When I first heard that Barack Obama would address the nation today, on the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech, in the same spot on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where Dr King addressed 250,000 people gathered there so many years ago, at the exact same time (2:45pmEST), I had mixed feelings.

This isn’t the first time the President has invoked King’s legacy: he used a restored Bible which once belonged to King during his inauguration ceremonies, drawing sharp criticism from Cornel West (“You don’t play with Martin Luther King, Jr. and you don’t play with his people”).

And in many ways, the comparison is apt. Many would say that Obama represents a manifestation of King’s ...