It turns out Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) in the middle of all his wonderful work in the Senate has finished writing another book (I think this is his third). This latest publication, entitled, “Character Is Destiny : Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember,” is a collaborative effort between McCain and his longtime colleague Mark Salter, and is a book comprised of 34 profiles of varous public figures: anyone from Winston Churchill and George Washington to one Mohandas Gandhi. I haven’t read the book so I can’t really comment on the work. But what I can comment on is the interview that McCain gave last night on the Charile Rose show (thanks Sudin), where the Senator discussed a range of current events including the new book.

In the interview, Rose, after discussing his own political future and the Supreme Court among other things, discussion turned to the book. From the transcript of the Charile Rose Show,

CHARLIE ROSE: You sure seem to have the energy to do it.

This is a book called “Character is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young
Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember,” written with Mark Salter, your longtime colleague. Honor, purpose, strength, understanding, judgment, creativity and love. Profiles here of a whole range of people, from Thomas Moore to Gandhi. Respect. Just give me one small example of Gandhi and respect.

JOHN MCCAIN: Gandhi demanded respect. I wrote about him in his time in India — in South Africa, before he left for India, where he stood up for the rights of the, quote, “coloreds,” as they called the Indian people. And he fought, and he developed this non-violent opposition that he —that later won independence for India. He was jailed. He was mistreated. He was beaten. And he demanded the respect that are due to all human beings. And he was an incredible, powerful player, and unfortunately, murdered by, as you know, by a Muslim.

I hope he didn’t put that last bit in his book, you know, the part about Gandhi being murdered by a Muslim, because well, that would be factually incorrect. Now, many of you out there, and most of you I assume haven’t researched for a book which discusses Gandhi, know that Gandhi wasn’t assasinated by a Muslim, but was killed by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu.

From Godse’s wiki

Godse was a Hindu Chitpavan Brahmin who blamed Gandhi for the Partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan. Investigations revealed that Godse, a high school dropout, was a well-known member of the Hindu Mahasabha. Godse started a Marathi newspaper for Hindu Mahasabha called Agrani, some years later renamed Hindu Rashtra. Following his assassination of Gandhi, Godse, who did not try to flee, was captured, tried and executed. Godse stood trial on November 8, 1948. During the trial, he spent five hours reading out a ninety-page treatise justifying his decision to kill Gandhi. He observed, “Before I fired the shots I actually wished him well and bowed to him in reverence”.

I expect better. I expect more. No this isn’t one of those great injustices, but it is kind of embarrassing. I expect Senator McCain to know who killed Gandhi and why, especially because he is co-author of a book which has an entire section focusing on Gandhi. Maybe McCain misspoke. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he really doesn’t know who killed Gandhi. Maybe someone needs to tell him who did it. Maybe he will join Gandhi’s posse. Maybe we should make a Clue-like board-game to help him out (it was Godse, at Birla House, with a Gun), or maybe he could just read the New York Times article here, from 1948 to to find out. It would’t take much time- - the answer is in the headline.