McCain: A Moment of Political Civility

"Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America. Too often the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed. So I wanted to stop and say, 'Congratulations,'" McCain says in the ad.

WASHINGTON, DC (Inside Catholic) - Barack Obama gave his convention speech last night on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech." John McCain, in recognition of this, took a break from his series of negative ads.

McCain was in Ohio as Obama spoke, and after a series of sharply negative convention week television commercials, his campaign aired a one-night advertisement that complimented Obama and noted the speech occurred on the anniversary of King's famous address.

"Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America. Too often the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed. So I wanted to stop and say, 'Congratulations,'" McCain says in the ad.

"How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day. Tomorrow, we'll be back at it. But tonight Senator, job well done."

The importance of these gestures, on both sides, cannot be underestimated. They serve to remind people that, well, we are all people, human beings with something to recommend about each of us.

I could hardly disagree with Barack Obama more on about 75% of his policy positions and 100% on his view of human life. But the significance of his achievement in winning the nomination, what it means symbolically to the African American community, cannot be ignored or dismissed.

So I applaud McCain for taking this moment to say "congratuations." The political battle with resume again today, a battle that promises to be a fierce as any in the history of American politics. But it won't be about race, it will be about the right to life, the question Rick Warren asked Obama at Saddleback.

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