Dear Joy, anonymous and Popeye-- Is "mentor" a stretch? It's a good word for "birds of a feather..." If you could have lived through those times and if one simply reads Ayers' writings but more importantly those of his famous wife there are some things that a lefty like me can tell you...Ayers grew up and lives on the wealth of his father, as does Ayers wife. Nothing wrong with that except it makes no sense to live in that fashion and proclaim communisim rules! Valerie Jarrett is one-minded with the Ayers family--they all taught in Chicago--and Valerie invited B.O. into the group. Yeah, I say I want a revolution but I put myself through school, worked hard all of my life, and pay enough in taxes to support six families. It's easy to be rabid on the internet. Just do your homework diligently. Research.