In this June 4, 2008 file photo, Antoin "Tony" Rezko returns to the Federal Courthouse in Chicago, Wednesday, June 4, 2008. These days, presidential candidates can expect to have every personal relationship inspected like a crime scene on "CSI." Then, whether there's evidence of a misdemeanor, a felony or nothing at all, those relationships will be used for political purposes. This is especially true for Barack Obama, a newcomer to the national scene. Voters haven't had years to form an impression based on what he has said or the legislation he's passed, but they can take a look at the people around him. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS – 1 day ago
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Who’s Tony Rezko? William Ayers? Few Americans know, but they probably will by Election Day.
Rezko is a Chicago businessman, convicted of more than a dozen charges this week. Ayers is a professor — and former member of the radical Weather Underground. Both have ties to Barack Obama and may well show up in anti-Obama ads you’ll be seeing before long.
These days, presidential candidates can expect to have every personal relationship, new or ancient, inspected like a crime scene on “CSI.” Then, if there’s political hay to be made, a version of the details is quickly out.
Republican John McCain has his own potential problem people whom Democrats may try to exploit. In some cases, they have been for years.
For example, there’s Charles Keating Jr., a wealthy savings and loan executive from Arizona who was the focus of a congressional ethics investigation in which McCain was ensnared in the 1980s. Rick Davis and Charlie Black, two men in the inner circle of McCain’s campaign, are former lobbyists — hardly a crime but still fodder for critics who want to undermine McCain’s self-portrayal as a senator fighting to lessen big money’s influence on politics.

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