We understand the message of the video and the heart of it seems well placed, but for a national audience on "Meet The Press" given what just happened in Charleston, it showed poor judgement not recognizing an obvious shortcoming.
The goal of showing the video was to further the discussion and although it did not turn out how the "Meet The Press" intended, it was successful in extending the discourse in as much as that whites should have that honest conversation with themselves about their attitudes toward race. There is a constant posture of deflect and diffuse, to be so careful in what one says that nothing actually gets said, hence nothing done. Eugene Robinson shouldn't have to point out that this was a racist act of terror perpetrated by a white man and that the two murders who recently escaped prison were also white. Helene Cooper apologized for her cynical answer when it came to guns control law, because she reasoned that if we weren't going to pass any meaningful gun laws after twenty kindergarten kids were senseless murdered then why we would do anything after a white guy guns down 9 African-Americans in a church. However, she shouldn't have apologized because it stems from the frustration that we all feel in our leaders who are beholden to the gun lobby (among others).
Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee offered very little in the form of consolation in term of having an honest dialogue about race as he deflected question after question avoiding giving an honest answer on everything during his interview. When asked about the Confederate flag flying over the South Carolina state house, he said that it was a matter of states' rights. And we understand that Mr. Huckabee is a man of faith and we don't begrudge him that, but faith alone is not going to solve the problem. He also said that there were bigger issues to be addressed like the economy and defense of the country. But isn't he missing (or denying) the point entirely? The Confederate flag is a symbol of racism for many in this country and it is a touchstone in the conversation about race relations in this country, which is a major issue. It's disconcerting that Mr. Huckabee is not more sensitive to this social dynamic and what has been going on in cities across the United States. Mr. Huckabee keeps a rational tone when giving non-answers to questions or, as we explained before, deflecting to a different topic, but it makes us conclude that he would govern very differently from what he is selling on the campaign trail, at least when in the national eye.
One more point on this: Mr. Huckabee doesn't believe in man-made climate change and instead of addressing Mr. Todd's question about whether he agreed with Pope Francis on the subject, he instead talked about responsible energy policy, which sounds nice but there was nothing concrete in his answer. When pressed again about it, he said that the Pope covered many topics like abortion, and then he went on about that.
We happen to agree with Pope Francis that man's activity are accelerating climate change, between all the greenhouse gas emissions and the plastic island the size of Texas, three-feet deep, floating in the Pacific Ocean most certainly are created by man and neither is good for the health of the planet. And let us also point out that we strongly disagree with any politician saying that the Pope shouldn't weigh in on political issues; lest we remind them that not only is the head of the Catholic Church, but he's also a head of state, the Vatican state.
[On a programming note, today's "Meet The Press" had a great panel - all journalists - and what would have made the Mike Huckabee interview better would have been if he actually met the press and each panelist asked one question of the candidate. It's part of our general feeling that the panel isn't utilized enough or quite appropriately. Take out one of the shorter segment - don't do them every week - and extend the interview when it's an interview of significance. (Which makes us think, maybe Mr. Huckabee doesn't meet that criteria.)]
And a little bit more on the Confederate Flag... Leave it again to Eugene Robinson to educate us and explain that the flag has only been flying above the state house since 1961. He explained that it was basically a 'middle finger' to the Federal Government in response to Civil Rights legislation. Another reason that it should come immediately: The entire motivation for flying it again was because of prejudice.
And for the record, Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC) pointed out that the stars and bars isn't actually the flag of the Confederacy but a battle flag. Well, the South may have started with one, but they certainly ended with another. We've pasted both in below so you know what the real one looks like. However, one shouldn't be replaced with the other - both still need to go.
Panel: Helene Cooper, The New York Times; David Brooks, The New York Times (columnist); Gerald Seib, The Wall Street Journal; Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post.
A couple more notes...
1. We're in simply wonder of the strength that these grieving families have in the wake of this unspeakable act. To even come on the program and speak with such love, dignity, and yes, faith speaks to the best of this country.
2. He was mentioned ever so briefly during the program, but Donald Trump's candidacy will be short-lived, mark our words. And ask yourself, after giving such an insidious race-baiting speech, then having nothing constructive to say after the tragedy in Charleston, would you vote for such a person? That's an example of representing the worst of America.
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