Once her days as an active terrorist were over, Bernardine Dohrn was employed by prestigious law firm Sidley & Austin from 1984 to 1988. Dohrn had been hired by Howard Trienens, the head of the firm and an associate of Thomas G. Ayers, Bill Ayers’ father. It is unclear whether Obama knew the former fugitive Dohrn through Sidley & Austin but there is no doubt that, by the time Obama joined Sidley & Austin as a summer associate, Obama had known Bill Ayers for two years through their involvement in Alliance for Better Chicago Schools.
But 0bama isn't a Marxist. /s
Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, friends of Obama.For example, $175,000 went to former SDSer Mike Klonsky, who until recently was also a blogger at Obama's official campaign website. Before reinventing himself as an educator, Klonsky founded an American Maoist communist sect that worked with the Chinese communists. Among the organizations receiving funding from CAC were the community action group ACORN, the Arab American Action Network, Bernadine Dohrn's Children and Family Justice Center, and Trinity United Church, home base of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
The man Ayers and his friends chose as CAC's first board chairman was a little-known 33-year old associate at a small Chicago law firm, Barack Obama. Ayers himself co-chaired CAC's other operational arm, the "Collaborative." Ayers and Obama held their respective positions for more than four years, working closely together during that time. They also served together on the board of the Woods Fund of Chicago for three years.
Their association extended beyond working hours. In 1995, Obama launched his first political campaign, for the Illinois State Senate, at Ayers and Dohrn's home in Hyde Park. In 1997, Obama endorsed Ayers' book on juvenile justice, and Michelle Obama hosted a panel discussion of the book in which Ayers and Barack Obama participated.