Barack Obama commemorated the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination at a campaign stop in Fort Wayne, Indiana today. The candidate led a racially diverse crowd in a moment of silence before speaking the life and legacy of Dr. King, a man whom Obama referred to as a “modern day Moses.” His death, Obama said, “left a wound on the soul of our nation that has not yet fully healed.”

While Obama spoke to voters in Indiana, both Hillary Clinton and John McCain made the journey to Memphis, Tennessee, the city where Dr. King was shot and killed 40 years ago today. Obama skipped the Memphis events, but did mention that he spoke with Martin Luther King, III this morning.

When asked to explain his absence, Obama, who regularly cites King on the campaign trail, told reporters he was not worried about appearances. “I spoke at Dr. Kings’ church on his birthday, was with the King family then. I obviously gave a fairly fulsome speech on the state of race relations just two weeks ago. And I think it’s important to spread the message that Dr. King’s work is unfinished in places like Indiana and North Dakota,” he explained. The candidate will also campaign today in North Dakota and Montana.

But Indiana isn’t entirely irrelevant to this anniversary. Then candidate for president, Robert F. Kennedy held a rally in Indianapolis shortly after news broke that King had been assassinated. Many in the mostly African American crowd had not yet heard the news when Kennedy told them.

“As the shock turned toward anger, Kennedy reminded them of Dr. King’s compassion, and his love. And on a night when cities across the nation were alight with violence, all was quiet in Indianapolis,” Obama noted in his speech.

Mike Reilly worked for Kennedy and was with him that day, 40 years ago. When he introduced Obama at the Fort Wayne town hall, Reilly noted, “If Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were here right now, first of all they’d tell me to get off the stage, but if they were here, they would believe that Senator Obama was standing for the same issues that they were concerned about.” Reilly concluded, “I believe that Senator Obama has captured the passion of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King.”

Read Obama’s prepared remarks after the jump.

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Memphis, TN– Praising Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a man whose message will be “heard and understood” for ages, Sen. John McCain apologized Friday for once voting against a national holiday commemorating the slain civil rights leader.

“Sometimes…we can be slow as well to give greatness its due, a mistake I myself made long ago…when I voted against a federal holiday in memory of Dr. King. I was wrong, I was wrong…I was wrong and eventually realized that, in time, in time to give full support, full support for a state holiday in my home state of Arizona,” McCain said to scattered boos and jeers from the rain-soaked crowd of hundreds on the 40th anniversary of the King assassination. “I’d remind you that…we can all be a little late sometimes in doing the right thing and Dr. King understood this about his fellow Americans.” (FULL REMARKS AFTER JUMP)

Speaking to the mostly African American audience less than 50 feet below the balcony where King was shot, McCain said that, “even in this most idealistic of nations, we do not always take kindly to being reminded of what more we can do, or how much better we can be, or who else can (be included) in the promise of America.”

During the portion of the speech where he expressed regret over his vote, one member of the crowd could also be heard shouting, “we all make mistakes, we all make mistakes.”

McCain has said repeatedly that he regrets his 1983 vote and began to advocate for a state referendum in support of a holiday by 1990. Arizona eventually passed the referenda and began commemorating the holiday in 1993. More details on his history with MLK here

While members of the crowd I spoke with after the speech said they were satisfied with the speech, the Democratic National Committee is aggressively attacking McCain on the issue today. “It’s frankly disingenuous for John McCain to try and reinvent himself for the general election by distorting his record of opposing a holiday honoring Dr. King. John McCain should be honest about his full record of opposing the federal holiday, opposing a state holiday four years later, using divisive language to defend himself, and voting to cut off funding for the commission working to promote the King holiday as recently as 1994,” said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney in a statement.

The McCain campaign plans to continue outreach to the African-American community and other minority groups with a tour later this month of places “not usually visited by Republicans,” according to advisers. Among the places he is set to visit are rural Alabama, Louisiana, the Applachia and possibly some inner-city areas.

UPDATE–4:17 p.m. : RNC Spokesman Danny Diaz responds to DNC attack on McCain: “It is both sad and disturbing that the Democratic National Committee would use Dr. King’s name in a political attack as Americans are celebrating his legacy.”
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Memphis, TN — Sen. John McCain may face questions about his civil rights record as he visits Memphis Friday to participate in a number of events commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination.

Scheduled to address the Southern Christian Leadership Conference–which King headed up for more than a decade–as well as lay a wreath at the National Civil Rights Museum, McCain’s initial opposition to a holiday commemorating the slain civil rights leader could be among the issues that come up during his trip.

In his first year in the U.S. House, McCain voted with the minority and opposed the 1983 law creating the national holiday to honor King, but reversed his decision around 1990 after he says he “learned” more about King’s achievements. As he fought for an Arizona state ballot measure to recognize MLK Day in 1990, McCain successfully pushed former President Reagan to endorse the referendum.

McCain has said on a number of occasions that he regrets his original 1983 vote and told reporters this week that he is “very proud” of his record of support for King.

“I voted in my…first year in Congress against it and then I began to learn and I studied and people talked to me. And I not only supported it but I fought very hard in my home state of Arizona for recognition against a governor who was of my own party,” McCain said during a media availability aboard his plane Monday (video above). “I had not been involved in the issue. I had come from being in the military to running for Congress in a state that did not have a very large African American population and it had not been in issue. It just simply had not been.”

In a February 2000 interview with ABC News, McCain said his initial opposition to a holiday was based on his belief that “it was not necessary to have another federal holiday, that it cost too much money, that other presidents were not recognized.”

Asked on Monday why he shifted his position and later supported a state measure creating a holiday, McCain told reporters that he “learned (that King) was a transcendent figure in American history. He deserved to be honored and that I thought it was appropriate to do so.”

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Jacksonville, FL

Governor Romney paid tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. when speaking to a group of employees at Gate Petroleum today and then shook hands and posed for photos with African-American families at a parade.

The presidential hopeful met a friendly crowd at the Martin Luther King, Jr. parade here. The former Massachusetts governor often runs back and forth across streets during parades to greet people and today was no exception. He shook hands with ROTC members, tiny beauty queens, police officers and many parade-goers, including children screaming his name.  He jumped off the Mitt Mobile to greet a waiting crowd, took a picture with some kids and young adults and awkwardly quipped, ”Who let the dogs out? Who who.”

He took pictures with many in the crowd and greeted one baby wearing a necklace saying, “Hey buddy! How’s it going? What’s happening? You got some bling bling here!”

Romney even received some hugs, but some Obama supporters held up signs and one woman yelled, “Mitt Romney go home. You are holding up the parade!” Once the parade did start Romney hopped back on the Mitt Mobile and headed to his next stop.

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He began his remarks at a petroleum company honoring the legacy of the civil rights leader saying he “fulfilled the promise of the Declaration of Independence.”

“Obviously the Declaration indicated that we are all individuals created by the same maker, we’re sons and daughters of God and we’re given equal opportunity,” Romney continued, “And that was not fulfilled in this country for a long, long time. And in some places today, it is still yet to be fulfilled. And Martin Luther King is an individual who opened the doors to bringing down so many of the barriers that had kept so many people from having their full potential realized, and showed again what one person can do. It’s amazing the impact of an individual.”

Romney segued directly into his stump speech:

“So I wish to begin by paying my respects to his great memory and accomplishment. My areas of accomplishment are not like his, not on that level, and yet I took a very different course in my life than most people who are in office. My life was like your mayor’s: I spent my life in the private sector.”

Romney is campaigning down the entire Florida peninsula today—starting in Jacksonville and ending in Boca Raton.

Just as Barack Obama wrapped up a press conference to talk about the ugly racial turn the Democratic race has taken in the last several days, Senator Clinton released a statement of her own — saying, “Over this past week, there has been a lot of discussion and back and forth - much of which I know does not reflect what is in our hearts. And at this moment, I believe we must seek common ground.”

She added, “when it comes to civil rights and our commitment to diversity, when it comes to our heroes - President John F. Kennedy and Dr. King - Senator Obama and I are on the same side.”

Of course, each campaign has accused the other of starting and furthering the heated talk on race — with Obama supporters saying she denigrated Dr. King in an interview with Fox News, and Clinton herself accusing team Obama of twisting her words.

Read Clinton’s full statement after the break.

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Maybe it’s because she’s been accused of diminishing the accomplishments of Martin Luther King, or maybe it’s because it was a dreary afternoon in New York, but Sen Hillary Clinton didn’t exactly receive a warm welcome in her home state at a birthday celebration for the civil rights leader (which is technically tomorrow, while the MLK holiday is next week).

Scattered boos peppered the smattering of applause as Sen Clinton walked to the podium to deliver a 20 minute address linking the civil rights struggle to the fight for women’s rights and labor rights; the event, held jointly with a security workers union that has endorsed Sen Clinton, was also aimed at securing better wages and health care benefits for union members.

Clinton mentioned her chief rival for the nomination twice in her speech, both times linking herself to his historic candidacy. “How many of us ever could have dreamed that we would see the day when a woman and an African American are running for the presidency of the United States of America?” she asked.

She also delivered a more artful version of the argument that she so poorly articulated to Major Garrett and which kicked off the whole King controversy — crediting civil rights leaders’ political action, not just their lofty rhetoric, for achieving change. “Both Senator Obama and I know that we are where we are today because of leaders like Dr King,” she said. But, she said, those activists “also voted, and they brought people to the polls and they held leaders accountable for delivering on the promise.”

The crowd interrupted the speech for tepid applause only a handful of times, and rewarded her with more of the same at the end of her remarks. Take a look.

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Speaking before a predominantly African-American congregation at the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Sumter, South Carolina, John Edwards criticized Hillary Clinton and her husband for comments they made last week just before the New Hampshire primary vote.

“I’m gonna say I was troubled recently to see a suggestion that real change came not through the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, but through a Washington politician,” Edwards said. “I fundamentally disagree with that. Those who believe that real change starts with Washington politicians have been in Washington too long and are living in a fairy tale.”

Though he did not mention Hillary Clinton by name, Edwards sought to address a statement she recently made, which some thought gave President Lyndon B. Johnson more credit than Martin Luther King for civil rights laws. Edwards’ use of “fairy tale” seemed to be a gibe at Bill Clinton’s “fairy tale” characterization of Obama’s Iraq War position.

The Clintons have since defended their remarks, claiming they were purposely distorted by rival campaigns for political gain—and were not intended to depreciate Dr. King’s influence or degrade Barack Obama.

In his address to the congregation, Edwards praised Obama for his political achievements.

“This may come as a surprise to some of you coming from another presidential candidate,” Edwards said, “but as someone who grew up in the segregated South, I feel an enormous amount of pride when I see the success that Senator Barack Obama is having in this campaign.”

Edwards’ support of Obama continued: “The hopes that both Senator Obama and I have for this nation and this country that we love so much, these are not false hopes. They’re real hopes.”

At a press conference following Edwards’ speech, a reporter asked if he was running for Barack Obama’s Vice President instead of the Democratic nominee.

“I’m running for the Democratic nomination,” Edwards said in response, adding with a smile, “I think maybe he should be running for my VP.”

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Senator Barack Obama told reporters on a conference call today that Hillary Clinton’s accusations that his campaign was trying to “deliberately” mislead the public about her comments on Martin Luther King, Jr. were “ludicrous.”The conference call was set up to showcase new endorser, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), but when the call was opened to questions, Obama was asked by a reporter about Clinton’s comments on Meet the Press this morning, during which she spoke further about the Obama camp’s attempt to distort her comments.

Obama responded incredulously, “This is fascinating to me.  I mean, I think what we saw this morning is why the American people are tired of Washington politicians and the games they play. But Senator Clinton made an unfortunate remark, an ill-advised remark, about King and Lyndon Johnson. I didn’t make the statement. I haven’t remarked on it and she, I think, offended some folks who felt that somehow diminished King’s role in bringing about the Civil Rights Act. She is free to explain that, but the notion that somehow this is our doing is ludicrous.  I have to point out that instead of telling the American people about her positive vision for America, Senator Clinton spent an hour talking about me and my record in a way that was flat out wrong.”

Obama Press Secretary, Bill Burton also sent out an email to reporters that said the criticism of Clinton’s remarks actually came from her own supporters and Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC), which you can read after the jump. (more…)

Hillary Clinton accused the Obama campaign of “deliberately [trying] to mislead” the American people by distorting her comments on Barack Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Calling the commentary about her remarks “baseless and divisive,” Clinton said “I was disturbed by it. I think it clearly came from Senator Obama’s campaign, and I don’t think it’s the kind of debate we should be having.”

“I was personally offended at the approach taken, that was not only misleading but unnecessarily hurtful and I’ve made that clear to many people in the last several days,” she said.

In an interview with Major Garrett in New Hampshire last week, Clinton criticized the analogy Obama had drawn between his own hopeful campaign and the words of Dr King — saying “I would point to the fact that Dr King’s dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act… That dream became a reality, the power of that dream became real in people’s lives because we had a president who said we were going to do it, and actually got it accomplished.”

That remark angered many in the African-American community, including South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn — who said “it bothered me a great deal.” Clyburn told the New York Times “It is one thing to run a campaign and be respectful of everyone’s motives and actions, and it is something else to denigrate those.”

Clinton said she’s talked to Clyburn to explain her remarks, and that the influential lawmaker will stay neutral in the South Carolina primary.

Take a look at Clinton addressing the controversy surrounding her words below.

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Ft. Dodge. IA–

Governor Romney faced a barrage of questions today surrounding reports that his father, George Romney did not march with Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement. As recently as Romney’s “Faith in America” speech Romney said, “I saw my father march with Martin Luther King.” He reiterated that point last weekend on Meet the Press. Today Romney adamantly stood by the story that his father did march with the civil rights leader, but acknowledged he didn’t mean he literally saw them march, instead he meant it “figuratively:”

“If you look at the literature or the dictionary the term ‘saw’ includes being aware of in the sense I have described. It is a figure of speech and very familiar and very common and I saw my dad march with Martin Luther King. I did not see it with my own eyes, but I saw him in the sense of being aware of his participation in that great effort.”

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One of the reports says that George Romney could not have attended the march because it was on a Sunday and George Romney did not hold political events on Sunday because of the Mormon Sabbath:

“My brother also remembers my dad having spoken about the fact that he did not do political events on Sunday, but that he decided at the last minute that he was going to break that self-imposed rule and participate and I think he did so on a Sunday as I recall.”

In a particularly uncomfortable moment Romney tried to explain what “figuratively” seeing something means:

“I’m an English lit major as well. When you see the Patriots won the World Series it doesn’t necessarily mean you were there. Excuse me, the Super bowl. I saw my dad become president of American Motors. Did that mean you were there for the ceremony? No. It’s a figure of speech. I saw my father as a champion of civil rights, this is a figure of speech and it refers to that figure of speech. “

The Romney campaign sent reporters documentation that shows George Romney participating in several civil rights marches. He was a staunch civil rights supporter. They also cited a 1967 book as confirmation that the two marched together in 1963. (more…)