Mitch Perry
Happy Monday, y’all.
I hope you had a good weekend. I’m feeling good this morning after my Golden State Warriors took care of the San Antonio Spurs last night with dispatch, and are only a victory away this Wednesday from capturing the greatest regular season record in NBA history. The Masters also had some drama.
But ltet’s talk about two other television programs of interest that aired yesterday: President Obama on Fox News Sunday and Bob Graham on 60 Minutes.
It was Obama’s first appearance on Fox’s Sunday morning public affairs program, and while his comments about Hillary Clinton’s email issues are generating headlines, check out when he was asked by Chris Wallace if he’s too diffident when it comes to reacting to terrorist attacks, a common theme that was echoed after his appearance with Raul Castro in the immediate aftermath of the Brussels attacks.
OBAMA: There isn’t a president who’s taken more terrorists off the field than me, over the last seven-and-a-half years.
I’m the guy who calls the families, or meets with them, or hugs them, or tries to comfort a mom, or a dad, or a husband, or a kid, after a terrorist attack. So, let’s be very clear about how much I prioritize this. This is my number one job —
WALLACE: Then why is it —
OBAMA: — and we have been doing it effectively. You’re —
WALLACE: So why do people sometimes think you’re diffident —
OBAMA: Well, I think part of it is that, in the wake of terrorist attacks, it has been my view consistently that the job of the terrorists, in their minds, is to induce panic, induce fear, get societies to change who they are.
And what I’ve tried to communicate is, “You can’t change us. You can kill some of us, but we will hunt you down, and we will get you. And in the meantime, just as we did in Boston, after the marathon bombing, we’re going to go to a ballgame. And do all the other things that make our life worthwhile. And you have nothing to offer.”
That’s the message of resilience that we don’t panic, that we don’t fear. We will hunt you down and we will get you.
Meanwhile on 60 Minutes, those infamous 28 pages of the 9/11 report which could show the possible existence of a Saudi support network for the hijackers involved in the 9/11 terror attacks, was the topic, as Obama plans a trip to Saudi Arabia this month.
Former Florida Senator Bob Graham, who helped write the report, told the TV newsmagazine that the classified information outlines a network of people he believes supported the hijackers while they were in the U.S.
He said the hijackers were “substantially” supported by Saudi government, as well as charities and wealthy people in that country.
“I think it is implausible to believe that 19 people, most of who didn’t speak English, most of whom never been in the United States before, many of whom didn’t have a high school education — could’ve carried out such a complicated task without some support from within the United States,” Graham said.
The issue has been one that’s received some news coverage over the years, but went totally primetime last night. Seriously, what’s the uphold in declassifying those pages? Americans deserves to know.
In other news…
The Hillsborough County Legislative Delegation gathered last Friday to break bread with a whole bunch of business folks last Friday. That’s where St. Petersburg state Senator Jeff Brandes announced that prison reform is next on his ambitious policy agenda.
Could Bob Buckhorn leave the job he loves with half his term left? Perhaps it’s unlikely, but the Tampa Mayor admits he’d have to listen if Hillary Clinton asks him to join her in a new administration – if she were to be elected this fall.
Mark Bircher ran for Congress in the CD 13 special election in 2014. He’s back this time around, and is in fact the only official Republican in the race as Rick Baker continues to contemplate his future.
And Patrick Murphy is seriously concerned about the Zika virus and what it could in Florida.
