Ordinarily, the obituary of a former United States Senator is unlikely to merit more than passing attention, but when it happens to be written by the chief political strategist of an existing Presidential campaign, that’s different. The obituary in the July 11 issue of Time is written by Charlie Black, and the candidate he now works for is Senator John McCain.

In the obituary of Senator Jesse Helms, Black all-but whitewashes the true history of the North Carolina Republican, even lauding him for believing that he was “doing the right thing,” and for being uncommonly “compassionate.” He praises Helms for pushing President Reagan’s conservative agenda through the Senate, and even grants him credit for the balanced budget that was central to the administration of President Clinton.

We have all heard that one should refrain from speaking ill of the dead, but this goes too far.

Excluded from the obituary are bald facts: that Jesse Helms was a bigot, a man who tried to block every possible avenue to equality sought for blacks. He called the 1964 Civil Rights Act “the single most dangerous piece of legislation” before Congress, vigorously opposed the Voting Rights Act, and favored the South African apartheid regime. He also tried to keep the U.S. from paying its dues to the United Nations, fought against arms control treaties, publicly belittled blacks and homosexuals, and generally obstructed any legislation that might require application of an open mind.

Interestingly, while a major American newsmagazine was publishing a snow job about Helms, the British magazine The Economist pulled no punches. In its obituary, it painted a clear-eyed whole picture of the late, unlamented Senator, bluntly called him “a racist,” and noted that he represented “the dark side” of American conservatism.

Aside from the poor judgment of Time in publishing Black’s political fudge, there is the question of what it might reveal about this McCain strategist and by extension about McCain himself. Does it tell us that on some matters they choose to see only what they want to see, to shade the truth and ignore reality? Like Obama, McCain has been burned by some of those he associates with, but Charlie Black is a vital figure in the GOP Senator’s campaign. Does McCain agree with Black’s assessment of Helms? Deep down is he prepared to tolerate the beliefs of his former colleague from South Carolina?

Shakespeare wrote that “The evil that men do lives after them,/ The good is oft interred with their bones.” In light of the above, in light of how important it is to understand what those who want to lead us really think, the Bard’s words are worth pondering.