Another view on Bill Ayers

I don't at all condone Ayers' violent actions during the 1960s, or his apparent lack of contrition. But let's look at this from Obama's standpoint when he first met Ayers. The guy was a professor at the University of Illinois, served on nonprofit boards and worked with Mayor Daley (the son of the Mayor Daley whose policy beat the hell out of '60s radicals during the 1968 convention). I was forwarded the following email this morning, written by one of Ayers' neighbors, Jay Mulberry:

I know Bill Ayers. He lives about the same distance from meas he does from Barack Obama. He was my son's Little Leaguecoach; he was on the Local School Council of one of ourschools; he and his wife Bernadine have parties at each of mycollege reunions (Bernadine was in my class) and everyonecomes to them from community organizers to neocons. They makeit comfortable for us all.

I know Bill and Bernadine's lovely children. One played ballwith my son. Another is a foster child who came to them with many problemsbut who grew up to become a Rhodes Scholar. Ittook a lot of good parenting to go from there to here.

I know Bill as a serious educational leader. He is aprofessor of education at the University of Illinois and hewrites almost as much (and as fast) as I read. It's no secretthat he wants change in our schools; who doesn't. When I was aschool principal, I went to him for advice many times and gota lot from his suggestions. If you want to know where Billstands on education, read Teaching Toward Freedom, A Kind andJust Parent or To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher.
Hundreds of people in my neighborhood know Bill the way I do.We have talked with him on the street, in the gym, at PTAmeetings, on committees, at parties and in the grocery store.We know what he was 35 years ago -- more than half a lifeago. Today he is a good neighbor, a good parent and a friend.

Again, whatever you may think about Ayers' past, two things are very clear- 1.) this guy is no longer a terrorist, and 2.) nobody in his neighborhood thinks of him that way. I have to imagine that there are many Americans who have family, a friend or a neighbor who committed a crime, went to prison years ago, and now is part of the family or part of the community. Failing to shun those folks or spit on then as they walk by isn't "poor judgment"- for most people it's just good manners to not bring up regrettable incidents in the past, and to deal with somebody as they are.