MLK and LBJ: Movements and Politicians (by Jim Wallis) |
| Published: January 16, 2008, 3:56 pm |
| Tags: elections, movement, barack obama, casting stones, hillary clinton, lyndon johnson, martin luther king jr |
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An unfortunate exchange of words between the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama this week threatened to explode into real conflict, involving the always volatile U.S. issue of race. The dust-up was as unexpected as it was unfortunate, and was sparked in part by comments made about the respective roles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Lyndon Johnson in achieving the historic goals of the civil rights movement. But race is the wrong way to view this escalating war of words (with operatives on both sides doing their political jobs of trying to gain from the controversy). Both of these candidates have records on civil rights and racial justice that deserve to be trusted. The truly historic significance of an African American and a woman emerging as leading candidates for president should not be diminished by bad campaign exchanges over race and gender. In last night's debate, they returned to higher ground. The real issue here is the more complicated relationship [ Full article ] |
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