McGaffe - Lies About Wiseman John Lewis - "McCain Does Not Consult Me" - Name Dropping Habit?

You know John McCain's habit of dropping the names of the famous or important people as though the person was close confidante of John McCain's. Richard Patreus, for example, is frequently mentioned. Sometimes, as was the case was with Georgia Saakashvili, the exaggeration is sublte as when McCain has difficulty pronouncing his name or when the Georgian President calls John McCain on the "We are all Georgians" comment by saying that's nice, but what are you going to do? However, McCain sometimes gets caught for his name dropping such as when he tried to similataneously pander to the State of Georgia and Civil Rights supporters by mentioning John Lewis as a wise man with whom he consults.

The problem? McCain does not consult with John Lewis, nor do they often agree:

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/08/9293_john_mccain_john_lewis_wise_man.html

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John McCain says he plans to consult with Democratic Rep. John Lewis when he's president. That's news to Lewis.

During Saturday's presidential forum at Rick Warren's California megachurch, John McCain was asked to name the "three wisest people" he would "rely heavily on" if elected president. He didn't cite close confidantes Phil Gramm and Randy Scheunemann, possibly because they have gotten McCain into trouble politically. Instead McCain chose Gen. David Petraeus; former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, one of his economic advisers; and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a leading figure in the civil rights movement.

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In response to McCain's latest invocation of his name, Rep. Lewis said in a statement requested by Mother Jones, "I cannot stop one human being, even a presidential candidate, from admiring the courage and sacrifice of peaceful protesters on the Edmund Pettus Bridge or making comments about it." But, he added, "Sen. McCain and I are colleagues in the US Congress, not confidantes. He does not consult me. And I do not consult him."

It took McCain years to fully embrace the goals that Lewis was fighting for on Bloody Sunday. In 1983, McCain voted against making Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday, in opposition to most members of Congress, including many of his Republican colleagues. In 1987, the governor of Arizona repealed the state's recognition of King; McCain supported the move. It was only in 1990, 25 years after Lewis marched in Alabama, when Arizona reversed its decision that McCain changed his own stance on the issue.

And there are, of course, the fundamental differences between John McCain's political philosophy and the goals of Lewis and his fellow marchers. Lewis hoped that the federal government would use its influence to protect the rights of disenfranchised individuals; he sought an expanded role for government because of what he believed was government's power to do good. It explains, in part, why Lewis is a Democrat today and supports Barack Obama for president. McCain, on the other hand, is a fanatical enemy of government spending and has said, "I've found over time that less government involvement is better." It's a philosophy that would have left Lewis and his cohorts out in the cold.

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Here is just another tidbit that is lighting up the blogosphere, but is ignored by the MSM.

Carry on.

to put McCain's and Lewis's face here, as it sums up the nature of their relationship: