Bush makes a mockery of the memory of Dr. King on the seventy-fifth aniversary of his birth. The President’s perfunctory appearance at Dr. King’s grave allows him to get the federal government to pick up the considerable tab for the $2,000-a-plate Republican fundraiser in Atlanta. Civil rights leaders are outraged at the poor taste of pairing the two events.

Every president since Ronald Reagan has come to Atlanta, the birthplace of Dr. King, to lay a wreath at his grave. When President Clinton came in 1996, he received a standing ovation. But this presidential visit will be different. It seems to have lifted the lid on long-simmering anger many blacks feel toward Mr. Bush. Some Bush policies, including tax cuts mainly benefiting those with higher incomes and cutting back on welfare-type programs, have alienated black voters, analysts say. —New York Times