Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina turns one hundred today, a milestone that will be marked by parties at the White House and throughout his (my) home state. It's tempting to simply congratulate the senator on a long and successful life in public service, and move on. But like the man said, that would be wrong.

Simple longevity can't excuse the role Senator Thurmond played in stoking the fires of racial discord at a particularly difficult moment in this nation's history. At the same time, those actions cannot erase the enormous personal valor he demonstrated on D-Day, landing his glider on the beaches of Normandy as a forty-year-old man. His life stands as a testament to the messy complexity of real human beings, and as a rebuke to those who peddle the simple-minded Manichaeanism that dominates our political discourse today.

Someday, a great biography of this complicated man will be written, and I can't wait to read it. For now, two cheers for Senator Thurmond on his one hundredth birthday.
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