What follows is a total fantasy of what I think John McCain should say about Bill Ayres:
Back when Bill Ayres and I were both young men, our nation was fighting a war in Southeast Asia. At the time, I thought that it was a just war. I was wrong. I dropped bombs on a country that had never attacked us or represented any kind of credible threat to us in any way. That war was a crime against humanity and I spent 5 years in a North Vietnamese prison camp for my mistake.
I truly wish I had understood how terribly wrong that war was and joined with the other active duty military personnel who openly opposed it.
Bill Ayres had the good judgment to oppose the war and for that I commend him. He showed extremely poor judgment in thinking that planting bombs in government and corporate offices would stop that war. He and his colleagues were guilty of criminal acts. He is obviously a very intelligent man and I wish he had put his talents toward stopping that evil war in a more effective way.
But the fog of war has a way of clouding peoples' judgment and both of us failed to heed our moral compasses in those confusing times.
Eventually both of us decided to enter public service. I chose to enter politics and Bill Ayres chose to enter the field of education.
To those who condemn Barack Obama for his association with Mr. Ayres I say this: Bill Ayres has spent many years trying to improve our nation's educational system and make a better life for our children. To his credit I think Mr. Obama recognized this before I did. So today I am extending an invitation to Professor Ayres to come and share his ideas about education with me. I promise to listen with an open mind and an open heart.
We both did things in our past that we regret. It's time to move on and think about the education of our young people and the future of this country.