The Black McCains

Race is all the sudden more interesting. The McCain campaign doesn't want to talk about it and has asked others not to talk about it, but every two years there's a family reunion of the McCains. They all gather together on the property in Carroll County, MS, purchased in 1851 by John McCain's great grandfather. The property was a plantation and the descendants that gather there, all related to one another, are black and white.

McCain claims his family never owned slaves, but even his own brother Joe attends the reunions.

Lillie McCain, 56, another distant cousin of John McCain who is black, said the Republican presidential nominee is trying to hide his past, and refuses to accept the family’s history.

“After hearing him in 2000 claim his family never owned slaves, I sent him an email,” she recalled. “I told him no matter how much he denies it, it will not make it untrue, and he should accept this and embrace it.”

She said the senator never responded to her email.

The McCain campaign did not respond to repeated questions about John McCain’s black relatives, or about his relatives of both races who support Obama. Pablo Carrillo, a media liaison with the McCain campaign, said the senator was aware of his African-American relatives, but asked the reporter to put his questions into writing, and that someone would get back to him.

After the reporter sent questions in writing, and made repeated follow-up phone calls, neither Sen. McCain nor anyone else from the campaign responded.

It's sad that in an election where race is playing such a huge part, that John McCain can't diffuse these hatreds with a discussion of his own family. He would prefer to live in denial and act as if this family of his does not exist.

I won't delve into McCain's psyche - it's a scary place - but this denial of mixed race relatives fathered by his ancestors hints at the seeds of his arrogance, and the genuine dislike he feels for Obama.