The historical aspects of this election are many, but I find the juxtoposition of Obama's family history and that of McCain's offer yet one more aspect of something being set right in ten days. Two winding family paths have given us two presidential candidates--one of whom will be elected the 44th President of the United States.
We hear a lot about Obama's ancestors, and we hear quite a bit about McCain's military ancestors. What we don't hear a lot about is the plantation McCain's great grandfather owned, nor about the 52 slaves who worked it--in Mississippi many moons ago. John McCain doesn't talk about it too much--apparently learning very late in life that his great grandfather had even owned slaves. Back in 2000, two Salon reporters approached him with that fact.
But what McCain didn't know about his family until Tuesday was that William Alexander McCain had owned 52 slaves. The senator seemed surprised after Salon reporters showed him documents gathered from Carroll County Courthouse, the Carrollton Merrill Museum, the Mississippi State Archives and the Greenwood, Miss., Public Library.
"I didn't know that," McCain said in measured tones wearing a stoic expression during a midday interview, as he looked at the documents before Tuesday night's debate. "I knew they had sharecroppers. I did not know that."
Huh! Here's a refresher for McCain and for anyone else who didn't know:
It would appear that McCain still has not made one of the reunions of the descendents of Great Grandpa McCain family's slaves, alhough brother Joe has. They appreciate that.
I'm not sure why, exactly, but some sweet justice feels as close as November 4th.
Other links:
http://news.newamericamedia.org/...
http://online.wsj.com/...