History is Happening Now

Here’s another quick example of how sloppy John McCain can be with his lies. Let’s start with this: 

During Saturday’s presidential forum at Rick Warren’s California megachurch, John McCain was asked to name the “three wisest people” he would “rely heavily on” if elected president. He didn’t cite close confidantes Phil Gramm and Randy Scheunemann, possibly because they have gotten McCain into trouble politically. Instead McCain chose Gen. David Petraeus; former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, one of his economic advisers; and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a leading figure in the civil rights movement. 

Now, let’s look at what this “wise person,” John Lewis, had to say about McCain’s campaign recently:

Civil rights icon John Lewis compared Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to George Wallace in a posting to Politico’s forum “The Arena,” accusing McCain of fostering “an atmosphere of hate” and “hostility” like the one that led to white supremacists’ 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Ala. 

Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Georgia who has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), pointed in his posting to “the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign,” and said the senator and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, “are sowing the seeds of hatred and division.”

McCain, in a book he wrote with aide Mark Salter called “Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life,” had lauded the leadership of Lewis in the nonviolent civil rights movement. 

McCain called the accusation “shocking and beyond the pale” and called on Obama to “repudiate it.”

Brad Woodhouse of the Democratic National Committee said on Fox News: “I don’t think Sen. Obama would agree with that. … I don’t think we would agree with those comments.”

Lewis didn’t accuse McCain of imitating Wallace, but suggested there were similarities. His sharp words may be dismissed as those of a partisan Democrat in a campaign season. But the former head of SNCC and hero of Selma is somebody who McCain has lavished praise upon over the years, including in his book on courage and bravery and by repeatedly invoking Lewis’s name in public appearances.

And here’s some more:

McCain quickly fired back hard, calling the comments “a character attack against Gov. Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale.” 

“The notion that legitimate criticism of Sen. Obama’s record and positions could be compared to Gov. George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign,” McCain said in the statement. “I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I’ve always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track. 

McCain also put the onus on Obama to distance himself from the remarks: “I call on Sen. Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America.”

If John Lewis — one of the people McCain says he would rely upon most for wisdom in the White House — is now comparing McCain to George Wallace, what does that say about McCain’s judgment?

McCain shouldn’t lie to the American people about whose advice he truly respects. If McCain was telling the truth, and Lewis’ beliefs matter to him, then he should apologize for fostering hate speech, which is what he’s obviously doing when his campaign accuses Obama of “palling around with terrorists.” 

Should Obama repudiate Lewis’ comments? Why would he?