As the nation reflects on the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., on this, the fortieth anniversary of his assassination, no one is more reflective than Republican presidential nominee John McCain. McCain, who initially voted against honoring the slain civil rights leader with a national holiday, takes pains to note that, within a decade of that vote, he had reversed his position on the matter. What accounts for the change of heart? "Well, I learned that this individual was a transcendent figure in American history, he deserved to be honored, and I thought it was appropriate to do so," reports the Times. And, to be fair to the senator, he was pretty busy in the interim between his release from captivity in Vietnam up to his moment of clarity, which might have kept him from learning more about Dr. King: He had to leave his wife, marry into a wealthy Phoenix-area family, run for Congress, run for Senate, fly around on Charlie Keating's jets... the guy had a lot on his plate.

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