tv Politics Nation MSNBC June 13, 2014 3:00pm-4:01pm PDT
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we've got to have you on to talk more about it. >> thank you so much for having me. >> that's "the ed show." "politics nation" with the reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. >> good evening, dr. dyson and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, republicans rewriting history on iraq. 11 years after president bush invaded iraq, republicans are now trying to blame that mess on president obama. right now an army of islamic extremists is driving toward baghdad after taking control of huge parts of the country. today president obama talked about what the u.s. will and won't do in response. >> we will not be sending u.s. troops back into combat in iraq. i had asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support
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iraq security force. and i'll be reviewing those options in the days ahead. nobody has an interest in seeing terrorists gain a foot dps hold inside of iraq and nobody is going to benefit from seeing iraq descend into chaos. so the united states will do our part, but understand that ultimately it's up to the iraqis as a sovrp nation to solve their problems. >> no troops on the ground. no more americans in combat. we won't repeat the mistakes of the past. this new crisis is a direct result of bush's 2003 invasion, which ignited religious and ethnic tensions between sunni, shiites and kurds in iraq. sunni extremists are pushing south, now just 40 miles from baghdad. and the north, the kurd is seizing territory of their own. and in the center, the shiite-led government is bracing
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for battle. led by a failed prime minister who was put in place by the bush administration. it's a mess. but it's an iraqi mess. u.s. troops left nearly three years ago, but now republicans are using that crisis to try and rewrite the history books, and even claim we should still be in iraq. starting with senator john mccain. >> we had it won. thanks to the surge and thanks to general david petraeus, we had it won. and then the decision was made by the obama administration to not have a residual force in iraq. what is it winning? i want to know what victory is to you, senator mccain. >> i think you are confused. a residual force would have stabilize the country. most military experts would te
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y ll you that. i'm sorry about your confusion. >> if it's opened case if that's the case. we need to have a residual force to prop up the government indefinitely. is that how you see it? >> you know, i see that about japan after world war ii. i see that about the 38,000 troops we have in korea. i say that about the troops we left behind in bosnia. >> japan and germany? we kept troops for 50 years, is that what he wants in iraq? at a town hall meeting in 2008, he talked about his vision for the occupation. >> president bush is talking about staying in iraq for 50 years. maybe 100. >> 100 years? that's what mccain wanted. why stop there? >> you say it could be 100 years. explain that. >> it could be 1,000. it could be 1,000 years or a million years.
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>> 1,000 years, a million. enough is enough. right now, president obama is considering what action to take. but he's definitely not listening to this so-called advice from hawks who turned iraq into america's worst foreign policy disaster since vietnam. joining me now is former congressman democratic congressman patrick murphy. the first iraq war vet elected to congress. and msnbc.com's executive editor richard wolffe. thank you both for being here. >> thank. >> congressman murphy, what's your response when you hear right wingers say we should still have forces in that country. >> well, it's the same cheerleaders, the biggest cheerleaders in the iraq war to begin with. the ones trying to rationalize it now. but reverend, this is one of the most strategically colossal mistakes in american history in
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the iraq war. i served there ten years ago. i lost 19 men. but the reality of it is this -- it was wrong, it was the wrong war, it had nothing to do with 9/11 or weapons of mass destruction. and these cheerleaders who can't see reality, the american people have spoken. we should not have our troops there right now in the middle of harm's way in a religious civil war between the sunnis and the shia. i'm glad they're home. i'm glad it took the leadership of barack obama to make that a reality. >> you know rich, if the soldiers did their job, it was a terrible policy. the soldiers did their job. but if you change the premise, you get to the wrong conclusion. we were not in iraq to stabilize a civil war. we were there because we were told there were weapons of mass destruction. and they now made the premise something that was never the reason we were there in the
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first place. and president obama said he won't sign off any plan without a serious political commitment by the iraqi government. listen to this. >> the united states is not simply going to involve itself in a military action in the absence of a political plan by the iraqis that gives us some assurance that they're prepared to work together. we're not going to allow ourselves to be dragged back into a situation in which, while we're there, we're keeping a lid on things and after enormous sacrifices by us, as soon as we're not there, suddenly people end up acting in ways that are not conducive to the lon-term stability and prosperity of the country. >> the language is striking, richie. he won't let america get dragged, h esaid, back into a bad situation. >> what he's really getting back there is the iraqi prime
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minister has taken on himself this persecution, this hunting down of his sunni enemies. he has made it much, much worse. the sectarian tensions were always there in iraq. if you get to maliki, supported very much by president bush. before you get to that point, not only what patrick murphy was saying was correct, not only was the invasion a mistake, but key decisions made by american officials in the bush administration made those sectarian differences, those tensions, the strife much, much worse. and that was about ejecting the sunni elite out to have power. you're seeing those chickens come home to roost. when the president says tactfully, well, we have to be sure they can get things together on the ground, that's really important. not only are the iraqis finding it difficult, impossible with his current policies to keep that country together, but when we were in control, we couldn't
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do it as well. >> you know, talking about bush's people, congressman, today, former bush press secretary ari fleisher tweeted, quote, regardless of what anyone thinks of going into iraq in 2002, it's a tragedy that the successes of the 2007 surge have been lost and abandoned. now first of all, the u.s. invaded iraq in 2003, not 2002. but does this reveal the real effort on the right? they know the iraq war was an epic blunder and now they're trying to shift blame on to democrats and president obama, congressman. >> this is a brazenly, political attempt to rewrite history. but the american people are not stupid. they understand that it was the bush administration cheerleading in this war, which had nothing to do with 9/11 or afghanistan
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and got us into this war which cost at least $6 trillion of american treasure, at least 4,486 americans who never made it home. and over 100,000 iraqi civilians who lost their life because of their mistake. now for them to try and rewrite history is importland. and wrong. and they know it. and it's too late. the cat is out. they will go down in history with their blood on their hands. >> you know, rich, the head of the republican party, rush limbaugh says that the president is letting al qaeda win in order to damage president bush's legacy in iraq. listen to this. >> the opportunity here to secure defeat in iraq, have it overrun by al qaeda. buck up taliban people in afghanistan, essentially get out of there and hand that country over to them. what have you done?
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you have proven in your mind for the rest of time that george bush's wars were all for nothing. >> i mean, it begs to ask the question for some on the write, is this iraq just another reason and another way to launch an ugly attack on president obama? >> i don't know if rush limbaugh believes this stuff or if he believes others to be stupid enough to believe that. he can construct any fantasy you like, but if anyone tuned in who listens to rush limbaugh or tuned into the president's comments, he said we're not going to let qualcomm back. but we're also not going to put troops on the ground. i guess that would have to be a double bluff by a double agent who happens to be the president of the united states when he says he doesn't want these terrorists po forces to take ov iraq. >> there's no appetite for it.
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a recent nbc poll asked should the u.s. be more or less active in u.s. world affairs. 47% said less active. 19% said more active. there's no appetite among the american people for what a lot of these on the right are advocating. the appetite is not there. >> that's right. they want to nation build here at home with our roads and our bridges and our education system which needs propping up, which needs to be invested in so we have a strong economy, or even a stronger economy moving forward and not engage in religious civil wars in the middle east where we have no economic interest and no business. we are a country that is the reluctant warrior. and that was a fight we should have never fought. >> former congressman patrick murphy and richard wolf, thank you both for your time tonight. and i must say, we went into iraq under the premise that ended up being flawed. fool me understand, it's on me.
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fool me twice, that's on me. we should be very cautious and very careful before we repeat errors that have cost lives. coming up, it's fitting because it's friday the 13th. because it's been a horror show week for the republican party. and today, it got worse. plus, and before father's day, president obama opens up about his own childhood without a father. and his passion for fatherhood. >> i made a decision in young adulthood that a, it was going to be important for me to make sure that i was there for my kids. >> and there was no way to segue into this. chris christie dad dancing with jimmy fallon and is speaking all
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>> just when you thought you had seen it all in politics, here comes chris christie dad dancing on "the tonight show" with jimmy fallon. it has a lot of people talking about a possible presidential run. is it the beginning of a comeback for the embattled bridgebeat governor? or just another blip? that's tonight's question. can chris christie revive his 2016 presidential prospects? yes, no, or too soon to tell. the poll is live on our facebook page and on twitter. so vote now. and be sure to leave a comment.
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where no branches = great rates. ally bank. your money needs an ally. 1. >> after five years as being hailed as a prisoner of war by the taliban, sergeant bowe bergdahl is back in the united states. he's arrived at the brook army medical center in san antonio, texas, early this morning. sergeant bergdahl is beginning what officials sa s call a reintegration process including therapy and counseling. bergdahl's parents say they're
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overjoyed he's back in the u.s. but it's not clear when they'll see his son. army officials say he's in stable condition. >> the reintegration of sergeant bergdahl is a comprehensive process. there's no set time line for any phase of reintegration. >> what we're trying to do to get him to recognize that the coping skills he used to survive this long five-year ordeal may not be healthy and functional now and get him to transition to a healthy, normal lifestyle. >> army officials will begin debriefing sergeant bergdahl, investigating how he went missing. we still don't know what happened. but check out the latest expert that fox news invited to weigh in on bergdahl. finding out how to react to more when john kerry was running for president. john o'neill is back with us. that's right, the man who literally invented swift boating. the smearing of john kerry's
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military service is now talking about bergdahl. >> i have a lot of feeling for these guys in bergdahl's platoon. when they come forward and tell the truth, then they're slandered by lightweights in the department of state. >> the members of his platoon have been slandered? right wingers called sergeant bergdahl a deserter, a jihadi. they said his father looked like a member of the taliban. we don't know what happened back in 2009. that's why the army is investigating. and that's why the investigation is so important. but right now, an american soldier is home and all the right can do is find new ways to attack. joining me now is msnbc's melissa harris perry. thanks for being here. >> melissa, you're -- there's still so much we don't know about sergeant bergdahl. so why is the right's immediate reaction to try to discredit him?
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>> well, you know, i'm beginning to feel like all of the rules i grew up with in american politics have suddenly changed and i wasn't even sentimental about them. and one of them is in a moment like this, you pause. it doesn't mean you trust everything you hear, be uh you pause. you pause because we've been in a long war, because we were misled into the war in the first place, because americans have died in the context of that war, and because in this moment, a man who appears to have been a prisoner of war is home back on american soil. still going through a process, as you heard there, from the military officials of even figuring out sort of where he is in the world after five years of a coping process that they suggest may no longer be appropriate for what his new life will be. and after everything that we've heard from veterans affairs over the course of the past several weeks, the difficulty that we know our soldiers have had, the idea that there is an attack, an attack that occurs before we even have information really is breaking all the rules of how we engage in our political world.
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>> now, you saw the swift boat founder and on fox, he also attacked the deal that was made to get bergdahl free and back home. listen to this. >> what the bergdahl deal does, trading bergdahl, a deserting private for five generals, it says to the afghans, you mean nothing to us. we're going to desert you. it says to the military guys in afghanistan, we're pulling out, we're losing, we're betraying you. that was a bait and switch. that's what it says. it is a disaster. a disastrous breach of faith. >> now, you're the professor. explain to me how is this bait and switch? i mean, isn't it the u.s. keeping its commitment to its men? >> absolutely. >> in the military? >> leave no man behind, and this notion that the primary responsibility of the u.s. government is to the afghan people as opposed to the american people is an odd one to hear, particularly from a relatively conservative
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commentator. now, i'm not saying the american government has no responsibility to the afghan people. we certainly do, as a result of our long engagement there, but we also have a fundamental responsibility to our servicemen and women. and again, i think part of what i want to suggest here is caution and time, that we don't know all of the information. and simply to be willing to say we don't yet know all the information, and as a result, we will reserve judgment, not that we will say if this is definitely wrong or definitely right. >> . >> and then you go even further with speaker boehner saying that we will not have immigration reform because of the bergdahl deal. listen to this. >> the issue of immigration reform has not changed. the president continues to ignore laws that he signed into law, violating his oath of office. he did it again with the release of these taliban five. and i reminded the president again yesterday that every time he does this, it makes it harder to gain the trust of our members
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to do the big things that need to be done around here. >> so because of sergeant bergdahl, we're not going to get immigration reform? >> this is very, very dangerous business that the speaker is up to here. i don't think i can emphasize this enough. this discourse, we have a president who is somehow out of line with our government of laws, that we have a president who somehow is out of line with our constitution is extremely dangerous. it is dangerous to who we are as a people. even when we disagree on a partisan perspective or on an ideological world view, we have a responsibility to tell the truth about the fact that, well, this may not be what i agree with, these are not the actions i would have taken, but that does not make those actions illegal. and part of what has been so troubling about the discourse from the right with president obama is that they have not been willing to say oh, well, i disagree with the president. that's now how i would govern.
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what they say is this president is illegitimate. you can not consistently say in the world that your president is an illegitimate leader. that threatens the safety of who we are as a country. >> over and over and over again. >> yeah. >> thanks for your time . and thank you and have a great weekend. >> thanks. >> and you be sure to watch melissa harris-perry weekends at 10:00 a.m. eastern right here on msnbc. still ahead, the president's emotional comments about growing up without a father, and watching his own daughters grow up. it's a father's day interview you won't want to miss. also, chris christie decides to bust a move. is this part of a political two-step for 2016? and friday the 13th republican horror show. stay with us. all stations come over to mission a for a final go.
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it's almost father's day and president obama is opening up about what being a father means to him. >> that's the stuff you're going to remember is taking them to the park and pushing them on a swing and hearing them laugh. that's going to be what's most precious in your life. you just want to make sure you don't miss out on that. >> more of that emotional interview, and the president reflecting on how growing up without a father changed his life. ahead.
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>> no! boo! it's friday the 13th, a day of fear and superstition. it goes back to medieval time when a lot of bad things, like hangings and executions happened on fridays. but this one today is different. for the first time in nearly a century, there's a full moon on a friday the 13th. it's a pretty fitting end to a horror show week for the republican party. in the wake of eric cantor's stunning loss, the tea party is on a power grab. they've been emboldened to take over the party. today, tea party congressman raul labrador is making a play for cantor's house majority leader position.
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labrador rode the tea party wave in 2010, part of a group that have created chaos for the establishment. and this news comes as the biggest tea party stars are flexing their muscles. >> we're saying liberty under assault. we're seeing an administration trampling our constitutional rights, disregarding the rule of law. it is waking people up. you look at the results in virginia last night. dave brat was outspent almost 50 to 1. >> yeah. >> and yet the people woke up and said we're tired of business as usual. >> i think people are overthinking this and those who are absolutely shocked that this could ever happen must not have their thumb on the pulse of what many americans are thinking and that is the status quo has got to go. >> so forget the full moon, forget friday the 13th. this isn't a superstition. this is real life. a real life nightmare for the
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gop. they better hope they wake up from to it. joining me now political strategist angela and jimy williams. happy friday the 13th to both of you. >> boo, rev. >>ening angela, is the republi party about to become a victim of the tea party body snatchers. >> not body snatches, but maybe elected office snatchers. what we can definitely learn from the tea party is that this should be the new normal. you hold people accountable to what they say they're supposed to do. eric cantor was very transactional with the tea party. he assumed a position like he was a tea party member. he used them and then he threw them away. and there were consequences to that. this isn't about the spending. this isn't even about much else as opposed to how to really demonstrate leadership. he said to all of our chagrin
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that there wouldn't be an immigration reform bill, it would be piecemeal after boehner said there would be one. he undermined the speaker. so in a lot of ways, i think those of us that follow politics and certainly want to hold our elected officials accountial, we can learn from this. this is a great example of what should happen when people do not allow their actions to match their words. >> now jimmy, we, as i said, we're hearing that congressman labrador is challenging mr. mccarthy for the leadership position that eric cantor step aside. i mean, the tea party is rallying around this labrador. and tell us something about mccarthy. you know a lot about his background and the type of person he is and why would the tea party be after mccarthy. why would they not want to support unity at this point. >> listen, i think you have to understand, come from the premise that the republican house caucus is very divided.
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you have 30 or 40 of these men and women who have rabid, rabid right wingers. they're all conservative. there's zero moderates around the house. you have this animal planet moment in the house of representatives within the republican caucus where they're circling each other like wolves on the prairie or something. cantor is out. he's been killed. so now they have to put the next guy up, which is mccarthy. the tea party has to mount a challenge to him, but the bigger problem is that mccarthy is just as much an establishment guy as anybody and he's got the votes to win. what they're going to do is problem this guy up and let him fail. and then when he fails they'll have new leadership elections in december after the elections. and then they'll put in two or three tea party guys going down the ballot. but the great funny thing about all of this -- >> i they're going to put
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mccarthy up in hopes that he fails? >> i think the establishment will put him up and watch him fail. this is a guy who has brought so many bills to the floor that didn't have the photovoets, they had the pull the bills. you either know you've got the votes in the majority of the house for a bill or you don't. why would you ever bring a bill up. that's happened three or four times under mccarthy's watch. that's not lost on his caucus. >> let's get out of washington. the next big tea party fight is in mississippi where all eyes are on chris mcdaniel. he's a tea partier going for a senate seat and he said some pretty far out things. he's called katrina victims well-fed dependent citizens of new orleans. he's attacked movie industry for never portraying muslims as villains. he even called the democrats the party of sex on demand for their support of same-sex marriage.
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and all of those err issues, a new poll has mcdaniel with an edge in the race. a new poll put mcdaniels ahead of incumbent cochran, senator cochran by 2 percentage points, ed. >> yeah, rev, there's another poll that has thad cochran behind by eight percentage points. i think the biggest threat here is the fact that people are not taking these tea party candidates serious. they don't have the funds. they have this energy that is driving people to the polls. and we know, rev, that the midterms and these primaries are some of the most important elections we can ever participate in. the reason why there are all of these pea taert challengers and the reason why we can win these races is because of the 2010 census, the year of that midterm is when those districts were drawn and they were drawn to be very republican. so republican, in fact, that the incumbents wouldn't be able to stand up in them. and that's the same thing that's .haing everywhere. of course, with senator cochran, it's a state-based race, but
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he's not paying attention. he didn't even know that eric cantor lost his race. so he's definitely got to wise up and wake up. this is a real thing. like jimmy mentioned about kevin mccarthy. this is an all-american conservative guy. but he's still not conservative enough for the tea party. >> now, one thing is evident, jimmy, is that cantor's loss has emboldened the right wing talkers who really helped the candidate, mr. brat beat cantor. now they're even more emboldened. and they're really taking on whatever dimension they want. listen to this. >> cantor is a guy who sold us a bill of goods. >> which candidate do you think erik cantor to win? >> dave brat is the conservative
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and eric cantor is now. he's a flounder, flipping and flopping and flops and flipping. i listen to the guy and i look at the guy and i say who the hell is this guy. he doesn't strike me as particularly bright. >> so those are examples of how they helped take cantor down. now they're emboldened since clearly it worked. and they're emboldened when you look at mississippi and other races where tea partiers are extremely threatening or in the case of mcdaniels actually ahead in two polls. >> two points. first of foremost, if i'm an incumbent in washington, d.c., i would be utterly terrified. that's go to democrats, too, by the way. but the most important thing to take out of this is talk radio is listened to by one group of people in the united states of america, crazy old right wingers. that's who listens to that kind of stuff. and guess what eric cantor's district is made up of mostly? those people. at the end of those days, those districts are drawn, they look exactly like talk radio, and that's who listens to that kind
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of stuff. so angela is right. the district -- the 2010 census redistricting, that gave us these crazy right wing districts. but even then, you have people that are upset with conservative republicans because they're not, quote, conservative enough. how much more conservative can you get? the republican party is going to die if they're not careful, they will give themselves off, and that will be sad. >> i'm going to have to leave it there. thank you, both, for being on the night on friday the 13th. don't bloelieve any of that superstition stuff. just check when you get home to make sure all your brooms are in the closet. have a great weekend. coming up, president obama gets personal on being a father and growing up without his own dad in his life. but first, chris christie dancing. bridgegate and 2016. that's next. predicting the future is a pretty difficult thing to do. but, manufacturing in the united states means advanced technology.
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>> since the bridgegate scandal broke six months ago, chris christie has kept an unusually low profile, but last night, he made a very high profile appearance on "the tonight show." and jimmy fallon asked about his political future. >> hypothetically you run for president. >> hypothetically. >> hypothetically hillary clinton runs for president. >> hypothetically. >> hypothetically, do you think you could beat her? >> hypothetically, you bet. >> in a danceoff? >> that's what i was talking about. what were you talking about? >> what danceoff? this one, the evolution of dad dancing. ♪
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>> yes, that actually happened on national television. did you catch that last dance? the "this bridge is closed" dance? the dances are fun, but what will really matter is what the investigations into bridgegate show. but what does the politics nation audience think about it? we asked you tonight. can chris christie revive his 2016 presidential prospects? 6% said yes. 72% said no. and 22% said too soon to tell. thanks to all who voted. you can join the conversation by heading to our facebook page to make your predictions. we want to hear what you think. still ahead, a special father's day interview with president obama.
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with secure wifi for your business. it also comes with public wifi for your customers. not so with internet from the phone company. i would email the phone company to inquire as to why they have shortchanged these customers. but that would require wifi. switch to comcast business internet and get two wifi networks included. comcast business built for business. he's president of the united states, but his most precious title is father, father to 15-year-old malia and
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13-year-old sasha. and his passion for fatherhood is very personal to him. because of his own upbringing, his father was never part of his life. father's day this sunday, he sat down with the "today show" and talked about his passion and how not having a dad in his life changed his life. >> i made a decision in young adulthood that it was going to be important for me to make sure that i was there for my kids. i really tried to make sure that i didn't miss ballet conferences or the soccer games. i tried to be disciplined about if i'm in town, being home for dinner every single night. and i think it's made a difference. the one thing the girls know about me is i love them to death.
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>> my brother's keeper is an initiative for young african-american. >> a lot of young men of color aren't doing well, partly because they don't have dads in their lives, partly because they don't have networks of support. it's important to me partly because i grew up without a dad. and, you know, i knew that i wept through my own struggles. >> he also talked about how he thinks his girls would describe them. >> i think they would say that i am a good, fun dad who teeters on the edge of being embarrassing sometimes. we set some pretty firm rules early on in their live about cleaning up after themselves and making their beds and waking up on time. >> even here? >> even here. they've got their acts together. we really don't have to check on their homework or nag them too much about stuff. they handle their business. so we're really proud of them.
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>> he's proud of them. and he should be. happy father's day, mr. president. and to all the dads in "politics nation." so i can reach ally bank 24/7 but there are no branches? 24/7 i'm sorry- i'm just really reluctant to try new things. really? what's wrong with trying new things? you feel that in your muscles? yeah...i do... drink water. it's a long story. well, not having branches lets us give you great rates and service. i'd like that. experience a new way to bank where no branches = great rates. ally bank. your money needs an ally.
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>> the yearly send off fur our nation's students is happening right now. some advice for the class of 2014. ♪ >> lesson one, i guess, is ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer. dreams are lovely. they're just fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. but dreams don't come true just because you dream them. it's hard work to make things happen.
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so you think i wish i could travel. buy a car, a plane ticket, go to bangkok right fou. want to be a writer? start writing. don't have a job? get one. any job. don't sit at home waiting. get a job, go to work. >> changing the world doesn't happen all at once. it isn't a big bang. it's the sum of a billion tiny sparks. and some of those sparks will have to come from all of you. >> one regret i never got to throw any football passes here on this lawn. so if you'll indulge me, i'm going to fulfill that dream right now. there is no pressure here at all. if you drop it, it will not be on youtube, i promise you. easy pass. [ applause ] >> all right. love calls you to open your eyes, to seek, to search, to
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wonder. love is all consuming. it infiltrates your body and allows you to experience bliss, joy and true friendship. you'll be more disappointed when something goes wrong. you might fall harder, but the only way you'll reach any height in life and in love is by taking that chance that you might fall. >> mrs. michelle obama! >> my parents never went to college. but they were determined to see me and my brother and all the kids in our neighborhood get a good education. so my mother volunteered at my school. i would walk by the office and
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there she would be. i would leave class to go to the bathroom, there she would be again. we dependent didn't get where we are today all on our own. people who never dreamed of getting a college education themselves but who worked and saved and sacrificed so that we could be here today, we owe them. >> my daughter does not know i'm coming today. she she's going to be very surprised when she sees me. >> congratulations. i'm so proud of you. i love you so much. [ applause ] ♪ o say can you see >> the question we face, the
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question each of you will face is not whether america will lead but how we will lead. >> there's no sign that says colored men, white men, colored women, cwhite men, colored waiting, white waiting. i asked my grandparents why. they would say that's the way it is. don't get in the way. don't get in trouble. i come to you this morning on this beautiful campus with a great education, you must find a way to get in the way. you must find a way to get in troub trouble, necessary trouble. >> what a goal it would be to say that you did all of it, this college experience and all the rest of your lives so that you just can't do it, even a fingernail better. >> every one you'll ever meet
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knows something that you don't. this is trouble for many of us know-it-alls. >> people will tell you to do what makes you happy. i don't think you should just do what makes you happy. i think you should do what makes you great. >> my father wanted to be a great comedian but he didn't think that was possible for him. he made a conservative choice. he got a safe job as an accounta accountant. when i was 12 years old, heft let go from that safe job and our family had to do whatever it took to survive. i learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which, you can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance at doing what you love. >> class of 2014, you are dismissed! >> that piece was put together by "politics nation" producer
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jen mulraney, one of hundreds she's done for this show over the last several years. and now she's moving on. she's a "politics nation" graduate and she wish her the best of luck in all that she does. goodbye, jen. we'll always miss you. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. will baghdad fall? let's play "hardball." . good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let's talk about the possible collapse of baghdad. the collapse of the red army, the collapse of the soviet union in the early
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