Interesting contrasts in the way the three presidential contenders play the anniversary of the King assassination:
Hillary has learned you have to have a grant to announce if you're going to give a speech in Oneonta. She goes to Memphis and gives a speech endorsing a pet proposal of the King family -- a cabinet-level "Poverty Czar" -- which also happens to be the pet cause of John Edwards, one of the big endorsements still out there with his home state of North Carolina looming.
Obama is always conscious of not being the race candidate. He is the only one of the three to not go to Memphis, citing a scheduling conflict and appearing instead in Indiana where -- by coincidence? -- Bobby Kennedy gave a remembered eulogy for King 40 years ago today. He marries King to the economy and the broader struggle of ordinary people for economic and social justice. So it's all handled in a very post-racial way.
McCain's campaign is all about character, so he plays the honor and candor card. He goes, against expectations, not only to Memphis -- but to the Lorraine Motel itself. He apologizes for voting against a national holiday for MLK in 1983. The reception is not great, as you can see in the video below. It's even a little uncomfortable. But he'll get McCain points as a stand-up guy: