Why was Martin Luther King Jr. more significant than Malcolm X?

The
modern consciousness regarding the Civil Rights Movement is one where Dr. King is located at its
center.  Dr. King is the fulcrum point from which all else in the movement rotates.  Dr. King
can be seen as more significant than Malcolm X because of his ability to reach across racial
lines and construct the Civil Rights Movement as a human issue.  

Prior to
Dr. King, White Americans had viewed the issue of Civil Rights as a political issue, one where
states rights and issues of federalism trumped all.  Yet, Dr. King placed the Civil Rights
debate in moralistic terms.  Invoking Gandhian...