John McCain is a boxing fan/civil rights activist.

Jack Johnson was an African American boxer most notable for thrashing an older, more experienced white champion to become the first ever African American Heavyweight boxing champion. John McCain is an older white politician best known for being thrashed in the last presidential election by a less experienced black politician who in turn became the first ever African American president. It would appear the connection between the two ends with this coincidence, but appearances can be deceiving.

Despite the dire situation of the economy McCain seems to feel that his second attempt since 2005 at getting a posthumous presidential pardon for a nearly century old jail sentence Johnson served is a more pressing matter. The story goes back to 1913 when Johnson was arguably the most controversial figure in American sports. Johnson’s antics both inside and outside of the ring enraged much of white America, and they included having open romantic relationships with white women. Because of one such relationship, Johnson was found in violation of the Mann Act. Also known as the white slave traffic act, the Mann Act was a law put in place in an effort to curtail the trafficking of white females across state lines for the purpose of “prostitution, debauchery, or other immoral purposes.”In 1913 Johnson was found in violation of the Act when he crossed state lines with Lucille Cameron, who later became his wife. Johnson fled the country but would later return and face his sentence of 10 months in prison.

Here’s where our buddy Johnny Mac comes in. In 2005 (hint, perhaps he was looking towards the black vote in a future election) John decided to forget his record concerning the recognition of African American historical figures (which includes voting against making Martin Luther King Day a national holiday when BOTH Dick Cheney and Newt Gingrich joined a majority of Republicans in voting yes-impressive John) and make it a personal crusade to get a pardon for Johnson from the Bush administration. Joined by fellow Republican senators Orrin Hatch and Ted Stevens and Democratic senators John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, and Harry Reid as well as Johnson documentarian Ken Burns, McCain was unsuccessful in scoring a pardon from Bush. The nail in the coffin came when Burns was allegedly told that a Johnson pardon “ain’t gonna fly” in a phone conversation with Bush advisor Karl Rove.

McCain is now trumpeting the initiative (which was defeated again last year) under the banner that a pardon by Barack Obama would be all the more symbolic. He and his compatriates in the initiative have issued various press releases and the story has been covered, albeit lightly, by many major newspapers and websites and has gained significant attention in the blogosphere. It appears to me that McCain is simply looking to build bridges with the black community and embrace the historical nature of Obama's presidency by linking him to a cause like this. After a campaign where he came off (at least in my opinion) as bitter and disrespectful of Obama until his concession speech it is no wonder McCain wants to paint a picture of himself as a civil rights activist in the media. Never mind that John McCain obviously picks and chooses when, where, and which African American figures he wants to support, now is just not the time to worry about something this trivial. I am sure Jack Johnson would agree that given the current economic situation he can wait for a pardon while John McCain focuses on the economy and his work in the senate GIVEN THAT HE HAS BEEN DEAD FOR 62 YEARS! Just as I’m sure that Johnson, who was famous for punishing the white supremacists he often met in the ring, would be less than amused with McCain playing the role of his knight in shining armor if he had seen this. Posthumous presidential pardons are uncommon and I doubt that President Obama will be devoting much time to this particular case given the scrutiny he is under concerning the economy. As a boxing fan I hope one day Jack Johnson does receive justice, and as a United States citizen I hope John McCain does something productive relevant to his job, though I doubt either will happen anytime soon.