The late film actor/comedian W.C. Fields is quoted as once saying, "Anyone who hates children and dogs can't be all bad." Clearly Fields never dabbled in politics. In politics we love children. Politicians kissing babies can be traced all the way back to the days of United States President Andrew Jackson. And including your children in your campaign commercials is standard fare for most candidates seeking office.

In an effort to push the Rev. Wright pastor disaster controversy out of the current political news cycle and public spotlight, the Obama camp has apparently reimplemented "Operation Obama Offspring." Obama's wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia (ages 6 and 9) were highly visible on the campaign trail in Indiana on Saturday. It was the first time Obama's darling daughters had been with him on the stump since the Iowa caucuses. Apparently the Obama's don't own a dog or goldfish, otherwise we would have been treated to them as well. The soft-sell: Who can dislike a man who has cute kids?

With only 48 hours to go until Indiana voters head to the voting booth--and Obama and Clinton locked into a virtual "dead heat" in the Hoosier state--Obama is clearly manipulating his own children for political gain in his own version of a "kitchen sink" strategy. Depending upon how Tuesday's election goes, we very well might see the Obama camp trot out Obama's granny "Mama Sarah" and her pet chickens in the coming days as the fight grows even more intense. It's either that or Obama is going to need to begin kissing not only babies but kittens in an effort to regain the "love" he had poured upon him by the adoring throngs of largely young white idealists, African-Americans, and the mainstream media only a few short weeks ago.

The problem is, the genie is out of the bottle now. The media as a whole is no longer swooning at the utterance of Obama's every word and Obama isn't exactly a shoe-in choice of working class America. So watch for more warm and fuzzy photo ops and definitely more Bush-bashing and linking of McCain to Bush as Obama attempts to get back on track and rise out of the muck and mire of the current Democrat presidential primary process. For that is what resonates best with Obama supporters.

In fact, the typical Obama supporter expects Obama to not only pull himself out of it but to also do the same for them. It would seem that many of them want Obama to follow Psalm 40:2 if elected president: "He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along."

Isn't that what Obama has been promising everyone all along? That under an Obama administration the government will take care of everything?

And a little child shall lead them. Or maybe two of them if you're on the campaign trail in Indiana this weekend.

Memphis, TN -- Sen. John McCain may face questions about his civil rights record as he visits Memphis Friday to participate in a number of events commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination.

Scheduled to address the Southern Christian Leadership Conference--which King headed up for more than a decade--as well as lay a wreath at the National Civil Rights Museum, McCain's initial opposition to a holiday commemorating the slain civil rights leader could be among the issues that come up during his trip.

In his first year in the U.S. House, McCain voted with the minority and opposed the 1983 law creating the national holiday to honor King, but reversed his decision around 1990 after he says he "learned" more about King's achievements. As he fought for an Arizona state ballot measure to recognize MLK Day in 1990, McCain successfully pushed former President Reagan to endorse the referendum.

McCain has said on a number of occasions that he regrets his original 1983 vote and told reporters this week that he is "very proud" of his record of support for King.

"I voted in my...first year in Congress against it and then I began to learn and I studied and people talked to me. And I not only supported it but I fought very hard in my home state of Arizona for recognition against a governor who was of my own party," McCain said during a media availability aboard his plane Monday (video above). "I had not been involved in the issue. I had come from being in the military to running for Congress in a state that did not have a very large African American population and it had not been in issue. It just simply had not been."

In a February 2000 interview with ABC News, McCain said his initial opposition to a holiday was based on his belief that "it was not necessary to have another federal holiday, that it cost too much money, that other presidents were not recognized."

Asked on Monday why he shifted his position and later supported a state measure creating a holiday, McCain told reporters that he "learned (that King) was a transcendent figure in American history. He deserved to be honored and that I thought it was appropriate to do so."

"In my home state of Arizona, I was not proud that we were one of the last states to recognize Dr. King's birthday as a holiday and I was pleased to be part of the fight for that recognition," McCain said, who also profiled King in his book, "Character is Destiny."

Arizona voters eventually approved a measure in 1992, making it the second to last state to recognize the holiday. New Hampshire came in last in 1999.

But among other issues critics raise are McCain's vote against the 1990 Civil Rights Act, which sought to curb discrimination in the workplace (and eventually passed as the 1991 act), as well as his short-lived support for South Carolina's right to fly the confederate flag over the statehouse during the 2000 primary. He later reversed his position on the flag and called for its removal, referring his initial position an "act of cowardice."

During his conversation with reporters Monday, McCain cited his time in the U.S. Navy as further evidence for his support for civil rights, calling the U.S. Armed Forces "the greatest equal-opportunity employer in the nation."

"John McCain has an extraordinary admiration for Martin Luther King Jr. and his enduring impact for equality in America and around the world," said campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds.