Transcripts For KNTV Meet The Press 20130819

Theyre obviously getting the impression that no matter what they do, our aid will continue, so we do need to exercise our influence by saying were going to follow the law, particularly in light of your recent violent crackdowns, suspend aid until you restore democracy, until you move to an inclusive process for elections, and obviously, a new constitution that allows all people to have a say in it, to respect peoples rights. I think thats what we have to do at this point. Weve tried to go down a road to get them to do the right thing. Theyre not doing that. And also, i would say this, david. The best way to marginalize the Muslim Brotherhood is in the ballot box, not through arrests and killing people. In fact, youre just going to encourage them to martyrdom, rather than just defeating them at the ballot box. They blew it when they were governing, and if we go to a democratic process, if the military does that, rather than taking this over in the power grab theyre involved in right now, then the Muslim Brotherhood can be defeated through the democratic process. So, senator jack reed, you know, this is summertime, youre in rhode island, youve got to be hearing from your constituents who are saying, hey, senator, why are we sending 1. 5 billion to egypt every year, most of that to the military, when theyre crushing protesters in the streets . Just another strong man after mubarak that seems to be quelling dissent. Senator rand paul tweeted, president obama says he deplores violence in egypt, but u. S. Foreign aid continues to help pay for it. Senator ted cruz said were encouraging the violence by our aid. Have you had a change of heart with regard to keeping the aid flowing to egypt . Well, the acts of the last few days by the Egyptian Military are completely unconscionable, and i do believe we have to change our aid. I think also we have to have included in the legislation a National Security waiver, because we have to give the president not only responsibility to deal with the government of egypt but also flexibility. And we have to recognize, this is not just for the moment, this is a longterm process. One of the obvious facts of a transition from our totalitarian government to a democracy, it takes a long time and its not a straight line. And so, we have to have a policy that expresses our outrage, really, at the military, but also gives the president the tools to, we hope, engage them. And then moreover, we have to engage the regional powers, the saudis, the qataris, because they provide significant aid and they also provide economic aid. Finally, we have to recognize longer term that there are other Strategic Issues here, including the safety and stability of israel and transit of the canal. So, i do believe that we can send a strong signal by suspending aid. The president also suspended the f16 transfers. I believe he suspended bright star, our military exercise. But if we do, and i think we should, pass legislation, it has to have a waiver so that the president can be able to engage or attempt to engage the egyptian government. Well, heres how the president is engaging. He came out during his vacation on marthas vineyard, spoke on thursday. This is part of what he said. Weve sustained our commitment to egypt and its people, but while we want to sustain our relationship with egypt, our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual when civilians are being killed in the streets and rights are being rolled back. So, ratchets up the pressure, senator ayotte, but is the president more or less on the sidelines or do you think hes been doing the right thing . Well, i agreed with his suspension of the military exercise, obviously his condemnation of the violence, but i think he fell short when he really didnt come out and call out the real question on the suspension of aid, because that is the real influence that we have with egypt. So, i thought that he could have been stronger on that coming very clearly against the violence and saying were going to suspend aid until you restore democracy. So, the question for me, senator reed, is what is it that the United States really wants to stand up for right now . I go back to the mubarak, at the end of the mubarak era in 2011. At the time, secretary of state Hillary Clinton on this program talking about what it is the administration wanted then. Watch her. I want the egyptian people to have the chance to chart a new future. It needs to be an orderly, peaceful transition to real democracy, not faux democracy like the elections we saw in iran two years ago, where you have one election 30 years ago and then the people just keep staying in power and become less and less responsive to their people. Do we want real democracy, as secretary clinton said, senator reed, or above all, do we want to preserve our National Security interests, which even the military doing what we dont want right now is still preserving . Peace in the sinai desert, access to the suez canal, keeping peace in the region, helping us with counterterror . I think in the long term, both those objectives are not only necessary but closely related. We have to have a true democracy in egypt over the long term. We recall, as you do, that the latest entry into the government by the Egyptian Military was sponsored by people who were rejecting morsi. A huge number of people coming out, a popular movement. Unfortunately, i think what the military has done is taken this as a license to try to install the old National Security regime that was featured under mubarak. We need both in the long run. We cant ignore the security considerations of the sinai, of the suez canal transit, but in the long term, the success of the regions going to be based upon a fully functioning democracy. Weve seen that take place, but we also understand it takes an awfully long time. Its not a straightline process. Its zigging and zagging. We have to be engaged, but we have to recognize, too, that in the long term, our values, but also our selfinterests and the interests of the egyptian people is in a true democracy. Senator jack reed, senator kelly ayotte, more on the washington debate. Thank you both very much for your time this morning. Thank you. Let me bring in richard engel, our chief foreign correspondent, on the ground in cairo, as well as senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson center, robin wright, an expert on the broader middle east for context here. Richard, your reporting has been compelling from the chaotic streets of cairo. Given your sense of things, where is this headed . Reporter well, i think a lot of it depends on what happens in washington. And just to continue on the debate you were just having, people in this country and around the region think it would be an absolutely disastrous idea for the United States to cut off aid, that washington has real interests with the Egyptian Military, preferential access to the suez canal, military overflights, and not to mention the camp david accords. The camp david accords brokered by the United States, the Peace Agreement between israel and egypt, says in principle that u. S. Aid should be commensurate between israel, from washington to israel and from washington to egypt. And does the United States really want to be the first country that breaks the spirit of the camp david accords . Whether it is breaking the law or not, it would certainly be seen here as breaking the spirit. Also, does washington really want to back the Muslim Brotherhood . At the end of the day, we can talk about process and our love for the democratic process, but now that is broken and the choice is binary. Do we want to be with the military or do we want to be with the brotherhood . Israel doesnt think we should drop the military and side with the brotherhood. Neither does saudi arabia, neither does jordan, neither does the uae. I dont know why washington would want to go against so many of its key allies. Robin wright, one thing thats striking when i talk to people is this question, why cant the u. S. Do more . Why cant we have greater influence here . Its a tough balancing act. The president seems to not be able to do a whole lot more but stay on the sidelines at the moment. Well, the administration has very limited choices right now, in part because the Egyptian Military has really thumbed its nose at the United States. The u. S. Made a good faith effort to sending out a Senior State Department official to try to negotiate both with the Muslim Brotherhood officials as well as with the military to see if there was some kind of common ground, and they laid out a gradual process that would allow the roadmap, the political roadmap to continue. And the military decided against cooperating, and weve seen the violence ever since. The challenge now is, as you look forward, what happens and what role does the United States play . And the u. S. Hopes that the roadmap will continue a pace with the new constitution announced next week, then referral to a broad Cross Section of political players and then elections for president and parliament in the next six months. But the problem is, is that political process even credible . So, the issue is not just for the United States what it does with the military and its interaction at this point, its also what role does it play if the political transition doesnt prove to be credible, because it is exclusive rather than inclusive. Richard engel, again to the streets and to what could be next in cairo and outside the city. Looting of Christian Churches getting a lot of attention here, the fact that Ayman Al Zawahiris brother was arrested, fear that if the military wants to disband the Muslim Brotherhood as mubarak did back in the 80s, you could see jihadis flowing into egypt, you could have an insurgency. This is the kind of stuff that could disintegrate egypt and that the west would have to pay a great deal of attention to. Reporter i think were already seeing the signs of an insurgency. We have several million disgruntled, disaffected people. They have weapons and they have legitimate cause, and they are at times using those weapons. This is not a onesided crackdown, by the way. The protesters, supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have been doing the overwhelming part of the dying, and most of them have been the victims, probably 800, 900 so far. But around 100 members of the Egyptian Security forces have also been killed. Churches have been attacked, government buildings have been attacked. So, i think we are already seeing a lowgrade insurgency that is probably going to last some time. If the United States weighs in, and cuts off aid, egyptians feel it would only be making the insurgency worse by telling the people, telling the Muslim Brotherhood that it has an ally in washington and to keep up the fight. That is certainly the egyptian governments line. Robin wright, final word on whats next, the way you see it. The problem is, its not just a division inside egypt, its a division across the arab world, across the middle east. You find saudi arabia, which has taken a very strong stand on the side of the military, whereas qatar has been supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood. This is something thats going to change the face of the region. Its gutted democracy in the most important arab country. It affects the democratic experiment in the last bloc of countries to hold out in the economic tide. You cant ignore it and the consequences of the region, our interests and the worlds interests as well. A white house official this week said there has to be humility on the part of the u. S. To try to influence Democratic Change in a region with centuries of religious and sectarian scores to settle. Thats where we find ourselves. Robin wright, richard engel, who will continue his reporting there in egypt, thank you both very much. Coming up here, were going to talk about race and justice. A federal judge rejects new york citys Controversial Program called stop and frisk. Next, my interview with new York City Police commissioner ray kelly and his answer to the question of whether people will lose their lives if the program is abandoned. Plus, the mother of Trayvon Martin is here live. Shell share her thoughts on the larger debate about racial profiling. Then, Newt Gingrich says were a long way away from Hillary Clintons coronation. Is he right . Our political roundtable on 2016 politics. Later, our meet the press archives. The beginning of a dream. What Martin Luther king jr. Said on this very program just three days before he made history. Were back in one minute. Peace of mind is important when youre running a successful business. So we provide it services you can rely on. With centurylink as your trusted it partner, youll experience reliable uptime for the network and services you depend on. Multilayered Security Solutions keep your information safe, and secure. And responsive dedicated support meets your needs, and eases your mind. Centurylink. Your link to whats next. And we are back. Now to race, justice and how Police Departments around the country protect us from crime. The stop and frisk tactics used by the new York City Police department are in jeopardy after a federal judge found them in violation of the Constitutional Rights of minorities. The city is appealing the ruling. We while the judge didnt exclusively reference Trayvon Martin in her opinion, she referred to the florida case and the Racial Disparities in our criminal Justice System and policing systems. Im going to talk to Trayvon Martins mother, sybrina fulton, and family lawyer Benjamin Crump in just a moment. But first, i spoke to new York City Police commissioner ray kelly on friday. Commissioner, welcome to meet the press. Good to be with you, david. I wanted to have you on to have this conversation not just about stop and frisk in new york but about a broader conversation about policing in america, and indeed, this debate about racial profiling that has grown more intense because of the Trayvon Martin case as well. So, case in point, youve got judge shichein lynn in new york ruling that the stop and frisk policy in new york has violated the Constitutional Rights of minorities and heres part of her opinion. The citys highest officials, she writes, have turned a blind eye to the evidence that officers are conducting stops in a racially discriminatory manner. In their zeal to defend a policy they believe to be effective, they have willfully ignored overwhelming proof that the policy of targeting the right people is racially discriminatory and therefore violates the United States constitution. You strongly disagree. Why . I do strongly disagree. This case cries out for appeal. The judge has indicted the entire new York City Police department, 35,000 officers, of racial profiling on the flimsiest of evidence. You look at the expert for the plaintiff and what he found. He looked at 4. 4 million stops over a tenyear period. He found 6 of them were, in his opinion, unjustified. In the trial itself, there were 4 plaintiffs, there were 12 witnesses, there were 19 stops. The judge herself found that ten of the stops met constitutional muster. There were some problems with the frisks, the judge pointed out. But this is very small evidence, a small amount of information to have such a sweeping finding. We believe that commissioner we believe that they used a faulty formula to do that. Let me go back to those numbers that you referenced and put it up on the screen for our audience and go through some of those numbers and where some of the criticism is. 4. 4 million stops. 6 arrests. 6 summons. 88 no further Law Enforcement action. And then look at who is getting targeted. 52 black, 31 hispanic, 10 white. I first want to focus on that 88 number of people not doing anything wrong. Does that not say to you as the commissioner of the police, were doing too much of this . No. It doesnt mean that people are not doing anything wrong. If you look at the statute, it says reasonable suspicion that individuals may be about to commit, are committing or have committed a crime. One of the classic examples that we use is somebody going down the street trying door handles, or a group of young men that the bodega owner fears going to strongarm rob them when they leave their store. So, theres a preventive aspect to this. And people say innocent. Thats not the appropriate word. What we use here further Law Enforcement action. Well, what we use here is a standard of reasonable suspicion. If you have probable cause, then you have enough to effect an arrest or issue a summons. This, by the way, is the standard Law Enforcement practice throughout america, certainly not just Going Forward in new york. And as far as your second set of numbers are concerned, we think reasonable criteria is a criteria that was developed or presented to us by the Rand Corporation, an institution thats been in existence for 100 years, that says that to take a look at racial profiling and determine if it happens, you should first look at the universe of people who are identified by the victims of a crime. The perpetrators identified by victims of Violent Crime. What does that universe look like . And in new york, that universe certainly comports to the racial makeup of the people who are being stopped. So, let me understand what youre saying. Basically, there are more africanamericans and hispanics who are committing crimes in new york city. Therefore, it justifies a higher percentage of those being stopped on the suspicion that they might do something wrong that they might commit a criminal act, because the judge says thats faulty reasoning. Shes saying you cant take an innocent population and say that thats the same as a criminal population. Well, obviously, we dont agree with the judge and thats why we need an appeal issue to go forward here. These are fundamental questions that were looking at. Again, we think the Rand Corporation is reasonable criteria. We have, by the way i think its interesting to point out, we have the most diverse Police Department probably in the world. Can you understand the point of view of those africanamericans like charles blow, who writes a comment in the New York Times who says in part this, equating it to the Trayvon Martin case, as i mentioned at outset. He writes the idea of universal suspicion without individual evidence is what americans find abhorrent and what black men in america must constantly fight. It is pervasive in policing policies like stop and frisk, and in this case, Neighborhood Watch, talking about the Trayvon Martin case. Regardless of the Collateral Damage done to the majority of innocents, its like burning down a house to rid it of mice. No, absolutely, we are sensitive to this. Nobody wants to be stopped. At the very least, youre giving up your time. But we need some balance here. The stark reality is that violence is happening disproportionately in minority communities, and that, unfortunately, is in big cities throughout america. We have record low numbers of murders in new york city, record low numbers of shootings. Were doing something right to save lives. Last year, as i said, we had a record low in murders. This year were running 30 below that. Let me give you another figure. In the last 11 years, 11 full years of the bloomberg administration, there were 7,363 fewer murders in new york city than there were in the preceding 11 years. Now, if history is any guide, those lives saved are largely the lives of young men of color. So, were doing something so, if you lose stop and frisk but i understand the sensitivity of it. And people and ive dealt with this in Many Community meetings. Its something that is very important in the africanamerican community. I would also submit, though, that the Trayvon Martin case is a little bit different. These are two civilians. It clearly was a tragedy, but it didnt involve sworn Police Officers. The mayor has been outspoken on this issue, and i wonder if you agree as a police commissioner. You have a debate for whos going to be the next mayor of new york city. If a program like stop and frisk is abandoned, will people die . Well, i think no question about it, Violent Crime will go up. And again, this is not a program. This is something thats integral to policing. This happens throughout america in any police jurisdiction. You have to do it. Officers have to have the right of inquiry if they see some suspicious behavior. So, i can assure you, this is not just a new york city issue, its an issue throughout america. And this case has to be appealed, in my judgment, because it will be taken as a template and have Significant Impact in policing throughout america. Commissioner kelly, we appreciate your time very much. Thank you, david. I want to welcome to the program now the mother of Trayvon Martin, sybrina fulton, and her attorney, Benjamin Crump. Also joining me in the studio is president and ceo of the naacp, ben jealous. Thank you for all of you joining me this morning. Ben, let me start with you. I underlined commissioner kelly saying the stark reality is that violence is happening disproportionately in minority communities. With stop and frisk, lives are saved in those communities. So, this is the problem. We just heard a man who aspires to be the head of the department of Homeland Security say that his officers had to violate the u. S. Constitution to make us safer. That should send chills down the spine of everyone in this country. He would take issue that theres any violation going on, thats why theyre appealing the decision, right . Thats what a federal judge just found, and that, in our country, its the federal judge, not the chief, who gets to decide what the u. S. Constitution says. Now, the problem is that the fall in homicides happened prior to 2002, and the increase in stop and frisk happened after 2002. So, theres no relationship between these two. We are now at a point where you have more stop and frisks of young black men in new york city than there are young black men in new york city, and thats why charles blow said, and while the judge quoted him in saying, its like burning down the house to rid it of mice. Just because there are more murders in our community doesnt mean that you can treat all of us like we are guilty. And furthermore, you should pay our communities the respect of actually listening to people when they say this is driving a wedge, this is making us less safe, its making our kids not just fear the robbers but fear the cops. And so, theyre afraid to go and talk to you when they need to go and talk to you. Hes just way off base. This is the largest racial profiling and this last point. He said this is not a program. It is a program. Stop, question and frisk was introduced by mayor giuliani right after the terry versus ohio decision as a specific program in the city. Under giuliani, we saw about 80,000 per year, stop and frisks, this racial profiling program. Under bloomberg, in 2011, we have about 680,000, 90 innocent, 90 people of color, and get this, 99. 9 dont have a gun. About 700 guns seized. The wider point, sybrina fulton, i welcome you to the program. Just your reaction as a mother whos lost her son so tragically and as now someone whos trying to create something positive out of that searing loss by talking about stand your ground laws. Youve heard the commissioner of new york say, look, what happened to Trayvon Martin, even though it was referenced in the judges ruling, is quite different. That was civilian on civilian. This is about civilians interacting with the Police Department. Do you see that distinction or not . I think its all about laws, and i think you have to give not only civilians, but you have to give the Police Officers the right direction. You cant give people the authority, Police Officers the right to stop somebody because of the color of their skin. Let me get Benjamin Crump in here as well. How do you react to the commissioner saying theres not a distinction when particularly judge sheindlin is raising the specter of Trayvon Martin, that idea of universal suspicion that charles blow wrote about in saying this is whats wrong with the policy . Yes. Were here in phoenix, arizona, and the Latino Community deals with sb1070 and new york is stop and frisk. No matter what you want to call it, essentially, its racial profiling, and we know Trayvon Martin was profiled for something that night on february 26th, 2012, and he had broken no law. He was just walking home. And thats the problem. When you start this racial profiling, its a slippery slope, and its so bad for so many in the community. Where does it stop . How do we protect our children once you give police or Neighborhood Watch authority to just profile us . Sybrina fulton, i want to come back to you. As you are going around the country, youre in arizona, you talked about the stand your ground laws, trying to get them amended. The idea that there is a Trayvon Martin voter. Can you describe what this period of time has been like for you, how youre trying to turn this pain into some real activism to get some change . Well, you know, the death of my son was so negative that we felt that we needed to do something positive to not only help us heal but to help other families of senseless gun violence. And thats why we started the Trayvon Martin foundation. Thats why were going all over the country to the 21 states that have the stand your ground law to try to make some type of change. We understand it is not going to be done overnight, that its going to take time to do this, but were in it for the long haul. Were in it. This is a part of my life now. Ben jealous, final point to you. Were in a debate in this country about, in the quest for public safety, whether its surveillance laws and the nsa, whether its our policing tactics, how far is too far in the name of public safety. What changes the focus of this debate . What wins this debate to your side of the argument, do you think . Weve got to go back to the founding principles of this country. When our founders were courageous enough to say we deserve to be both free and safe. And those who would give up freedom in the name of safety dont deserve either. And thats why its so important that trayvons family has stood up, thats why its so important that so many will be standing up at the march in washington next saturday. Thats why its critical that we all come together and realize at the end daytime, this is not about race. This is about freedom. This is about people in this country being able to walk out the door and not fear the cops when theyre not doing anything wrong. Benjamin crump has an article about the effect of Trayvon Martin, an op ed piece in the Washington Post today. Benjamin crump, thank you very much. Sybrina fulton, we really appreciate your time this morning. And ben jealous, thank you, as always, as well. And coming up here, more than three years to go before our next president ial election, if you can believe it. If Hillary Clinton runs, did we already get a preview of her strategy . Our political roundtable is coming up to answer that question. Robert gibbs, rich lowry, congresswoman Donna Edwards and our own chuck todd. And still to come in our meet the press archives, the dream of Martin Luther king jr. 50 years later. Were back in a moment. When we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals help the gulf recover and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. I can tell you safety is at the heart of everything we do. Weve added cuttingedge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a stateoftheart monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twentyfourseven. And were sharing what weve learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. Our commitment has never been stronger. [ agent smith ] ive Found Software that intrigues me. It appears its an agent of good. [ agent smith ] ge software connects patients to nurses to the right machines while dramatically reducing waiting time. [ telephone ringing ] now a waiting room is just a room. [ static warbles ] here now, some of our images to remember. That last photo taken during fridays saints raiders nfl preseason game, sarah thomas trying to break the Glass Ceiling and become the leagues first fulltime female official. She is currently in the nfls developmental program. And just like the players on the field, she is competing for a job. When we come back, Hillary Clinton returns to the stage this week. Is she laying the groundwork for a president ial meet the press continues with our political roundtable. Joining us this morning, robert gibbs, rich lowry, Donna Edwards and chuck todd. Welcome to all of you. This is the middle of august, but theres a lot of politics going on, and we want to get to a lot of it. From Hillary Clinton to the rnc, the Republican Party, Chris Christie, a lot to chew on. Lets start with Hillary Clinton, chuck todd. Shes talking about Voting Rights on monday. A series of speeches. She is laying the groundwork for how she comes up with a message. Listen to a part of her speech. Anyone who says that Racial Discrimination is no longer a problem in american elections must not be paying attention. I am surprised in this first year that she is getting political this quickly and laying the groundwork this quickly. I really thought she was going to take you have skyhigh bipartisan approval ratings. You come off foreign policy, least political of the offices held. Why not hang on to that as long as you can . The thing that surprises me about this is she has done nothing to tamp down the enthusiasm for her, understandab understandably, and is now embracing this with a series of speeches. It means shes going to become political sooner. With that comes some negatives, meaning youre going to get scrutiny, like this week of the clinton foundation, youll get dings of what mcculloughs doing in the virginia race, where the minute you stop being above the fray, which is the decision shes beginning to make, you are then starting the president ial campaign i think a lot sooner, and at some point, theyre going to look back and go, ooh, should we really have started that soon . That is the whole thing about the runup that surprises me. Rich lowry, you didnt like what you saw and wrote about it in politico. Madam secretary hasnt missed a beat, you write. She knows that the calling card of democrats in the Barack Obama Era is a polarizing politics that seeks to fire up minority voters by searing fears of fire hoses and police dogs. Its basic vocabulary with the standard thats low and dishonest and its ethic is whatever works, so lock long as it stirs fear, anger and resentment. Get ready for hope and change 2. 0. She will be a formidable frontrunner if she runs, but she has been a formidable frontrunner before. I think one of the downsides is she is not a natural politician, so she will be vulnerable to the left. She wants to shore up the left i think as soon as possible. So, she didnt, as you might expect a former secretary of state, to give a speech about egypt when its descending into the abyss. It was about voter laws. And these voter i. D. Laws, depending how you count, about 30 states have them. Theyre popular across the board. The Washington Post poll not too long ago said more than 60 of blacks and latinos support these laws. Theyve been upheld by the Supreme Court 63 by a very liberal justice. So, i think the case against them is extremely weak and inherently demagoguic. Congresswoman, what do you think . Well, i think her speech comes on the heels of the Supreme Courts action striking down part of the Voting Rights act. So, its not a surprise she would give an important policy speech on Something Like that. Also, i think shes really going to dig her heels in at the foundation, continuing the work that she did at the state department on women and girls and lifting up the voices of women and girls in the United States and around the world. There is a question, robert gibbs, that i have, which is how does Hillary Clinton position herself, visavis barack obama . She wants a coalition that he has built her in 2012. She wants that certainly to be her coalition in 2016, but the legacy of obama could both help and hurt her. How does she distinguish herself and have room to run . Well, she also has to distinguish herself from her husband, too, right . Listen, if her campaign becomes an extension really of either her husbands term or the current president s term, its not necessarily a good deal for her. I completely agree with chuck. I as a strategist am fairly floored that she has decided to enter the public fray so quickly. She could do the foundation work, she could do issue work, she could build the campaign, she could develop a message without having to be so far out front there. And chuck talks about strong bipartisan approval ratings. Those will whittle quite quickly as she steps further and further by the way, then were going to get cheap political stories that will show up in certain political news sites that say, oh, look, Hillary Clintons ratings are falling, and its simply because republicans and independents who are republican leaning will go away as she becomes more if she doesnt look at the primary process as one thats shortened for her as being a very good thing. Remember, bill clinton got into, because we ran primaries very late in the earlier 90s, you know, he gets in in the fall of 1991 for a 1992 election, and i would have thought that would be the path she would more use. And she basically has the power, right absolutely. To breeze she actually can do that. Not many frontrunners have that power. Newt gingrich sat in your chair not long ago and said i dont know if republicans have anybody that can really take on Hillary Clinton. This week changing his tune a little bit. On wednesday, he said the coronations not starting now. Heres what he said. Shes proven an ability to lose, so i want to just start and say its a long way from here to her coronation. And if she moves to the left in these speeches in order to try to block a primary opponent, she will be increasingly isolating herself from the american people. So, im not at all convinced what the choice will be by 2016. What do you say . Well, republicans arent going to have anyone with this kind of resume, but i think although hillary has quite the resume, im not sure she has much substantive accomplishment to back it up, certainly as secretary of state. So, what republicans have will be a lot of fresh faces, a lot of fresh voices about the direction of the party, and it really is shaping up to be the inverse of what we may see on the democratic side, where you have a huge frontrunner, whereas republicans for the first time in recent memory wont have that nextinline frontrunner looming over the rest of the field. Donna edwards, i want to come back to this point of do americans, specifically democratic voters, want to see a third obama term or would they like to see the restoration of the bill clinton era . Well, i think among, you know, the electorate, president obamas really popular among democrats. And so, theres no harm in that, but we didnt mind president clinton either. And so, i think democrats dont really have a problem here. Its republicans who have the problem. And really, for Hillary Clinton, you know, the fact is, she doesnt need to shore up her base from a fight from the left. She will win the nomination if she chooses to run. I really do believe that, and i think democrats want to coalesce around a candidate early to kind of put this aside. Also, that makes why shes getting involved so much, quite frankly, more and more curious, because she is the default candidate and shes probably more the default candidate than she was in 2008 because theres not an issue like iraq that separates her. And if she has that ability, i do think it is very surprising that shes decided to step back into the ring so early. David, there is one other unintended consequence here that i dont think she is intending. The more there is sort of the split inside the democratic party, whos the leader of the party right now . The more shes talking, the more you start seeing a gravitational pull back towards hillary. This hurts the current president of the United States as trying to be leader of the democratic party, as trying to move the party as he gets ready for a bunch of fall fights. The lame duck status happens in two phases, right . The first phase is lame duck status in washington between the presidency and the white house. And then theres a second phase of lame duck status inside your own party. Her coming out early i think speeds up that lame duck process of barack obama inside the democratic party, and thats something if im sitting in the white house, i dont like so much. You dont start that so quickly. Let me go to a break and come back and talk about the republicans. They were meeting up in boston this week, the rnc. Interesting rohring from Jonathan Martin in the New York Times this morning about how [ ice freezing ] [ wind howling ] [ engine revving ] [ electricity crackling ] [ engine revving ] [ electricity crackling ] the ones getting involved and staying engaged. Theyre not afraid to question the path theyre on. Because the one question they never want to ask is how did i end up here . I started schwab for those people. 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Here was Chris Christie addressing the rnc meeting on thursday, sounding very much like a candidate when he said, i think we have some folks who believe that our job is to be college professors, rand paul i think is who he meant. For our ideas to matter, we have to win, because if we dont win, we dont govern, if we dont govern, all we do is shout into the wind, and so, i am going to do anything i need to do to win. Rich lowry, also Jonathan Martin of the the New York Times saying this morning that you see from christie something close to what george w. Bush did in 1998, shoring up support among hispanics, africanamericans, even as he was seeking reelection in texas in 98, trying to get the broader appeal for the party. It worked for him in 2000. This debate with rand paul i think is a little sterile, because you have the rand paul camp saying the party needs principles. Well, of course it does, because any Party Without principles is rudderless and passive. And you have Chris Christie saying you need power and a compelling governing agenda. Well, of course you do because thats the only way you effect your principles. So its not either or. Its both. I think what christie is after is the george w. Bush model saying this is a model for the president ial race and what he would hope to do is cement that establishment slot in the primary and hope hes facing a divided field on the right. And if history is any guide, thats a pretty good way to win a republican no, maam nation. Robert gibbs . And the peatwathway may have gotten a little clearer, because the rnc did a very savvy thing this week, right . First of all, theyre working the reps on these hillary documentaries and specials, right . Brens preevs is running the script so when a script goes into production, somebody will say make this scene tougher. The second thing hes doing is cutting down markedly on the number of debates, which became the roman colosseum of republican politics last time, which are populated in huge auditoriums where activists want more and more and more. And it becomes you run for president in order to get a radio talk show when you dont win the nomination. If those things fall a bit by the wayside, youve moderated the process a bit, the establishment candidates have more control over this. Probably a better week for Chris Christie than it was for ted cruz or rand paul. Here, we were looking at history this week, going back to Ronald Reagan, as so many republicans do, and looking at his speech at the convention, july of 1980. And which is part of what reagan said then. This convention has shown to all america a party united with positive programs for solving the nations problems, a party ready to build a new consensus with all those across the land who share a community of values embodied in these words family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom. Chuck todd, who is the republican at this point who embodies that or embodies a newer version of it . Dont forget, that version of Ronald Reagan was a modified version, because the guy who sort of was wanting to burn down the party a little bit lost in 76, close, but very divisive when you basically had the establishment versus the conservatives, and he ran a more uniting campaign, moderated himself a little bit. Look, christie on paper, as a general election candidate, you sit there and you say, okay, thats probably the best person they could do to go win a couple of purple states. Like, who could go in there and win florida . Who could go in there and win iowa or michigan, right . Who can connect with the workingclass democrats . Or maybe, you know, the overweight guy from new jersey, and i mean that as no, it makes him seem less sterile. Mitt romney was this scripted type businessman who had this regimen and he jogged every morning and Chris Christie seems like an every man, and particularly against a political dynasty if youre going up there. The problem is, how does he get through this primary process . Because conservatives are going to argue, you know what, bush was a compromise, mccain was a compromise, romney was a compromise. Weve gone with the establishment, we can keep going back, bob dole, four straight times. Whats it really done for the Republican Party . Is it in a better place today than in the reagan era . And i think thats going to be the real fight inside the party. And Chris Christie has to figure out, how does he prove hes conservative enough . And its going to be tough. Congresswoman, as you look as a democrat on the outside, you dont have the rooting interests, but how formidable do you look at the Republican Party as being right now . Well, i dont see the pathway for Chris Christie, given especially what chuck has really outlined. And the problem for republicans is not kind of where they say what they say and how many venues they have to say it, its what theyre saying, and when what theyre saying is against immigrants and women and africanamerican teenagers, its something that just isnt going to go for the broader swath of those independent voters and the country. So, i dont really see the pathway for Chris Christie. I will say, i think one of the most important speeches at the rnc this week was when Newt Gingrich challenged the party not to simply be against obama care but have positive policy ideas. And you see that in the clip from reagan. And rich talked a little bit about this sort of the debates sort of rand paul and Chris Christie. You will see this race form when somebody begins to outline a hopeful, optimistic governing vision for where they want to take both the party and the country. That, i think, is the reagan optimism that a republican candidate needs. And everyone knows what theyre against. Newt was absolutely right about that. Its not enough to oppose obama care. Now, republicans should oppose obama care. Its falling apart in front of our eyes. Were seeing rate increases, even though the president is saying Health Insurance is going to be cheaper for everyone. But the party needs an agenda where they can say this is how we want to help people get Health Insurance thats affordable, thats renewable, thats going to be for them, there for them when theyre sick. And theyre not going to get any help in the congress because its a congress that has intentionally not put forward any kind of positive policy agenda. Right. Well, they quite frankly need a nominee thats not based on republicans in congress. They dont need an obstructionist agenda. They need some sort of positive agenda, and i think thats why there was some power in what Newt Gingrich said. So, were talking about the Republican Party. Were coming up on an anniversary that is going to give the president an opportunity to highlight some president ial leadership moments. Were talking about the anniversary of the march on washington coming up on august 28th. Thats where dr. Martin luther king jr. , of course, made his i have a dream speech. 50 years ago next sunday, king appeared on this very program. Here is some of what he had to say. I think that we must face the fact that in reality, you cannot have economic and political equality without having some form of social equality. I think this is inevitable, and i dont think our society will rise to its full maturity until we come to see that man are made to live together as brothers and that we can have genuine intergroup, interpersonal living and still be in the kind of society which we all long to achieve. Congresswoman, next saturday, the 50th anniversary, president obama going to recreate that moment, in effect, on the washington mall. How significant is it . I think its really significant when you think 50 years ago, and i think that, you know, dr. King did have some vision that some day there might be an africanamerican in the white house, living that dream. And i think the president is going to speak to that. And most importantly, i think hes going to speak to economic inequality. Hes done that a number of times over the last several weeks and months. And i think that the speech in washington is actually going to give him an opportunity to follow up on the dr. King dream, say i saying its social equality. You know, weve had problems around race relations, but its about economic inequality. Rich lowry, does he use any part of this as a way to challenge republicans to try to jump start something in his second term on inequality, on the economy . I doubt it. And its sort of an inappropriate forum for that, i would think. What i take away from the march on Washington Abraham Lincoln referred to the declaration of independence as this electric cord going throughout all of American History and you had those marchers grabbing on to that chord and using that to make the country a more just place. Robert gibbs. Obviously, it would be a special moment, and i think, you know, we look back 50 years and see how much the country has changed, how much it still has to come, but understanding the role that Martin Luther king played, as Time Magazine pointed out this week, is probably one of the Founding Fathers of modern america. John lewiss speech, right . John lewis will be on this program next week, a special edition of meet the press as we mark that 50th anniversary. Thank you all very much for the discussion this morning. Thank you all very much for the dwhen we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals help the gulf recover and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. I can tell you safety is at the heart of everything we do. Weve added cuttingedge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a stateoftheart monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twentyfourseven. And were sharing what weve learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. Our commitment has never been stronger. Theyre the days to take care of business. When possibilities become reality. With centurylink as your trusted partner, our visionary Cloud Infrastructure and Global Broadband network free you to focus on what matters. With Custom Communications solutions and responsive, dedicated support, we constantly evolve to meet your needs. Every day of the week. Centurylink® your link to whats next. announcer scottrade knows our and invest their own way. With scottrades smart text, i can quickly understand my charts, and spend more time trading. Their quick trade bar lets my account follow me online so i can react in realtime. Plus, my local scottrade office is there to help. Because they know i dont trade like everybody. I trade like me. Im with scottrade. announcer scottrade. Voted best Investment Services company. Weve all met bill. He shows up once a month asking for money. You cant avoid him, but you can stop him from wasting 150 Million Pounds of paper every year. Ask bill to go online. Green bill is much cooler. The more you know. Good monday morning. Coming up on early today, western wildfires are threatening numerous communities in a number of states as red flag conditions persist. President obama back to washington. The agend ahandling the crisis in egypt and if the u. S. Will continue its financial military relationship. Premeditated murder. Did the bladerunner plan to kill his girlfriend riva steencamp. Plus reggie wayne light ups the preseason. Are lilos six trips to rehab enough for a turnaround. And the most expensive car ever sold at auction. Early today starts right now. Announcer this is early today for monday, august 19th. Good morning. Im richard lui. Today could be a diffi d