George Wallace enters the political discussion

Alabama came up briefly in last night's final presidential debate through former governor and segregationist extraordinaire George Wallace and Lilly Ledbetter of the Supreme Court case on employment discrimination.  McCain accused Obama of not refuting statements made by Representative John Lewis associating McCain and Palin with George Wallace (Obama's campaign had indeed made a statement in opposition to those views).  Obama cited the Ledbetter case with regard to women's rights in the workplace.  Ledbetter lived and worked in Alabama.

The Swamp provides interesting insight into John Lewis' statement, defending his judgement as an actor in the Civil Rights Movement who faced extreme human hatred and violence.  Although the Obama campaign distanced itself from the worst of Lewis' remarks, comparison of McCain and Palin to Wallace, they also said that Lewis was right to criticize the incendiary accusations that have been coming from the Republican campaign.