Shorter John McCain.

My experience in the military entitles me to incredible ignorance of non-military affairs.

Pathetic. A journalist rightly wonders why, at the age of 47, McCain voted against designating Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday.

REPORTER: But what didn't you know when you voted initially against it that you later knew...?

MCCAIN: I had not really been involved in the issue. I had not had a lot of experience with the issue.

REPORTER: But hadn't you been around during...

MCCAIN: In Arizona, I came from a military where we are the greatest equality opportunity employer in the nation and still are, and I had just not been involved in the issue. There were issues I had not been involved in when I was in the military and then I went relatively very quickly to being a member of Congress.

REPORTER: You just didn't realize the large role in American history...

MCCAIN: I think I just explained it about as well as I could, but I'd be glad to repeat...

REPORTER: It's not really an issue to be involved in, to be aware of his impact on this country...

MCCAIN: I think you're entitled to your option on it. And I respect your opionion on that. But I had not been involved in the issue. I had come from being in the military, running for Congress in a state that did not have a very large African American population and it had not been an issue. It simply had not been in my state at that time nor even in Congress. The momentum was building in that direction...

A pat on the head to Tapper: "It may be that what's called for here is not just straight talk, but some straight-from-the-heart talk. Because this tone seems just oft-putting."

...McCain routinely uses his military service to bolster his case for the Presidency, but here he uses it to excuse a dark blot on his record. Well, isn't that convenient?