Rumors were swirling mid-afternoon yesterday. The word was that the McCain camp would stop its slimy innuendo-izing against Obama. Those rumors now appear to have been little more than wishful thinking — which prompted me to consider all of the people that might be disqualified from running for president, if the McCain forces get their way. Here’s the list I’ve compiled so far:
1. Anyone who served for several months as a chairperson or other member of a board associated with Bill Ayers, especially if that person ever sat next to Ayers during a board meeting and traded friendly chatter before or after the meeting.
2. Anyone who lives in Bill Ayers’ neighborhood and has occasionally stopped to talk with him on the street but failed to condemn him to his face (each and every time) for what he did 40 years ago.
3. Any young politician who attends his or her first fundraiser at Bill Ayers’ house, or the house of a friend or relative of Bill Ayers, or a fundraiser elsewhere that Ayers either helped organize or simply attended as a guest.
4. Any Chicago citizen, appointed or elected leader who dared to vote “yes” on Ayers’ recognition in 1997 as Chicago’s “Citizen of the Year.”
5. Any cop whose beat includes Ayers’ neighborhood, but who failed to monitor Ayers’ whereabouts on a regular basis.
6. Any student, past, present, or future, who elected to take one of Ayers’ classes at the University of Illinois-Chicago, especially students who later admit they actually (a) enjoyed the class, and/or (b) dared to learn something from it.
Did I miss anyone?