From CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Sometimes things work out the way they're supposed to. Today is Martin Luther King Day, a holiday set aside to honor the slain civil rights leader. Without him, tomorrow would never have happened. Tomorrow Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. The first African-American president we've ever had.
Martin Luther King would be 80 if he were alive today.
It's been almost 46 years since Dr. King, who would be 80 if he were alive today, led the march on Washington and delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech. From segregation, lynchings, water cannons and police dogs to the Oval Office in less than half a century. Dr. King would be very proud.
According to a CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll, 49% of Americans believe the U.S. has fulfilled Martin Luther King's vision laid out on that day: 69% of African-Americans and 46% of Whites.
A lot is riding on Obama. He is making history in a way his predecessors have not. Not since the late John F. Kennedy has so much hope been placed at the feet of one man by so many. It's going to be a helluva ride, and if Barack Obama can pull this off, our country is going to re-emerge from eight years of winter.
Here’s my question to you: If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, what would he say about Barack Obama’s inauguration?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
John from Alabama writes:
Jack: Martin Luther King would say "Thank God Almighty because something, that years ago would have been a miracle, tomorrow it will come to pass." To many African-Americans it is a miracle, but to the young it is a right of passage long over due. I am an old white man who was raised in the south, and I got to vote for Obama.
EL writes:
Hi Jack. I think Martin Luther King Jr. would say nothing but cry tears of joy, instead of pain, in the realization that regardless of the color of one's skin, anything is possible.
The sad part is, it took too long, too many innocent lives were lost. Let's hope for a better society where racism isn't so rampant. Martin Luther King Jr. hoped and prayed for that. We all should.
Joyce from Jacksonville, Florida writes:
I believe Dr. King would be proud of President-elect Obama and cheer the possibilities for the future, but he would also be wise enough to know we have just begun. Miracles won't happen overnight and too many Americans would be thrilled to see him fail.
Patti writes:
We stand on the Mountaintop. It has been a long, hard walk. Let us go forward to our future that lies ahead, Black hand in White, White hand in Asian, Asian hand in Gay, Gay hand in Straight, Straight hand in Disabled, Disabled hand in Able hand. Let us walk as one people, united in our hope for the future.
Bude from Mississippi writes:
I think he would say what most black people are thinking about Obama: He better not screw this up.
Jenny from Nanuet, New York writes:
"I can't believe you beat the Clintons."