In the article "McCain Sees King Speech as Chance to Mend Ties" from the New York Times, Michael Cooper draws attention to the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, an event which even today continues to inspire and influence many Americans to seek out ways to "mend the ties" between the races. For John McCain, the "presumptive Republican presidential nominee" for the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections, the assassination of Dr. King prompted him to think about how the life and times of Dr. King have evolved in his own mind since 1983 when "as a freshman in Congress, he voted against establishing a national holiday" to honor the memory of King," a vote which he now regrets and admits to being a mistake.
             After much thought on this topic, McCain decided to support the establishment of a holiday for Dr. King which many of his fellow Republicans in Congress were firmly against for a variety of reasons. According to McCain, "I learned that (Dr. King) was a transcendent figure in American history" and that he "deserved to be honored, and I thought it was appropriate to do so." McCain adds that his home state of Arizona was "one of the last states to recognize Dr. King's birthday as a holiday," a fact which he now considers as something not to be proud of.
             As Cooper points out, McCain's decision to bring up the topic of Dr. King and his famous "I Have a Dream" speech revolves around his desire to introduce many African-American voters to the principles of the Republican Party, hoping that some of them might decide to vote for him in the Presidential election in November. However, McCain admits that "I know that I'm not going to get a majority of the African-American vote," due to the fact that the majority of African-American...