Martin Luther King Jr. Day is intended to celebrate the life of a man who was a proponent of tolerance, equality and peace. These ideals were forgotten Wednesday night when Rev. Jesse Jackson took stage in Eisenhower Auditorium ("Jackson honors Dr. King," Jan. 19).

What began as a summary of King's life soon became an attack on the Bush administration and the Republican Party. What should have been an uplifting and inspiring lecture was none other than a rant that invoked anger, blame and cynicism.

Jackson managed to incorporate partisan politics incessantly throughout his speech, distorting conservative ideologies while propagating left-winged principles. According to Jackson, the Bush administration intentionally neglected states affected by Hurricane Katrina because they are composed of mostly blacks.

The Bush administration is also to blame for the recent coal mining accident in West Virginia. And if I received a dollar for every time the reverend referred to the "unnecessary war" in Iraq, I would have enough money to pay my out-of-state tuition.

These topics were entirely irrelevant to King's memory and entirely un-inspirational. Somewhere in that speech King's memory was lost. To make matters worse, I felt personally attacked because of my conservative beliefs. This begs the real question: Is this what King would have wanted? Jackson's presentation dishonored the basic ideals King spent his life advocating.

I finally would encourage the reverend to practice what he preaches. Jackson discussed the "disaster" of political parties. Then why does he base all arguments from a solely partisan stance?

Jackson discussed character and morality. Then why does this reverend have an illegitimate child?

I hope that next year a speaker worthier of honoring King will be selected.