My Buddy Bill Ayers

If John McCain is to follow through with his promise to mention Bill Ayers during tonight’s debate, he ought to read The Journal’s editorial page first. Thomas Frank says that he, unlike Obama, really is pals with the former terrorist, and that the Ayers he knows “ought to be an honorary Eagle Scout.” Frank says Ayers (whom he met, like Obama, through the world of lefty fundraising) is generous to a fault, exceedingly humble, and has inspired ideologically-opposite colleagues to leap to his defense. In the last week the McCain campaign has chosen to smear a man “who cannot or will not defend himself. … This is their vilest hour.”