MLK Post #1

I am going to have several posts today in honor of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. I was hoping that all of them would be in honor of his legacy. However, this has to be noted. It's unfortunate, because John McCain ends up really not looking good on this subject. He voted against the Martin Luther King holiday when he was in Congress in 1983. He says that he realizes now that it was a mistake and he regrets it, but his explanation for why he voted against it back then is a little hard to understand. Via Kos:

McCain: I voted in my first year in congress against it. Then I began to learn. And I studied. And people talked to me. And I not only supported it, but I fought very hard in my own state of Arizona for recognition against a governor who was of my own party. ...

Reporter: On Martin Luthor King, what do you mean you say you learned?

McCain: Well, I learned that this individual was a transcendent figure in American history. He deserved to be honored. And I thought it was appropriate to do so. In my home state of Arizona, I was not proud that we were one of the last states to recognize Dr. King's birthday as a holiday. And I was pleased to be part of the fight for that recognition.

Reporter: What didn't you know when you voted initially against it that you later knew when you changed your mind?

McCain: I had not really been involved in the issue. I just had not had a lot of experience with the issue. That's all.

I don't think McCain is racist. But, like many conservatives, he's a little tone deaf. Which is a diplomatic way of saying that he's insensitive. He learned after the vote that King was a transcendent figure in American history? He learned this after 1983? 15 years after King was shot?After he had been elected to Congress? As Kos points out, McCain was 32 when King was shot, and 47 when he voted against the holiday. Where exactly had he been? How is it possible that someone who wants to be president could be this ignorant of the one of the great heroes in American history until he was pushing 50? Here's something Kos doesn't point out: McCain was 47 when that vote took place. Obama is currently 46. I think McCain just lost some of the credibility that he gets from all his "experience."
As Americans, we should all be "involved in this issue." Particularly if we are members of Congress.