William Ayers, the anti-war activist who found himself in the middle of the presidential campaign, pushed back against Republicans and a political culture that he blames for trying to demonize him.

Ayers, speaking before packed pews Monday at All Souls Church in Northwest Washington, said he sought to avoid his celebrity status, which he found "stupid and superficial."

"This narrative that I've been silent is not true," he said. "I've been speaking at universities; I'm in the anti-war movement. What I haven't done is that I haven't wanted to give a sound bite to the sound bite culture."

Ayers called Republicans' portrayal of him, particularly by Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a "profoundly dishonest narrative" and called the "creation of me as a fearsome person" as entirely false.

"Somehow I've been violent," he said. "Somehow I've killed people. All of it false."

Ayers has previously admitted he participated in the 1970 bombings of New York Police Department headquarters, of the Capitol in 1971 and the Pentagon in 1972. Ayers, as part of a group called the Weathermen, claimed responsibility for 12 bombings.

He pointedly spoke of McCain and Palin, saying, "Every time Gov. Palin or Sen. McCain mentioned my name, their poll numbers dropped. I think that's great. I think that's a tribute to common sense. It's a failure. We should take some pride in that it didn't work this time — and hopefully never again."

Ayers discussed his alleged "shadowy relationship with this president," of course referring to President-elect Barack Obama.

"Guilt by association has no place in our politics," he said. "It's the politics of fear. I was created as a monster to bring Obama down."

Ayers made no mention of hosting in his living room a coffee for Obama during his first political race in 1995, an event that Republicans said was evidence of close ties between the two men. Instead, Ayers downplayed their alleged bond. "I had a relationship with Obama that he had with thousands and thousands of people," he said.

Ayers said he heard of the bad press he was receiving during the campaign through his adult children. "I'd see myself on Colbert and I get that," he said, noting that he doesn't watch television. "Mostly I tried to distance myself from it."

DC Voice in conjunction with Busboys and Poets invited Ayers to speak as part of a book signing for his books. He wrote "City Kids, City Schools: More Reports from the Front Row" and its companion, "City Kids, City Teachers: Reports from the Front Row."

The church had security on the premises after learning on blog postings that protestors would show up. Four people with signs walked the sidewalk adjacent to the church door, one of whom smoked a stogie as he marched with a sign that read, "Bill Ayers Typical Domestic Terrorist."

Ayers, soft spoken and elegant in speech and manner, looked the part of an aging hippy. The 62-year-old professor who teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago dressed in blue jeans, a dark blazer and dark sweater. He had a silver stud in his left earlobe.

During the approximately hour and a half talk that included questions posed on cards by audience members, he spoke mainly of democracy and education. "The best teachers search out the wisdom in the room," he said. "They don't assume it's at the front of the room."

He had a piece of lighthearted advice for voters: "Now that the election is over, please read a novel. A big, fat Russian novel and you'll be on your way to recovery.

"Now the game is to read the tea leaves. What's in the mind of Barack Obama? Everyone should calm down. Don't read his mind. Worry about what you care about."

-Betsy Rothstein