt also said the two have not spoken by phone or exchanged e-mail messages since Obama came to the U.S. Senate in 2005 and last met more than a year ago when they encountered each other on the street in their Hyde Park neighborhood.

Ayers wrote about his past terrorist actions in a New York Times story published on September 11, 2001, writing, "I don't regret setting bombs ... I feel we didn't do enough." Later, after the issue was raised in an April primary debate by Sen. Hillary Clinton, Ayers posted his 2001 reply to the Times story on his blog, saying, "I said I had a thousand regrets, but no regrets for opposing the war with every ounce of my strength."

The Verdict:

True. The extent of Obama's documented relationship with Ayers is limited, and he has played no role in Obama's presidential campaign.