Boos, catcalls mock McCain as he apologizes for former holiday stance
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Republican presidential hopeful John McCain was subjected to heckling, catcalls and boos as he appeared outside the National Civil Rights Museum, at the site where http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4080.
The overwhelmingly black crowd grew restless as McCain, sheltering from driving rain under an umbrella held by a black man, began to explain why he had having opposed the creation of the federal Martin Luther King Day holiday as a U.S. House representative back in the 1980s, a holiday which was proposed by Ronald Reagan. “We can be slow… to give greatness its due. A mistake I, myself, made long ago… when I voted against a federal holiday in memory of Dr. King,” McCain began, sparking angry noises from the crowd, which grew into boos.
“I was wrong,” McCain continued, as jeering swelled. “I was wrong and eventually realized that, in time, to give full support for a state holiday in my home state of Arizona. I remind you that we can all be a little late sometimes in doing the right thing,” he finished, to ongoing noise.McCain, who is known for his hot temper, was clearly intimidated by the black mob, meekly leaving the stage quickly, and not subjecting the group to the flash of anger he displayed in 2006 to a union gathering. Then, members of the AFL CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department booed him for his open border stance, which undercuts the hard won gains of America’s workers. “If you like, I will leave,” McCain spat, and began to walk off before coming back and saying, “OK, then please give me the courtesy I would give you.”
McCain’s cowering MLK Day performance is part of the racial dynamic that is dominating the 2008 White House race. Hillary Clinton has made repeated apologies to blacks, who have abandoned her in favor of Barack Obama, for perceived slights, while Obama has capitalized on his blackness and enjoys the support of approximately 90% of blacks.
But while the Democrats consist of a coalition of special interests in which blacks play a key role, McCain’s pandering makes less than no sense. With zero chance of gaining black votes, his behavior is sure to alienate whites, who are counted on to vote Republican, a problem compounded by their anger over McCain’s militant support of illegal immigration. Similarly, McCain has refused to capitalize on widespread anger over racist remarks made by Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and he has even censured his own side for http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3765.
It is a sign of how quickly America has declined that as recently as 1983 there was widespread opposition to the King holiday, and McCain responded to the concerns of his Arizona constituents by pointing out that the holiday was not only costly, but that numerous important figures from America’s past, among them many Presidents, had no similar observances.