"Spirit of Strom Thurmond". Seriously.

When Vice President Cheney visited Afghanistan last week, he traveled on a C-17 named for the late, racisit, segregationist, chauvanist, downright icon of bigotry and long time Senator from South Carolina: Strom Thurmond.

The C-17 transport plane is improbably named "The Spirit of Strom Thurmond", and in this Feb. 28, 2007 story in the Chicago Tribune, Cheney can be seen stepping out of the Thurmond.  One can barely resist: what exactly IS the Spirit of Strom Thurmond?

 What sort of idiot polititian would allow himself to be seen in this aircraft? Why hasn't someone changed it's name?

Oh. Nevermind.