Obama counterattacks on ‘Swift Boat’-style ads!

Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign and its allies, mindful of the lessons of the Swift boat attacks of 2004, have begun an aggressive, multi-pronged attack on an advertisement running in swing states that seeks to link the Democratic presidential candidate to former domestic terrorist William Ayers.

With threats of legal action, boycotts and a response ad launched quietly to avoid publicity, the Obama campaign has put conservative donors and television stations on notice that 2008 will not be 2004, when Sen. John F. Kerry, the Democratic nominee, waited weeks to respond to attacks on his Vietnam War record and ultimately did so ineffectively. Christian Pinkston, a spokesman for the American Issues Project, which is airing the anti-Obama ad, called the response intimidation and harassment.