Matthews Rules Obama"s Dallas Speech Was "His Finest Hour"; "Proud of Many Things He"s Done"

President Obama speaks at Dallas police memorial service

As part of the same show in which Indiana Republican Governor Mike Pence was declared to be almost h***y for the job as Donald Trumps running mate, MSNBCs Hardball host Chris Matthews oozed on multiple occasions during Tuesdays show that the day would be known as President Barack Obamas finest hour as he spoke at an interfaith memorial service for the slain Dallas, Texas police officers.

Matthews led off the show by exclaiming what a day and noting how not only the President spoke in Dallas but former President George W. Bush as well before admitting that Id say in all seriousness it was President Obama"s finest hour that featured so much good in what he said.

Matthews also took a brief detour to resurrect his absurd belief that Hillary Clinton is a middle-of-the-road politician:

Hillary Clinton has always struck me as a moderate politically. On foreign policy, she"s too hawkish for me. On some issues like trade, she"s become more anti-trade than she was. Maybe there"s a nuanced difference but it"s to the left of where she was. I think that"s also clear in the platform.

Liberal pollster Cornell Belcher joined Matthews for a later segment fawning over how [t]here"s not a lot of leaders we have had over the last decade who could have made that speech since Obama threaded the needle and it was quintessential Obama cause he lays out a critique of both sides.

Belecher added by lamenting how Republicans always attack him for not being [in favor of] American exceptionalism but the answer is our exceptionalism, so he falls back on our American exceptionalism, we can come together and we can solve that.

Closing out the hour of banter with his Let Me Finish commentary, Matthews reiterated that I believe what [Obama] chose to do today may be his finest hour because what he said at the memorial for those five Dallas police officers was so finely balanced, such an exquisite, eloquent statement about the social and more unpredictable situation of today"s policemen and women.

Focusing on when the President ruled that police officers are called on to solve societal ills that voters and the rest of the government refuse to do (ex. somehow pour more money into public schools, gun control, etc.), Matthews concluded with his trademark infatuation for Obama but not to the point where he felt his leg tingle:

I"ve had great hopes for President Obama over the years and I"ve been proud of many things he"s done as President and as a man who is serving as our president, today was a high point. Again, it may have been his finest hour. Quote, I"m here to insist we are not as divided as we seem. I know that because I know America. That"s the President and that"s Hardball for now.

The relevant portions of the transcript from MSNBCs Hardball on July 12 can be found below.

MSNBCs HardballJuly 12, 20167:00 p.m. Eastern

CHRIS MATTHEWS: What a day! Lets play Hardball.

[HARDBALL OPENING CREDITS]

MATTHEWS: Good evening. I"m Chris Matthews in Washington. We are covering a big day in politics across the country and what a day it has been. President Obama joined Vice President Joe Biden and former President George W. Bush at the memorial service for the five Dallas police officers killed by an assassin last Thursday night and Id say in all seriousness it was President Obama"s finest hour. Let"s watch a bit.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I understand how Americans are feeling, but Dallas, I"m here to say we must reject such despair. I"m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem.

MATTHEWS: There"s so much good in what he said today.

(....)

7:08 p.m. Eastern

MATTHEWS: Hillary Clinton has always struck me as a moderate politically. On foreign policy, she"s too hawkish for me. On some issues like trade, she"s become more anti-trade than she was. Maybe there"s a nuanced difference but it"s to the left of where she was. I think that"s also clear in the platform. Somebody was holding out for free trade. Somebody was holding out for TPP, you notice. The anti-TPP forces did not win in the platform fight. So there is a push me, pull me thing going on in the Democratic Party between center, center left and left, right? And were hearing it tonight. It"s not over.

(....)

7:19 p.m. Eastern

MATTHEWS: President Obama consoled the grieving families and colleagues of the officers but he also expressed a disgust attentions between law enforcement people and minority communities and addressed reasons for the growing violence and divisions. It was so honest. Here he is.

OBAMA: We wonder if an African-American community that feels unfairly targeted by police and police departments that feel unfairly maligned for doing their jobs can ever understand each other"s experience. [SCREEN WIPE] As a society, we choose to underinvest in decent schools. We allow poverty to fester so that entire neighborhoods offer no prospect for gainful employment. We refuse to fund drug treatment and mental health programs. We flood communities with so many guns that it is easier teenager to get a Glock than to buy a computer or even a book. [SCREEN WIPE] And then we tell the police you"re the social worker, you"re the parent, you"re the teacher, you"re the drug counselor. We tell them to keep those neighborhoods in check at all costs and do so without causing any political blowback or inconvenience. Don"t make a mistake that might disturb our own peace of mind and then we feign surprise when periodically the tensions boil over.

MATTHEWS: The police group was a focus group there. I watched the whole thing.

(....)

7:22 p.m. Eastern

CORNELL BELCHER: There"s not a lot of leaders we have had over the last decade who could have made that speech cause Perry is right. He threaded the needle and it was quintessential Obama cause he lays out a critique of both sides and it was quintessential Obama

MATTHEWS: But give it to me. Tell me how you heard it.

BELCHER: Even going back to his race speech, I mean, he lays out this is what white America sees, this is what African-Americans see, but this is how we need to come together an he critiques both side. This is what he did here with this speech with both sides, calling and those Republicans always attack him for not being American exceptionalism but the answer is our exceptionalism, so he falls back on our American exceptionalism, we can come together and we can solve that as not a lot of Presidents weve seen give this speech.

(....)

7:59 p.m. Eastern

MATTHEWS: Let me finish tonight with what the President said and did today. I believe what he chose to do today may be his finest hour because what he said at the memorial for those five Dallas police officers was so finely balanced, such an exquisite, eloquent statement about the social and more unpredictable situation of today"s policemen and women. He said, we send them into dangerous areas undercut by poverty, bad schools, lack of drug treatments, and too many guns and we ask them to hold the line for us, keep the problems and dangers that rise up in such areas from getting any nearer to us. We ask policemen to do all this, without ever sharing in the tensions these conditions breed, without ever making a mistake on their part and he did something else, the President. He talked to the critics of police, who act as if theyre not dealing in dangerous communities, who refuse to admit the context in which jobs have to do their work and simply get home that night. Survive. I"ve had great hopes for President Obama over the years and I"ve been proud of many things he"s done as President and as a man who is serving as our president, today was a high point. Again, it may have been his finest hour. Quote, I"m here to insist we are not as divided as we seem. I know that because I know America. That"s the President and that"s Hardball for now.

Source: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2016/07/13/matthews-rules-obamas-dallas-speech-was-his-finest-hour-proud-many

Continue Reading ..

Obama"s Dallas speech buoys law enforcement leaders

Obama Full Remarks at Dallas Memorial Service

Law enforcement leaders said President Obamas speech Tuesday at a memorial service for five slain Dallas Police officers made clear he had taken to heart concerns they aired a day earlier in a meeting meant to address divisions between police and communities of color.

Since protests against police brutality turned into riots in Ferguson, Missouri, in the summer of 2014, rank-and-file officers increasingly have felt at odds with the Obama administration as the president has expressed support for protesters involved in Black Lives Matter movement.

A candid meeting between Mr. Obama and leaders of eight law enforcement groups on Monday followed by his speech in which he praised officers and called for national unity were seen as watershed moments for several in law enforcement.

This is a speech that Ive been waiting for, said James Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police, one of the eight leaders at Mondays meeting. Hopefully we will go forward. The president has reached out to us, to the major police organizations. We cant do it without him and he sure as heck cant do it without us.

Striving to defuse tensions between law enforcement, troubled communities and activists, Mr. Obama acknowledged Tuesday the contributions each group has made while also asking each to take responsibility for their actions, even if they might be carried out only a select few bad apples.

In his praise of officers, the president pointed out that police often are tasked with serving as fill-in social workers, parents and teachers not just peace keepers.

SEE ALSO: Obama defends Black Lives Matter protests at police memorial in Dallas

We ask police to do too much and we ask too little of ourselves, he said in Dallas. We tell them to keep those neighborhoods in check at all costs, and do so without causing any political blowback or inconvenience. Dont make a mistake that might disturb our own peace of mind. And then we feign surprise when periodically when the tensions boil over.

Jonathan Thompson, executive director of the National Sheriffs Association, said he expects skeptical members will take a wait and see approach to gauge whether the presidents actions back up his words. But he believes Mr. Obamas broader message will resonate with law enforcement members who have felt unfairly demonized each time a new use-of-force or misconduct case surfaces.

On very large level he tried to send a message to the nation that these people are doing very dangerous work and we need to recognize that recognize and honor their authority, said Mr. Thompson, who also attended the Monday meeting in the Roosevelt Room. Thats key.

Much of the tension between the administration and police groups has stemmed from what police see as a rush to judgment and general lack of support when officers are involved in deadly use-of-force incidents.

A lot of cops, and a lot of my cops, dont think hes supportive of law enforcement, said Thomas Manger, president of the Major Cities Chiefs Police Association and chief of the Montgomery County Police Department. They think that if they mess up, the Department of Justice will do everything they can to put them in jail.

Pointing squarely to the investigation of Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, who was cleared of all civil rights violations in the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown, Chief Manger said that many police felt that Mr. Obama and then-Attorney General Eric Holder were unfairly critical of the officers actions before learning all the facts of the case.

Right now what cops want from the president is that he not jump to concussions. When we have incidents like we do in Louisiana and Minnesota, that he wait for the facts to come out before he be critical of the officers actions, said Chief Manger, referencing last weeks fatal police shootings of two black men.

In Mondays private meeting, police leaders said they received assurance from the president that his administration would review a prior decision that halted the sale of some surplus military equipment to law enforcement agencies. Some surplus item sales were banned altogether while others now require more paperwork to obtain.

Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, who attended Mondays meeting, said a commitment to review the classification of each item on the prohibited equipment list represented a first concrete step toward rebuilding trust.

A White House meeting scheduled for Wednesday may serve as the next such test of the presidents commitment to law enforcement. Police officials plan to gather with activists, civil rights leaders and political leaders to devise plans to repair trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

Mr. Johnson said law enforcement are committed to working with the administration, but he said lawmakers have to do their part and condemn violent rhetoric and anti-cop sentiments before they boil over into violence targeted toward officers.

We will certainly do our best to try to improve things but we definitely need to see a sustained and strong defense of law enforcement prior to these events happening, he said.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.blog comments powered by

Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/12/obamas-dallas-speech-buoys-law-enforcement-leaders/

Continue Reading ..