McCain concerned with Obama-Ayers link

WASHINGTON, April 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain said Sunday he was concerned about U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's ties to former radical William Ayers.

Appearing on ABC's "This Week with George George Stephanopoulos," the Arizona senator, who is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said while the Illinois Democrat may be patriotic, his relationship with the former Weather Underground member was disconcerting.

"I'm sure he's very patriotic. But his relationship with Mr. Ayers is open to question ... if you're going to associate and have as a friend and serve on a board and have a guy kick off your campaign that says he's unrepentant, that he wished they had bombed more," McCain said.

Obama, who is battling Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, has attempted to downplay his recently revealed ties to Ayers, comparing Ayers to U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., during last week's Democratic debate.

That comparison apparently angered McCain, who called Ayers "an unrepentant terrorist," and Coburn "a physician who goes to Oklahoma on the weekends and brings babies into life.

"It's very insulting to a great man, a great doctor, a great humanitarian," McCain said.