I have an older version of Adobe Photo Deluxe and you can smudge and delete backgrounds pretty easy....but I don't think it's free....
I also have a link for a FREE paint shop pro 7 (PSP 7) if anyone wants to try that.....PSP is normally a pay only program...go here to download
http://www.com-puterworks.com/Free_Downloads.htm
Photoimpact is a good program and I have a feeling that's the easiest one to use...