John Lewis Is Right

I'm not even the biggest fan of John Lewis, the Congressman from Georgia who was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement. His endorsement of Hillary Clinton in the primary was peculiar to me -- but even moreso his later retraction due to pressure from people in his largely African-American district.

Still, I have to say, his comments today are right on.

"What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history," Lewis said in a statement issued today. "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."

“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," Lewis said today. "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.”

I felt so uncomfortable this week Seeing Sarah Palin repeat at large rallies the unbelievable lines that Barack Obama "palls around with terrorists," and "isn't one of us," and "doesn't see America the way you and I see America," and then watching the hateful outbursts and racially tinged comments just rolling off the tongues of McCain-Palin supporters, but I couldn't even pinpoint exactly why.

Lewis was right: it is playing with fire. The racial undercurrents that exist in this country, bubbling just under the surface most of the time, are volatile. To stoke them in this way is really dangerous, and shows such a lack of judgment and foresight on the part of the McCain campaign.

The media world we live in is so bizarre and surreal right now, that sometimes it misses a really basic point. Casually calling your opponent -- the first major party nominee in history who has dark-colored skin -- a terrorist and whipping up crowds into a lather of racially tinged anger, could easily incite the kind of violence that no one wants. Lewis' comments pointed it out in a way that may force the McCain campaign, and the country, to deal with this sad reality.

Obama, thankfully, has taken the key point out of Lewis' comments (rejecting the more controversial comparison of McCain to segregationist George Wallace), and reinforced it:

"John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night."

In the end, I agree that this whole episode is bad for McCain, because, yet again, Obama comes out looking more reasonable and more presidential, while McCain is forced to go on the defensive against a national figure with a lot of credibility and moral authority who McCain himself cited as "one of the wisest people" in his life.

If the economy wasn't tanking, I would say there is a danger that race could end up being the topic of conversation for the next 24 days. My hope is that Lewis' bold line in the sand will make it harder for McCain-Palin to continue on the same path they took this week.