>> with all due respect to apple, shake it off, shake it off. john: core lineup tonight, a poll, a paul, and a podcast. in the wake of the charleston church shootings, widespread calls for south carolina to cease flying the confederate flag. >> 15 years ago, south carolina

came together in a bipartisan way to remove the flag from atop the capitol dome. today we are here in a moment of unity to say it is time to move the flag from the capitol grounds. [applause] john: we are going to be talking about this topic a great deal on this show. for now let me ask you, governor haley moved really quick. why? mark: this has been a long time coming. she is a minority female governor, an african-american senator, lindsey graham is not going to be afraid to stand up to people in his state. given the nature of the tragedy, given the way the state wants to go to the future, the state needed to do something symbolic.

john: funerals and memorial services coming up on friday. president obama will give a eulogy for one of the following. -- one of the fallen. it would have been awkward to not make that switch by then. this is a state that economically is tied into the business community. bmw boeing, and other companies. , the corporate sector is a force for progressivism. the corporate world would want this changed. mark: the 2016 candidates would be pressed on this. the chair of the national committee was on the stage. the republican party did not want to spend another day defending the confederate flag. john: it tells you there was a lot of machinery grinding pretty quickly. mark: a lot of instant statements. john: president obama addressed the persistence of racism in

america in a blunt way. he has referred to a word that has been banned from respectful conversation. it has created a bit of a media conniption. connection. let's take a listen to the cause of this controversy. >> the legacy of slavery, jim crow, discrimination in almost every institution of our lives that casts a long shadow. that is still part of our dna. that has passed on. we are not cured of it. racism, we are not cured of it. and it is not just a matter of it not being polite to say "nigger" in public, it's not just a matter of overt discrimination.

societies don't overnight completely erase everything that happened three hundred years prior. john: was he right or wrong to invoke that loaded term? mark: i think the president did it in a conversational way clearly to make a point. while it is a tough call for the media, we should do what we did, say at how the president of the united states said it. that's good enough for history. john: there is a distinction between using a word and invoking a word. that is important. there is so much euphemism around profanity. i like that the president is using it in an instructional way. i think the press is ridiculous when they have f-star-star-k.

it doesn't have a purpose. mark: is so good president is going down there on friday. south carolina and the country need more unity around race. in the new nbc news polls, there is good news for jeb bush. 75% of republicans say they could see themselves voting for him. it gets even gooderer, only 40% said legacy candidates are a top concern. in this poll, can we call him the quasi-front-runner? john: i have never called him that in the first place. we have covered this stuff for

the same amount of time. in the way we used to think about republican front-runner, he was not the front-runner and still is not. he is clearly in the top tier. there is no way he had us the position that mitt romney had in 2012. there is no doubt he has had a good run of pulling. this is good news for him and he is firmly in that top tier. mark: what this whole shows is when jeb bush tries to reach voters, he can change people's view of him. he showed this week that a good set of communication can you people voting for him. with his name and the history of who the party nominates, he is the front-runner. john: there are good things in

those numbers for marco rubio. not quite as good as scott walker. i think we can say they are the top tier. there may be others who jump in but right now it is those three guys. mark: if you are unfamiliar with the paul lists style when it comes to attack videos, take a look at this new faux jeb bush infomercial. >> then bail out bush, jump ship. the wall street has look its buckets of bailout cash. mark: audit, surreal, all of those things. that is a very familiar part of the paul family playbook.

watch these highlights from over the years from the paul family. >> why are you voting for mccain? >> because he can beat obama. >> this pretty boy, or that pretty boy? >> and the fake mitt romney, which makes me remarkably like the real mitt romney. >> why are you voting for romney? >> because he can beat obama. >> rick perry -- >> his super pac is going after with his web video, targeting jeb bush on the issue of bailout spree at why are they targeting him?

john: he is the front-runner according to you. rand paul, not in the top tier. jeb bush is the biggest target out there. take a shot. mark: the video is largely accurate in terms of allegations, to go after bailouts is right in the wheelhouse of the paul message. >> that is one of the things we will talk about common core integration. those are things if you are an antiestablishment candidate. >> his state races to take down the confederate flags. more remarks on all of this.

>> nikki haley wrapped up remarks. we are joined by our colleague al hunt of bloomberg view, who is in our washington bureau. let's listen to a part of what governor haley said. governor haley: the hate filled murderer who massacred our brothers and sisters in charleston has a sick and twisted view of the flag. in no way does he reflect the people in our state who respect and revere it. they also see it as a memorial, a way to honor ancestors who came to the service of their state during conflict. that is not hate nor is it racism. for many others in south

carolina flag is a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past. as a state we can survive and indeed we can thrive, as we have done, while being home to both of those viewpoints. we do not need to declare a winner and a loser here. this is south carolina's statehouse. it is south carolina's historic moment. this will be south carolina's decision. to those outside of our state the flag may be nothing more than a symbol of america's past. the statehouse belongs to all of us. their voices will be heard and their role will be respected. mark: how hard is it politically for nikki haley to do this?

al: it shouldn't be hard. the pendulum has swung. i went to school in the south. i admire what she did today but she could not be more wrong. this is not a symbol of respect and integrity, this is a symbol of hate. to say segregation now segregation forever. it is a symbol of breaking away from the country. john: given your wisdom and long memory, take us through the history of this, the confederate flag and the various political battles that have raged over the south over previous years. al: it is interesting, a very conservative republican governor in 1996 says we are going to take it down from the top of the state capital and move it to a war memorial ground.

the white population went crazy. he was defeated in the next election by a democrat. when he ran for the senate he was clobbered by jim demint. he became absolutely untouchable in conservative circles. same thing happened to roy barnes in georgia. because of the tragedy, the awful thing in charleston, how deeply offensive this is to african-americans. mark: does the issue of the flag go away for democrat and republican presidential candidates or are their subsidiary issues they will be asked to speak to? al: it is still the flag in mississippi. there are still places in southern forms where the flag is raised.

even dixie is sung. i don't think that reflects most southerners for sure. maybe it doesn't even reflect most republicans. it is an issue that won't go away. this is a relic of the past. hate is nothing to be proud about. this isn't celebrating general johnston. john: we have seen bandwagon in the past couple of hours. interestingly, not a word from hillary clinton. what about the politics of this seems to be a slamdunk for tearing this flag down? al: i can't imagine she would have any other position. i would be shocked if there was a reason.

mark: rather than putting out a full throated statement, she gave a speech at the mayor's conference, didn't talk about it. al: whatever problems in 2007 and 2008 was how slow she was. she should have been much tougher much sooner. john: do you think that because of the way this looked a show of unity. mark asked the question before -- mike huckabee, for instance. there is an that there is a confederate flag there as well. are there any candidates where this will continue to be an acute problem?

al: i think huckabee will be one. i don't know it will be a problem for him. you can't imagine they would not at this stage. it doesn't solve the problem elsewhere. the flag itself is a relic of hate of the past. what we have to acknowledge is there is a strain of racism. as long as that is there the problem isn't going to totally disappear. mark: have seen a range of candidates applauding statements. this is something that republicans are now happy to get on the bandwagon. with the exception of jeb bush and john kasich, all of them suggested states rights.

thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. jim clyburn on the latest news out of his state after this. ♪

john: democratic congressman jim clyburn wiping away tears. that embrace symbolic of a very big moment for the state. congressman clyburn is going to join us in a minute. we will be right back. ♪

congressman clyburn, great to see. i know you talked to governor haley last week. can you tell us more about that conversation and how she explained herself in terms of her thinking?

congressman clyburn: thank you so much for having me. governor haley grew up in south carolina. she grew up around that flag. as she said to me on one occasion, she was too dark in some quarters to be white and too white to be black. she understood what this flag was doing to a lot of people. she decided it was time for her to take a stand. i hope they will codify the sentiments that she expressed today. i didn't talk to her how she worked her way through all of

this. i watched her last thursday afternoon. i'm going to tell you, these murderers had tremendous impact on her. she whispered to me out of earshot of the media, leading me to the conclusion that this is a genuine growth pattern that she has undertaken with regards to this flag. she told me how sorry she was about this, and she hoped that she could have my support going forward on trying to get the appropriate response to this. i will be here tomorrow.

a republican will stay with us today. although the other guys may be going back to washington, i think it is important enough for me to stay around and see it to the end. we will be interacting with all the families. >> everyone appreciates the service you are putting in. i'm pretty sure i saw you wipe away a tear or two. i was wondering what was so emotional about that moment for you. congressman clyburn: it was more perspiration than a tear. but this was a very emotional thing for me. i was involved in trying to find

a compromise that resulted in the flag coming off the statehouse dome. i stayed in washington that day when we made the announcement. would that compromise failed, it failed because a few civil rights people objected to the compromise. the legislature rejected the compromise. that was not the compromise. that flag is where it is today out of defiance. the legislature defiantly put the flag in front of the statehouse. the compromise was to put the flag adjacent to the monument. that's what our agreement was. john: do you think the legislature will except it is time to take the flag down or do you think this will have

difficulty getting it done even after the governor has made her appeal? congressman clyburn: it is going to be difficult, it is not going to be easy. unfortunately too many legislators are interested in whether or not they are going to win the next election that whether or not south carolina will win this year. this ought to be a battle for the future of our great state. we had too many young people. over 80% of my class resonated from south carolina and left. they left looking for opportunities. we need to be creating opportunities here for everybody. and that flag is a blight on the state. we would move forward together so that everybody will feel welcome coming into this state. i have had african american

executive tell me that they have turned down job offers in the state. john: thank you very much, we appreciate you coming on the show. check out bloomberg po ♪ ♪ ♪ get excited for the 1989 world tour with exclusive behind the scenes footage all of taylor swift's music videos interviews, and more. xfinity is the destination for all things taylor swift.

emily: apple bows to pressure from taylor swift. will spotify be forced to play by her rules too? ♪ emily: i am emily chang, this is "bloomberg west." coming up, alibaba, we will look at the new plan to win over american shoppers. twitter laid down rules for its next as they could jack dorsey -- force jack dorsey to make a tough decision. sunshine sports