Baptist church, church where his mentor dr. Martin luther king jr. Presided. The dignitaries at todays Service Included former president s from both parties. He was eulogized by former president barack obama who looked to lewis as a hero. After his inauguration in 90 he signed lewis program with the words because of you john. He talked about what john meant to him and our country. John lewis was in so many ways exceptional. He vindicated the faith in our founding, redeemed that faith. That most american of ideas, the idea that any of us, ordinary people without rank, or wealth, or title, or fame can somehow point out the imperfections of this nation and come together and challenge the status quo and decide that it is in our power to remake this country that we love until it more closely aligns with our highest ideals. Buried alongside his wife lillian who died in 2012. Todays celebration marks the end of six days that honors the life of lewis as he makes his journ journey. It included one final crossing of the Edmund Pettus bridge where in 1975 he led hundreds of people across the bridge in a march to demand Voting Rights for africanamericans only to be attacked by Alabama State troop troopers in what became known as bloody sunday. He was afforded the rare honor of lying in state in the capitol rotunda. Back to atlanta, the city he represented in congress for more than 33 years where he never received less than 69 of the vote. Now were joined by my friend and colleague nicolle wallace. Nicolle, what a day of contrasts especially given the utterance of our current president earlier today, especially given the fact were in the midst of a pandemic that is chewing up real estate and people across our country. You know, i think everyone has this desperate need to be filled up. I think that what john lewis did in his own words in an oped he penned to be published on this day, the day of his funeral, went a long way towards filling us up. Im a student of former president obamas speeches. This one today was about john lewis, but it was also a challenge to us. Who do you want to be, america . Do you want to be a country in the image of john lewis or do you want to be something very, very starkly and darkly different on the other side . It cheers me endlessly that president george w. Bush had the opportunity to honor and pay tribute to this American Hero in john lewis. Theres something extremely comforting in these times in seeing three former president s from the two Political Parties honor an american. Joining our conversation former Maryland Democratic congresswoman Donna Edwards and jon meacham, professor of vanderbilt university. Donna, your thoughts . Well, you know, today when i was watching, first of all, it was such a real celebration and a fitting home going for a faithful servant. You know, i think about my colleagues along both sides from whom i served and learned. I thought about so many speakers who came into the pulpit. I thought how humble a man john lewis was and that he could fill your spirit and he did that with such joy in the Democratic Caucus when we really needed to be united. It was always john lewis voice and in that caucus that would unite us on pilgrimage to selma, to learn our history, it was john lewis voice calling us there. This morning when i read that New York Times oped and i thought, i have no right to be tired because the work really does go on. I think all of us should be as he said called to the wind. Jon meacham, its undeniable that the work and legacy as described by three former president s and in congressman lewis own words is work that runs contrary to the what we can decipher as the stated mission of the current president which today includes possibly delaying the u. S. Election. Could not be a sharper contrast than the day congressman lewis soul was commended to god at ebenezer church, one of the most famous places in the world, the prospect the threat that the fundamental democratic processes would be overturned for the convenience of a single man. What today remind us of and president s clinton, bush and obamas words ms. Clayton stole the show by telling us how john and lillian got together they all lead us to the place where we have to ask ourselves in an urgent way which side of history do we want to be on . No one today is talking about honoring bull connor, jim clark or George Wallace or the people who look like me from my native region who enabled those people in that era and who are enabling this president in this era. We have to confront anew. This is what congressman lewis would want us to do. He was not a stain glass christian. He was not an ivory tower statesman. He was a man of the arena. He believed fundamentally that the kingdom of god could be brought to bear and into being within time and space. Its a remarkable and revolutionary thought. It begins all of us dont have to ascribe to that or be saints. John lewis was. Saints dont have to be perfect. They just have to be better than the rest of us. This is about the theology of america. Are we devoted to the commandment to love one another as best we can as we love ourselves or are we entirely about the selfishness and the greed and the cruelty that created essentially a total state . We cant let that wall be built back up. Jon, because your talent is the ability to fill in the tableau, things were all watching in real time, think of what today showed off. It reminded us of a day before an out of control pandemic in our country. It reminded us to nicolles point of a day when our president s, regardless of party, used to come together. Finally it reminded us of a time before president s led with the topic of self in their remarks. Yeah. I think what president bush said, weve had offer disagreements, but the america we both believed in understood that disagreement is the oxygen of democracy. Its the essential element in the republican, lower case r, system. Its okay for people to feel strongly about one party or the other. Thats why were here. If it were all one system, that would be absolutism. From the very beginning, 25 of us didnt want to rebel against britain. Jefferson and hamilton were at each others throats. Hamilton was shot. We have always been divided. Where we have been at our best, though, is when those divisions are strongest, we have just often enough managed to agree that the world john lewis envisioned was worth the compromise, was worth the giving up of something from yourself. Lets not play the harps here and the trumpets. The civil rights be which jim lawson today, one of the most important americans of our time, who taught dr. King, who taught john lewis, who taught ghandi and nonviolence, he spent a couple years in prison because he was an objector during the korean war. He goes to india. He meets ghandis lieutenants. Then in his interaction of christianity and the ghandi methods come together at a college in ohio and meets Martin Luther king jr. He says we need someone like you in the south. Thats why jim lawson was in nashville. They were in the basement of Clark Memorial Church and thats where they learned how to do the things that have led us to this conversation today. To go to a point president obama made, its a vivid, powerful expression of a fundamentally american evnlightenment idea. The individual has agency and our individual voices, if enough of us raise them, can create a chorus that lifts us to a better place. Congressman, to jons superbly crafted point today, offered a tableau of the history of the past few decades in our country. I thought one of the most indelible points made by president obama was to readjust our thinking for the modern era and identify one john lewis as among our Founding Fathers. Well, i thought that was a very poignant point that president obama made. You know, when the fullest history of our nation is written, john lewis name will be etched in that history as the story of one of our Founding Fathers who made our union more perfect. Our job is to take up that mantle and perfect it even more. There was an important call to action in john lewis oped piece calling on us to vote. I thought it was a really important call to action from president obama saying that our work is not done. He laid out in the most clear terms the work that is still to be done to make this a more perfect union. It really does begin with a vote. I think, you know, he wasnt just saying what kind of america do you want to be. He was telling us very clearly we can either be the america of john lewis hopes and dreams and aspirations or we can be the america of the darkness of George Wallace and the current occupant of the white house. I think that choice is really clear. I think if were going to do john lewis legacy justice, then each of us has an obligation to take up. We may not be able to take up the whole mantle. Each of us has an obligation to take up even the tiniest piece of it to make ourselves into a more perfect union. Thanks to two friends of ours on an emotional day. You see atlantas Fire Department paying tribute to john lewis. Former congresswoman Donna Edwards and jon meacham. A break for us. When we return, the coronavirus pandemic, which lets not forget was a back drop to all of today, the news today that former president ial candidate herman cain has died from covid19. The daily death toll like we were tracking back in the month of may. The president s response to the spiraling pandemic . Hes now suggesting delaying the november election, something he lacks the power to do. Steve schmidt will weigh in on all of it and where we are in history after this. Re in history after this like screening for colon cancer. Because when caught in early stages, its more treatable. Cologuard is noninvasive and detects altered dna in your stool. To find 92 of colon cancers. Even in early stages. Its for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. False positive and negative results may occur. So, dont wait to screen. Ask your prescriber or an online prescriber if cologuard is right for you. Did you know Liberty Mutual customizes your Car Insurance tada so you only pay for what you need . I should get a quote. Do it. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. 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The president yet again without evidence attacked the integrity of mailin voting which is how he voted in the last election. He wrote in part, delay the election until people can properly, securely and safely vote. As the constitution tells us, only congress has the authority to postpone an election. Even despite crises like wars and economic turmoil, never in our history has our nation delayed an election. The president s tweet came 16 minutes after new numbers from the commerce which shown the biggest drop in the gdp, 32. 9 . Put another way weve lost a third of our services produced in our country. Grown Office Holders have signed over their seats, names and reputations to donald trump. Mitch mcconnell, mccarthy and graham came out against the idea the president floated today. We welcome back steve schmidt. Senior strategist to the mccain effort in 08, a cofounder of the lincoln project, republicans devoted to defeating donald trump and trumpism. Steve, lets start with a tweet. Theres no barrier to entry. No standard for authorship, even the best are forgotten seconds later. In many ways, this was just a tweet by the president , but in the deeper way what did this moment reveal . This moment revealed Donald Trumps fetish for totalitarianism in full. Never has an american president talked about delaying a president ial election. He is across the rubicon. We should be gratified that at long last the supine republicans in the senate and in the house have finally at long last said, no, we will have an election. We will vote. The American People in this country, we pick our leaders. So trumps question, his assertion, his probing, the perimeter of what he can get away with, fundamentally the right to vote isnt something for donald trump to give or take away. This is our american inheritance. It has been bequeathed to us through the blood and sacrifice of american martyrs and heros, including the blood of the American Hero buried today with the tributes of three american president s. In this country we tell the government what to do, not the other way aaron. The point is, though, if donald trump could end the election, stop the election, if donald trump had the power to remain in office we know for sure he would exercise it. Hes being crushed politically. We received the worst Economic News in the history of the country today. We are in a pandemic that will kill more americans than the japanese, germans and italians during the second world war. We know the School Openings are going to be a disaster. As we move into september, were going to see a mortgage and eviction crisis begin in this country that will be three times what it was at the height of great recession. We have dark and trouble days ahead. We see a president testing the boundaries of american democracy which hes done for three and a half years. What ill say today i said four years ago. Fascism didnt grow and thrive in the 30s because it was strong. It grew because democracy was weak. We have a sick and ailing democracy in this country where theres too many of our leaders that have infidelity to small r democracy and its a real problem and a real crisis. Steve, on that problem and on that crisis specifically, every democratic guardrail has been steam rolled by donald trump. Why do you think an election and a transfer of power will be different . Well, i think that it will be different in the sense that when donald trump loses the election, i doubt very much well see the symbolism of the peaceful transition of power. There wont be coffee at the white house. We wont see donald trump on the dais. Someone pointed out in a democracy it requires one side being willing to lose. The loser cedes to the winner. Trump is ceding the ground that the election will be illegitimate. Hell never recognize the legitimacy of it should he lose the election. 35 of the country wont recognize the legitimacy of the election, which means were in dangerous territory. At the end donald trump cant stop anybody from voting. Only the American People can stop themselves from voting. He can do a lot of things to make it more difficult. Look at the strategy, the points been made over and over. Trump doesnt have a strategy to win the election. He has a strategy to get it close so hes able to steal it in the end. We should all be vigilant about that. If he can steal it, hell steal it. He has no fidelity to the american ideals. Its a strange and foreign thought for him that the country was founded by people like George Washington who voluntarily walked away from power when he otherwise could have been a king or emperor. Thanks to steve hschmidt. When we return the latest headlines on the pandemic. 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