The respected civil rights leader John Lewis, a man mentioned by John McCain himself as one of the '3 wise men' he admires and will consult once he is president, called him out on his vile tactics on Politico recently.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/...
"What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history," Lewis wrote in a statement first posted on Politico's website. "Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."
Noting that Alabama governor and presidential candidate George Wallace "never threw a bomb" but "created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights," Lewis attributed the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church to the racial division sown by Wallace's political rhetoric.
"As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all," the statement continues. "They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better."
That's right, George Wallace, the dixiecrat who incited much of the race riots with his putrid brand of hatred. Now, it's debateable whether it's an accurate comparison or not, but it certainly seemed headed that way last week.
This of course fuelled fake outrage from the McCain campaign.
"Congressman John Lewis' comments represent a character attack against Governor Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale," reads the statement from McCain. "The notion that legitimate criticism of Senator Obama's record and positions could be compared to Governor George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. 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.
"I call on Senator 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."
First of all, Obama shouldn't repudiate crap, McCain certainly never repudiated Palin for implying Obama is a terrorist, he never called out the person in the crowd at his rally who did the same, nor did he say anything to all the people introducing him who referred to Obama's middle name as an epithet.
Here's what Obama should say:
"John Lewis was mentioned by Sen. McCain as one of the '3 Wise Men' he would consult once he is in the White House. John Lewis is not a part of my campaign nor an advisor. I suggest John McCain discuss this issue with John Lewis himself."