Jackson was a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a two?time presidential candidate, and the most prominent black civil?rights leader for decades. The Associated Press obituary noted that he continued to speak out for the poor and underrepresented and maintained a schedule of protests and speeches until his body failed him. His family called him a "servant leader" whose crusades spanned voting rights, jobs, education, and health care. At first blush, the narrative is obvious: the Rainbow PUSH founder who marched with King, championed the oppressed and attempted to build a political "rainbow coalition."

But Jackson's life was not a simple morality play. Two themes defined his half?century in the public arena: a principled opposition to overseas war and an equally stubborn devotion to hard?left domestic policies that turned the free market into an enemy. In death, the man deserves credit for his peace advocacy—but his domestic record cannot be ignored.