McCain Running for Buchanan's Next Term

James Buchanan, that is.  Some people might be concerned about what's going to happen in the next term, but McCain is introducing the first presidency that is all about the past.  

Republican presidential candidate John McCain took a stroll down memory lane on Monday, opening a tour to show Americans the places where he grew from rebellious youth to war hero and politician.

God forbid there was an opening paragraph of a news story on McCain that did not include the phrase "war hero."  But McCain set the start of his story much further back than Vietnam.

A weeklong "Service to America" tour for McCain began on Monday in Mississippi, where generations of McCains were born and raised on land that had been in the family since 1848.

McCain goes onto to recount the many generations of war heroes in his family, including the fact that the naval base where he trained was named after his grandpa, leading to many oh-so-cute events in which McCain reminded the folks training him that his daddy and granddaddy were admirals.  What a scamp.

McCain made a similar sentimental journey during his campaign in 2000, during which time it was pointed out that his family history in Mississippi included some activities that were less than heroic.

The family's storied military history stretches back to Carroll County, Miss., where McCain's great-great grandfather William Alexander McCain owned a plantation, and later died during the Civil War as a soldier for the Mississippi cavalry.

But what McCain didn't know about his family until Tuesday was that William Alexander McCain had owned 52 slaves. The senator seemed surprised after Salon reporters showed him documents gathered from Carroll County Courthouse, the Carrollton Merrill Museum, the Mississippi State Archives and the Greenwood, Miss., Public Library.

Oddly, though this fact became known at least by 2000, in the articles published today by dozens of papers and "news" networks this story seemed to be left out of the "storied history."

Even in 2000, it took an online publication to ferret out the documents of the less savory side of the McCain family history.  Major newspapers and broadcast media apparently couldn't find information hidden in such secret sources as a "public library" or "county courthouse."  But I'm sure they were enjoying the BBQ in 2000 just as much as they are in 2008.

Update [2008-3-31 18:59:48 by Devilstower]: Because I'm tired of saying it multiple times in the comments.  No, it's no reflection on John McCain that his family once kept slaves.  That's exactly the point, damn it.  His sins -- and his achievements -- are his own.  Having slaveholders in the family should not be counted against him, just as having admirals in the family should not be counted for him.  But if you're going to go down to Mississippi, talk about how many generations of McCain were reared there, and claim their good qualities as your own, you're also liable to being hit with their less than heroic actions.  

Bush and McCain are already editing the present.  I'm not inclined to hand them the past.