On Saturday, Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and icon of the civil rights era, lashed out at John McCain for "sowing seeds of hatred" and compared the GOP candidate to a racist.
"During another period, in the not-too-distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate," Lewis said. He added:
George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights.
Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.
After the McCain campaign cried foul, Lewis clarified his statement late Saturday, saying it wasn't his "intention or desire" to link the GOP candidate with Wallace.
McCain has no obvious links to the bigoted Wallace, so it's good to see that Lewis acknowledges his words were no more than a bizarre non sequitur.
No doubt, too, Lewis had no "intention or desire" to censure Barack Obama for his more direct relationship with William Ayers, the radical leader of the Weather Underground who actually did throw bombs.
But what about those "seeds of hatred" allegedly sown by McCain and Palin? As the Associated Press explained:
During some rallies featuring McCain and Palin, supporters have shouted "traitor," "terrorist," "treason," "liar," and even "off with his head."
Lewis's strong rebukes over the past eight years must have been drowned out by those in his own party yelling the same epithets at Bush and Cheney.
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