McCain, twice now: 'I was wrong'

McCain knew perfectly well who MLK was in 1983.
He voted against the holiday because of who MLK was. A Black man.

That interview is classic McCain. He is an ignorant dolt. Compare this exchange to the one with him talking about condoms and STD's. He is both ignorant and dishonest. I think the only way he keeps this "straight talk" myth alive is that the ignoramus reporters can't tell if he's dishonest or stupid.

As wrong as this guy is, why is he running for the Presidency? Is he going for the record, of two wrong-headed Presidents in a row!!!? Senator McCain should do the nation a favor and retire from Presidential politics!!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE. NOW.

John McCain voted against the Martin Luther King holiday in 1983. Asked about it today, he made a startling revelation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8ozQz0qe3c&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/

McCain: I voted in my first year in congress against it. Then I began to learn. And I studied. And people talked to me. And I not only supported it, but I fought very hard in my own state of Arizona for recognition against a governor who was of my own party. ...

Reporter: On Martin Luthor King, what do you mean you say you learned?

McCain: Well, I learned that this individual was a transcendent figure in American history. He deserved to be honored. And I thought it was appropriate to do so. In my home state of Arizona, I was not proud that we were one of the last states to recognize Dr. King's birthday as a holiday. And I was pleased to be part of the fight for that recognition.

Reporter: What didn't you know when you voted initially against it that you later knew when you changed your mind?

McCain: I had not really been involved in the issue. I just had not had a lot of experience with the issue. That's all.

Reporter: [couldn't hear question]

McCain: In Arizona, I came from the military where we are the greatest equal opportunity employer in the nation and still are. And I had just not been involved in the issue. There were issues that I had not been involved in when I was in the military, and then I went relatively quickly to being a member of Congress.

Reporter: You just didn't realize the large role in American history?

McCain: I think I just explained it about best I could.

Reporter: It's not really an issue to be involved in, to be aware of his impact on this country, it's more of a knowledge of history.

McCain: I think you're entitled to your opinion on it and I respect your opinion on that, but I had not been involved in the issue. I had come from being in the military to running for Congress in a state that did not have a large African American population.

McCain was 32 when King died. He was 47 when he voted against the holiday. He claims he didn't know about MLK that entire time? That it was merely "an issue"? The reporter is right, this wasn't an issue, it was basic knowledge of American history.

Yet even at 47, McCain still had a lot of "learning" to do before he'd change his mind on MLK, as Steve Benen notes:

If McCain "began to learn" and "studied" after his opposition to the King holiday in ‘83, he was a very slow learner. Four years later, he didn’t fight against a governor or his own party; he endorsed the governor’s move to eliminate a King holiday.

Six years after his House vote he began supporting a state holiday, but still opposed a federal King holiday. Eleven years after his vote, he tried to strip federal funding from the MLK Federal Holiday Commission. Seventeen years after his vote, McCain publicly endorsed South Carolina’s right to fly the confederate flag over its statehouse.

Now, in the interest of fairness, it’s worth noting that McCain ended up, years after the fact, in the right place, and reversed himself on practically all of his previous positions. Better late than never, I suppose.

Now McCain claims he fought his own governor, Benen (who I trust more), says he didn't. So does ABC News' Jake Tapper:

In Arizona, a bill to recognize a holiday honoring MLK failed in the legislature, so then-Gov. Bruce Babbitt, a Democrat, declared one through executive order.

In January 1987, the first act of Arizona's new governor, Republican Evan Mecham, was to rescind the executive order by his predecessor to create an MLK holiday. Arizona's stance became a national controversy.

McCain backed the decision at the time.

So he's a liar. And worse than that, it speaks volumes that he considers MLK not a giant of American (and world) history, but "an issue". I'm sure McCain, Trent Lott, and George Allen would all agree on that.

It takes a big man to admit he was wrong. I can't recall either of the other two ever once uttering those words. This changes nothing.

I don't see how this begs Clinton's apology, though.

Until Obama apologizes for endorsing Todd Stroger and Dorothy Tillman, his supporters have no room to criticize any other candidate who admits an error.

While this, coupled with McCain's ignorant, wrong statements on Iraq and the Middle East, prove the man is not fit to be president, thank goodness his pastor never said anything racist! Oh wait, he did.

"In the campaign underway now, McCain’s acknowledgement of a mistake in Memphis – on the 40th anniversary of the King assassination – places him in harmony with either one of the Democratic candidates whom he is likely to face in November. In full support of King and the civil rights which he championed."

To say that his disingenuous apology makes him "in harmony" with either Democratic candidate is a remarkable OVERSTATEMENT. A 15+ year history of voting against a Dr. King holiday cannot be excused by ignorance or an apology. I have no doubt that he feels the same now as he did then...but the politics have changed and now he has to change in order to not look like a complete racist. His story changes everytime he asks about his reasoning...that is proof that he is full of it.

John McCain's economic advisor Phil Gramm is almost single handedly responsible for what is going on in the financial disaster called the mortgage crisis. McCain will soon have to admit he was wrong there, too.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89338743

McCain is not doing this for votes, because he will not get even 1% of the black vote and the black population are the only ones who care. White liberals could care less. It may cost him a small amount of turnout for radical right vote. but in general it does nothing for him politically.

are there any POW's out there who were in NVA with McCain?

If John McCain is a liar and (as John E. implied) a racist, what does that make Obama's minister Rev. Wright? His comments were not only racist they were down right scary. He insults the very cause that Dr. King died for. And yet he is so beloved by his community and was a spiritual advisor to Mr. Obama!! If the vote comes between the lesser of two evils then my vote will be for McCain. At least he can admit when he is wrong.

Much ado about nothing

well, as an african american, it is hurt to find out that He ( legislator ) that passed laws dont know the american history. Very STUPID.Mc Cain tried to tell me that he doesnt know the color of Florida's sky because he doesnt live in that State.

Jeffy and the rest of the right-wingers on this blog:

The only reason that AZ made MLK's birthday a state holiday is because the state was taking a huge financial hit due to their stupidity. Remember the Super Bowl that was taken away from them?? Otherwise, McCain and the rest of the Bozos from this state would not have done anything.

By the way Jeffy: Why is it that the great veteran John McCain has NOT signed on to the renewal of the GI Bill co-sponsored by 50 Senators? Is it because W. told him to stay in line with him on this one?

In other words, why does John McCain hate veterans???

I grew upn Detroit, so I had lots of black kids for friends, and I always liked and respected them. (I am white.) I was never a racist, and I can remember when I was in the Navy in Dallas in 1945. They still had rules about blacks riding in the rear of the streetcar, but I would deliberately go to the rear of the car to sit. One day I sat with a black kid and was thrilled to have him tell me he was the quarterback on the football team from Cooley High. That school was located just a few miles from where we had lived and would have been the high school I would have attended if we had not moved to California. Cooley has a storied history of athletic accomplishment, so I was probably sitting with a celebrity. We had lots of black guys in my Navy outfit, and I admired them.
However, I have to say that I think Dr. King had the wrong idea when he marched his people through the streets in protests. His people would have been better served if he had marched them to the schoolhouse.

McCain is full of crap. A mistake would be like you mistakenly took the cookie, or you mistakenly did the wrong page, or you mistakenly went the wrong way. How in the hell can you mistakenly vote NO on a bill making MLK dream a National Holiday? Come on people, the times that we were able to trust the government is over, admit it.

It takes a big man to admit he was wrong. I can't recall either of the other two ever once uttering those words. This changes nothing.
I don't see how this begs Clinton's apology, though.

Posted by: Jeff | April 4, 2008 3:50 PM

It takes a very SMALL man (McCain) to outright lie and pander while running for President.

And yet he is so beloved by his community and was a spiritual advisor to Mr. Obama!! If the vote comes between the lesser of two evils then my vote will be for McCain. At least he can admit when he is wrong.

Posted by: Markey | April 4, 2008 5:37 PM

"MJ" or whatever you are calling yourself today.

You are a proven racist on this site and you were never going to vote for Obama in the first place
Put a sock in it, clown boy.

The good people of Arizona don't call John W McBush the "pander bear" for nothing.

John W McCain/Bush skipped the minority debates during the Republican primary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhSZfa1dfD4

The reason Bush and cheny want mcCain elected is they want him to pardon them when they are brouht up on charges of lying about the war and getting 40,000.00 of our boys and girls killed over in iraq.

While Markey keeps bringing up Rev. Wright, he should definitely take a look at who McCain calls his "spiritual guide". Why do you give Rod Parsley a pass for his hateful remarks agains Islam? And why is it ok for McCain to actively seek and secure an endorsement from John Hagee, who has consistently made hateful remarks against Catholocism and said Hurricane Katrina was God's judgement against New Orleans? Could it be because you don't see them played constantly on Fox News? Or do you just not care?

And I won't even bring up Rev. Falwell, who said most of the same things about 9/11 as Rev. Wright, yet McCain has not been called to task about very publicly accepting his endorsement either.

''If John McCain is a liar and (as John E. implied) a racist, what does that make Obama's minister Rev. Wright? His comments were not only racist they were down right scary. He insults the very cause that Dr. King died for. And yet he is so beloved by his community and was a spiritual advisor to Mr. Obama!! If the vote comes between the lesser of two evils then my vote will be for McCain. At least he can admit when he is wrong.'' your pretty much an idiot, Obama said he condemned what his pastor said, and that he agree with what he said, but he merely said that is sometimes what happens in black churches. If it was Obama who said those things it would be different but he didn't.

Sen. McCain was in the Hanoi Hilton when Rev. King was gunned down in Memphis.

He was junior legislator when the vote first came up. Been back home for about 7 1/2 years. So, he should have been able to pick up a book and read a few things.

I still have to vote for him. Sen. Obama sounds like Jimmy Carter, great speaker, nice guy, weak leader (I lived through that period "change"). Sen. Clinton feels she is owed the White House for the crap Slick pulled over the years.

Hope who ever wins has sense to lead country for the people and not for their own agenda. Yep, when pigs fly.

As a vet respecting candor, I was impressed with McCain...until I saw him pandering to Bush when the latter endorsed him. It was soooo uncool. I have lost respect for him bigtime

Posted by: stephen | April 4, 2008 8:29 PM

Posted by: Turk | April 4, 2008 8:42 PM

Posted by: Larry McElroy | April 4, 2008 8:45 PM

"MJ", your lame attempts at making racist comments on here about Senator Obama have really gotten pathetic.

You need to come up with a new life because you currently don't have one...

McCain is a scary figure who is disingenuous and will say or do anything to win the white house.

He has a foul temper, is backed by hate groups, is pro war and knows nothing of the economy.

A perfect strom for driving America to its death.

McCain claims he voted against an MLK holiday because of ignorance about "the issue", as if he needed position papers and highly paid lobbyists to explain to him what Dr. Martin Luther King meant to our nation.

Still, even his claimed ignorance on the topic strains credibility. Perhaps because it just isn't true. Check out what he said about his POW captors in a 1987 interview with USA Today:

"They never gave us any meaningful news," McCain said. "They told us the day that Martin Luther King was shot, they told us the day that Bobby Kennedy was shot, but they never bothered to tell us about the moon shot. So it was certainly selected news."

McCain claims ignorance about MLK because his state didn't have black people, but he knew. His captors told him about it. The issue isn't one of "I didn't know about the issue", but one of "MLK ain't crap". What else could it be?

It's clear as day, especially considering that as late as 1987, McCain didn't consider the assassination of Martin Luther King "meaningful".

A sentiment, I'm sure, shared with his good friends Trent Lott and George Allen.

::

McCain's middle name should be 'Gaff '.

Oh, now all of a sudden he admits he wrong. Give me a break!

Actually...
Arizona must run a popular vote for holidays and we voted it down three times in a row.
Not because we are racist, but due to the costs involved.
Same as combining Lincolns and Washingtons B-days and getting rid of Armistice Day in lieu a combined Veterans Day.
McCain wanted it all along, but us Arizonans told him NO.
He worked for us then and will in 2009 as the US President.

"I feared that if I answered honestly, I could not win the South Carolina primary,’’ McCain acknowledeged then. “So I chose to compromise my principles."

AND

He also acknowledged in April of that year that his refusal to take a stance during his primary battle for the Palmetto State was a "sacrifice of principle for personal ambition."

These two statements out of John McCain's own mouth say it all! He is dishonest and will lie or deceive to attain his goals.

Is that what YOU want in a president?

You say arizona residents are`nt racist, I beg to differ with you, I lived in arizona for three years and they hated Mexicans and Indians and they loved Catholics and Jews even less.

John: You hit the nail on the head when you said McCain if elected, will pardon B&C on the charges they will certainly have to answer for. Don't forget baby busch for VP ?

McCain seems so stupid that its cute. Another Bush, no doubt. He whistles when he talks and its great. He should retire with his 100M$ wife.

Obama is the next president.

A more question for Obama
is why did he oppose the war?

Dr. King blazed across American history from his "I have a dream" speech in 1963 until his death in 1968.

So why was John McCain not aware of Martin Luther King's history, such as the 1963 March on Washington, the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march, and Memphis in 1968?

McCain was overseas with the Navy. He graduated from flight school in 1960 and was deployed on aircraft carriers. By 1966, he was deployed in the Pacific flying combat missions during the Vietnam War. He was shot down and spent 1967-1973 in a North Vietnamese prison.

Most Americans have personal heroes,and many Americans feel an extraordinary respect for Dr. King - for his visionary goals and for his ultimate influence on personal equality in this country. But he truly did not do it alone, and his is not the only significant contribution to realization of the American dream for all Americans.
A special holiday in his honor is nice, particularly in today's mood, but to slam a person for not supporting it in principle when Dr.King was not yet so obviously an American cornerstone is really unfair. This is about fairness, isn't it?

i don't trust any politician, so McCain lying is nothing new under the sun.

This really shows the true colors of John McCain. Anyone who reads this and can go to the ballot box and vote for this man has some serious issues. It is scary that this man has a chance at becoming president of the United States. Lets just pray the people of this country realize what they are doing BEFORE it is to late this time, cause they were about 3 years late for Bush.

McCain is a liar. He don't seem to have good principles. He has a bad lair principles, can not be trusty.

It was not an issue for John McCain because Annapolis did not have blacks. Also, the Navy did not have any black officers for many years. Blacks were relegated to stewards or servants to the officers.

Obama help save us from this Rightwingignorama! Say it fast five times while you appreciate this new word I've coined!

People want to blast Obama for what came out of someone else's mouth!? How about blasting McCain for what has come out of his own mouth? "I feared that if I answered honestly, I could not win the South Carolina primary’’ Liar, Liar!

People want to blast Obama for what came out of someone else's mouth!? How about blasting McCain for what has come out of his own mouth? "I feared that if I answered honestly, I could not win the South Carolina primary’’ Liar, Liar!

What is wrong with you people? McCain openly admits he is wrong every single time he gets caught!

"If John McCain is a liar and (as John E. implied) a racist, what does that make Obama's minister Rev. Wright? His comments were not only racist they were down right scary. He insults the very cause that Dr. King died for. And yet he is so beloved by his community and was a spiritual advisor to Mr. Obama!! If the vote comes between the lesser of two evils then my vote will be for McCain. At least he can admit when he is wrong."

Markey, you need to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr. He actually said things very similar to Rev. Wright. He condemned our involvement with Vietnam and said the US committed more violence in the world than anyone else. And I notice that people seem to condem Rev Wright's words without actually critically evaluating them. If you disagree with what he said, then state exactly what it is that he said that you're in disagreement with and explain why he's wrong.

It's clear now that Obama is battling McClinton. The stakes are quite high.

Obama too has admitted that he will undoubtedly lie and make promises he won't keep during this election period so - let's face it nobody is above the criticism. And as for McCain do we not allow for personal growth and change in people - we have become so cynical! Sometimes people change - we all make mistakes and have changes in heart. So much anger and hatred will get us no where.

dave.. your wrong..

micah... 100 percent right

more common sense.. 100 percent right

if you were EVER against a MLK holiday after the mid 70's you ARE RACIST. plain and simple..

Not only does McCain lie, but he is also proud about graduating at the bottom of his class!

"A special holiday in his honor is nice, particularly in today's mood, but to slam a person for not supporting it in principle when Dr.King was not yet so obviously an American cornerstone is really unfair. This is about fairness, isn't it?"

Posted by: Grant

YOU JUST PROVED THE POINT!. It was OBVIOUS! IMMEDIATELY! to EVERYONE! even INTERNATIONALLY! the only people it was not OBVIOUS to are the RACISTS and BIGOTS!

Having lived in the west for many of my earlier years in life I can understand what McCain is talking about. I had no idea about racism. When I was 20 I moved to the south. I had heard about the civil war and knew some about the civil rights movement, but I was born in the early 80s and never really experienced any of that. I thought that was all history. I couldn't believe the racism of people in the south. What was even more surprising was the strong religious opinions of the individuals that would be shared by the people that would often say - "I am not racist, but ...." It was only after living in the south for some time that I realized the full magnitude of what the civil rights leaders did and how bad it must of been (and still is).

MC-SAME is someone I at least respect. I respect people that fought for this country in a different way period. Listen, the man is just NOT smart. He is not a politician. He is not the OUTRIGHT PREMEDITATED LIAR, that Hillary is, but even SHE knew that you don't fool around with Dr. King's Memorial. It was NOT the time to apologize. And he should NOT have been there having voted the man's holiday down. It was self-serving and disengeniuous.

John McCain a hero? No way.
Sen. McCain when younger went to college specifically to learn to play a ruthless and lawless sport called 'Kill for Keeps' in which he learned to kill his opponent's players by blowing them up with big bombs, bigger than anything Ted Kazinski ever thought of. And John McCain was good at killing. However, he wasn't suppose to kill the spectators, nor the family of the players and spectators, but he did anyway because that was the nature of his position in this 'Kill for Keeps' game. He killed from a distance. A great distance. And it's hard if not impossible to kill only one set of people, especially when your position from a great distance doesn't give you a choice who is going to get killed.

Not long after McCain entered this dangerous game, and for some reason or other, not having learned in college how to keep from getting knocked out of his position and not learning how to keep his opponents from catching him after being knocked out, he was taken to the sidelines, which happened to be everywhere, because the playing field happened to be the opponent's country, McCain was kicked and punched, water-boarded and made to stand naked with a hood on his head, was intimidated by dogs and so forth, but never had his bones broken, never had his teeth knocked out, never had bamboo sticks shoved up under his fingernails, and was never really put to the test, because his daddy was an Admiral.

There McCain sat and layed for 5 and 1/2 years, unable to play the sport he was taught. But shortly after the game, when the game was over and his team lost, McCain was given the Most Valuable Player award. Yeah, the people in charge of the 'Kill for Keeps' game gave him the award of Most Valuable Player (hero award) because, I guess, he got the crap kicked out of him for killing so many innocent men, women, and children on the other side.

Today now McCain proudly flaunts his Most Valuable Player award around the country and into other foreign countries where the 'Kill for Keeps' game is again being played. And he is unashamed of telling people he killed innocent people with big big bombs in another country where we shouldn't have been. And many people do not question his MVP award, because to do so would be un-warlike, unAmerican, un-McCain, and un-believable to say the least, because America is desperate for heros, even if they are killers of children.
John McCain a hero? No way!

I had a similar experience as John who spoke of moving from the west to the south - I did not see racism until I was older and really had no clue what it was about until then. I truly did not understand, and I honestly felt like it must have been "hype" or something, because I heard people talking on national television about racism still existing but never saw anything that remotely resembled racism. That did not make me a racist or a bigot, it made me unintentionally uninformed. And I was big enough to say that I had been wrong once I saw it first hand and was able to understand what people were talking about.

I am willing to admit that it is possible (although not plausible) that McCain did not know enough about MLK's dream and the issues that surrounded it. If he was in the POW camp when much of it happened (I have not verified the dates mentioned by other posters), and then came home after MLK was shot, then it might not have seemed like a priority to a man who was recovering from the horrors he experienced as a POW. I have friends whose fathers were POWs in Vietnam, and to this day they live with debilitating nightmares and other problems resulting from their experiences. I don't know what McCain's experience was like, and there's probably a lot that he did not tell anyone so we could not possibly know about it. But I'd be willing to bet he had to deal with a lot when he got back. So in my opinion, it's possible that he was misinformed or uninformed for some time, and then decided that he should learn more about the things he missed while he was overseas.

I'm getting a bit fed up with the notion that McCain is a "war hero" The guy bombed civilians from high up in the air! That he got shot down has very little to do with heroism - more with bad luck. The man has no principles, lies, is racist and has a short fuse. Great combination for a President - still an improvement on the nitwit we have been stuck with. I feel sorry for the country not being able to get a leader who cares about her!

Guys like McCain were certainly not on King's side.

Americans forget today how controversial King had become in 1968.

No one, except the Bull Conner types, spoke against the early days of freedom marches.

But King became in the 1960s the nation's most eloquent voice against war.

No one put the case better against the war in Vietnam than King. He could send shivers down your spine.

Meanwhile McCain was in Vietnam bombing civilians, and he was indeed bombing civilians around Hanoi when he was shot down. Rather than going on about mistreatment, he should always regard himself lucky he wasn't torn apart on coming down.

King also in those last years had become a powerful speaker for more economic justice, just the kind of subject a McCain would have no tolerance for.

In fact, it was the combination of King's turning his powerful voice on the war and on economic justice that gives so many good reason to believe his assassination was the work of Borgia-like powers in America.

He had become, in the view of some powerful Americans, dangerous. And McCain is an ally of such people, not an opponent.

Talk about changing your tune to match the political winds! FlipFLop doesn't even begin to describe McBush on this.

Well since what i posted wasnt even put up for anyone to see, i'll make it alittle easier for people to read. I'm a reg. dem. that has voted the past two times for Bush, and it looks like im voting for McCain this time also.!!!!!!!!!

Dutch West - no one who has posted on this article has called McCain a war hero. Maybe it was coincidence that your post came directly after mine, but it would seem that you thought I was calling him a war hero. If that is the case, please notice that I never called him a hero, nor did I say anything positive about him being in the war. I do not believe that killing others in a senseless war can ever make you a hero. I simply stated that if he was there, he might have had some things to recover from.

Truth be told, I feel bad for some of these boys (and I mean boys since many are teenagers) who join the armed forces and think that they are going to help our country by doing great things, and then they find out that they are only there to point a gun and pull the trigger. I have known all too many boys who had a genuine desire to help others so they joined the armed forces and ruined their life. Do I think McCain was one of these boys - No, I do not. I believe he joined knowing exactly what he was going to do. He seems cold and calculating. But I also believe that regardless of what he was prepared for, there COULD have been something he wasn't prepared for, from which he had to recover.