( CNN ) -- Just imagine . What if the Rev . Martin Luther King Jr. 's spirit could appear and whisper his counsel to President Obama ? The visit 's timing could not be more opportune . Today , we face the country 's worst economic crisis since the Depression , poverty continues to grow at home and abroad , and wars across the globe are leaving a wake of death and destruction for generations to come . Notwithstanding America 's racial progress -- most viscerally witnessed by Obama himself -- King 's dream remains far from realized . King spoke some of the most mellifluous speeches of his era . So does Obama . But King could advise Obama on transforming that uplifting rhetoric into a long-term grassroots effort . Beyond King 's great speeches was a decades-long movement that was complex , sophisticated , forward-looking and greater than the man himself . When we forget King 's coalition -- both in the breadth of change it demanded and in the thousands of faces and hearts dedicated to the cause -- we reduce the civil rights movement , from which we still have much to learn , into a warm and fuzzy version of the King mythology . King 's spirit , no doubt , would advise Obama to press for the public option in the health care bill . `` Of all the forms of inequality , injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane , '' King declared in 1966 . The public option sharply reduces injustices in health care by offering millions of the beleaguered and the downtrodden a more transparent , accountable and affordable coverage option than the abusive , helter-skelter and often monopolistic practices rampant in the private market . Two years after King 's remarks , the year he was assassinated , he launched his Poor People 's Campaign , `` a multiracial army of the poor , '' that marched on Washington to demand an Economic Bill of Rights from Congress . King 's Economic Bill of Rights called for effective government jobs programs to rebuild America 's cities . He saw a crying need to confront a Congress that had demonstrated its `` hostility to the poor , '' appropriating `` military funds with alacrity and generosity '' but providing `` poverty funds with miserliness . '' His vision was for change that was more revolutionary than mere reform : a `` reconstruction of society itself '' to redress the deep-rooted problems of racism , poverty and military conflict . This is the moment to realize that vision . Americans are at a crucial juncture when we are fundamentally redefining our country 's future at home and abroad . King would counsel Obama on how to minimize economic inequality , to boost the employment prospects of those living in marginalized communities , to increase citizens ' savings , to encourage asset building and even to resolve peacefully our two wars . The enormity and uncertainty haunting this recession raises important questions that King 's spirit could address . What is the impact on unemployed and low-income Americans ? Will the fear of projected budget deficits force government spending choices that worsen poverty or that are racially loaded , in their stinginess toward cities ? Like King , Obama recognizes that government is n't the principal solution to unemployment and poverty , but rather a buffer from hardship and a catalyst for opportunity . Here , the spirit and his pupil would evidently agree . But they could further discuss what role private business must play to help rectify this mess . The failures of Enron , Lehman Brothers , AIG and Merrill Lynch -- in addition to the Wall Street bailout -- illustrate the devastation that a culture of greed , corruption and governmental negligence can exact on ordinary Americans . What specific incentives and penalties can force the private sector to act more responsibly ? Unchecked free market capitalism , King maintained , can not guarantee the basic conditions necessary for ordinary people to earn a living , to acquire health care or to build wealth . Although private industry has a forceful influence on the underpinnings of American life , that power should not dictate our political and economic well-being . In other words , King to Obama : Society should lead capital , not vice versa . This week , America gets to pat itself on the back for living on the right side of history , racially speaking . Obama 's presidency is a glorious manifestation of King 's spirit . We are not in a post-racial era , but Obama 's cool judgment smoothly blunts the pessimism and ill will -- from those on the left and right -- who thrive on racial conflict . To his credit , our brilliant , cunning president truly understands that multiracial America needs more unflinching self-examination and less empty racial bickering . This week 's special school lesson plans , newscasts and public ceremonies honoring the slain civil rights hero , and the 44th president 's first anniversary in office , will be full of praise and rhetoric . But if only the ghost of King could glide into the Oval Office and urge Obama to take decisive , bold action , and to dodge the status quo behavior favored by power brokers in Washington and on Wall Street . If only the ghost of King could coax Obama to join the ranks of historically transformative leaders , including Franklin D. Roosevelt , who galvanized movements , who put pressure on themselves , Congress and the public to improve our politics and economy profoundly for decades to come . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Rich Benjamin .
Rich Benjamin : King would urge President Obama to transform rhetoric into grassroots action . Benjamin : King 's great speeches led a forward-looking movement that still affects society . King 's spirit would urge Obama to rid U.S. of racism , poverty and military conflict , Benjamin says . Comment: King would coax Obama to become a historically transformative leader .