I think (from his name) that McCain is probably at least of Scottish descent. Scotland (and all areas in Europe) had a 'feudal system' until around the time of te Black Death in which a great number of the population were owned by others. This system survived in various forms until the Black Death killed approx 1/3 to 1/2 of Eurpope's population, causing a shortage of labor which proved strong enough to force the feudal lords (the ancestors of today's wealthy, in many cases) to start paying people wages who previously might have been tied to the land. Later on, many of Mr. McCain's ancestors might have suffered under the Great Enclosures, in which land previously informally held in common (but which was still legally 'owned' by the descendents of the former feudal lords) was gradually brought under the till using modern farming methods, which forced millions of people off of their land and into the cities where many died, or went into debt or were arrested for stealing loaves of bread which was at some times considered to be a capital offense. Those people might have been given the choice of death by hanging or being sold into indentured servitude in the colonies.. whole families were put onto boats on which many starved or died of disease.. the survivors, when they arrived at the docks in Northern cities.. were auctioned off at the docks just as slaves were in Southern cities.. families would be separated.. About half of them survived the seven year period of indenture upon which point they were supposed to be given a fresh suit of clothes and a Bible.. Many went West, where there was still land to be 'had'.

The point isn't guilt by association...the point is that McCain should be talking about it along with retelling the story of his family's illustrious military history. It's an opportunity for leadership that he's chickening out on.

At the rate that Obama's ever expanding family tree is growing, I'm sure we'll hear he has ancestors who owned slaves as well.

We already did.

The point is that McCain and his campaign could be using this as a teachable moment -- instead, they're running from it. Not cool, in my book. Republicans, especially, need to confront this stuff.

See my comment above...this is not news to me. My point in bringing this up is that for McCain to go to  Mississippi celebrating his family's military heritage exclusively while not mentioning that his family owned slaves (this is not a triviality, especially given that part of the military heritage he celebrates includes family service on behalf of the Confederacy), is a missed opportunity to teach and celebrate the true history of freedom and change in his own and America's history, not to mention it's being a tad disingenuous.

First of all, this diary has NOTHING TO DO WITH OBAMA. Second, I resent the fact that you think that tossing out Obama's ancestral history is (1) news (clue: read the other comments); (2) relevant to John McCain and the fact that he's giving a speech today in Mississippi celebrating his family heritage. It's important context, and it could have been handled honorably, rather than ignored.

Get a grip.

of style by the time of the Civil War was that it was too expensive. Under modern industrial capitalism, the costs are actually lower, because there is no societal expectation of a 'living wage' in modern America. When you look at the lifetime cost of a slave, its actually fairly high, higher than would be supported by today's minimum wage jobs. Low wages are not sustainable, in that one could not live on them, raise a family to the point where one replaced one's self. America's growth has been based on an implicit promise of FUTURE PROSPERITY which has depended to no small amount on the expectations fueled by past colonialism.

now that there are no longer external 'colonies' to exploit, our ruling institutions, hungry for the profits they expect, are turning inward and treating people in the heartland as they used to treat the people of colonial nations.

Their attitude is "everyone else is doing it, why can't I?"

Thats what we hope to stop with Hillary. Clearly, Obama doesn't intend to stop it, as shown by his healthcare plan which is a huge present to the insurance companies, given the HUGE majority in favor of REAL universal healthcare.

Hillary's plan isn't completely what people want either, but at least it is a step in the right direction..

If you are interested in reading a remarkably candid explation of the economics of conolialism, I would suggest seeking out some of the writings of Cecil Rhodes.. he was sort of its patron 'saint' in the modern era.

Its actually pretty ugly, but it will open your eyes as to the REAL forces that drive modern society.

Think of governments sort of as pyramid schemes or MLM that try to pay off the investors that get in on the ground floor with the sweat and blood of the later investors, who often get ripped off.

All those immigrants who came to the US on the promises made in the social contract are doing well, if they are willing to work 60 hrs/week. but the people who just sit around expecting for their living standard to keep going up are in serious denial. It WONT.

not trying to carve out little fiefdoms of tenuous tort claims.

That is a cop-out, and just like affirmative action was for Richard Nixon, its a skillful and unfair way that is used by the cynical and greedy to divide people.