butterfield, he was not very surprised. little smile and a nod, and i looked right at him. i felt very good. yeah. i can sleep at night now. >> we talked to butterfield only moments after he left the courtroom. and he told us what the verdict meant to him. >> so a free bible study for the rest of my life, free meals included. that's what it is. free bible study for the rest of my life, free meals included. how can you beat that? it's not a joke and i'm trying not to make light of it. i'm trying not to go crazy in this place. >> it was a horrible thing he did to his daughter and a parent is supposed to be the person that protects and loves you. and he was the boogie man that we try to save our children from. >> you guys only see her as dead. she is in the cell with me every day. i just wrote another song two days ago. i feel she helped me with these songs. i've written nine songs in jail, 314 poems. so in my opinion, she's not dead. i hear from her all the time. >> go straight back to your cell. go back to your cell. >> back

butterfield. mr. butterfield: i thank the gentleman for yielding time and thank the chair of the congressional black caucus for convening this special hour tonight. as many colleagues know, before being elected to congress eight years ago, i was a trial judge and appellate judge in my home state. but before that, i spent considerable time litigating cases under the voting rights act and presenting comments to the department of justice in section five cases. so many people do not understand section five. it does not apply in every jurisdiction in america but only to selected counties where there was evidence of discriminatory voting practices when the voting rights act was first enacted in 1965. these jurisdictions are required to submit to the department of justice any changes in election law or procedure for derges of whether the change could have a negative impact on the voting strength of minority groups. if the jurisdiction fails in their proof, the change is not allowed. and i will say for th

better butterfield nothing tops looking like you're sharing a joke in this case with president obama.uote, i said don't forget us in north carolina he said how could i. and we would erupt in laughter. that's a laugher. another tip, keep it short. howard engel remembers saying things like stand by israel to where "w" would say i believe that. finally we can't talk about the aisle strategies without bringing up the way many of us know michele bachmann. flash back to the state of the union when bush exited the room. >> mr. president, we can't wait for you to come to minnesota. >> you want us back in minnesota? >> oh, absolutely! >> well, she wouldn't let go of him there. that was before her 2008 comments on this show about some of her colleagues being, of course, anti-american. the democrats she's talking about. >>> anyway, up next, the most dramatic moment from last night's state of the union was president obama's plea, very emotional plea for just a vote on gun safety. that's a low bar, but will it lead to new laws out there? you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. ♪ >>> it

the great historian herbert butterfield told us why did 80 years ago, we, by which a man historians in general public alike all by virtue of the way her memories were, tend to recall the past none in terms of what actually happened, but how things turned out. we tend to focus on what sent to us, not with things meant two people at the time. therefore we can see quite quickly it was a conflict wrongly understood and american circles is a tremendously jury. it changed a bit over the 1990s and inconclusive. that saddam hussein and the conflict took on new meaning after 9/11 when it is perceived in many circles in a series of unexpected event. but none of these interpretations that came after that time truly capture what it meant to be at that time the sense of anxiety, the sense of fear, the sense of moving into uncharted territory and how that adventure might turn out or how about the. such notions of contingency and uncertainty underlay three major points which a wish to make tonight as i recall the gulf war and ponder its ongoing meeting. the points ids. first, the gulf war was a funda

perhaps the greatest historian, herbert butterfield, told us more than 80 years ago can we dish historians the general public -- we all, by the way of our memories work, ten recall the past not in terms of what actually happened but how things turn out. we tend to focus on what things meant to us, not what things meant to people at the time. therefore, we can say quite quickly that the gulf war was a conflict that was roundly understood, as least in american circles-as a tremendous victory in 1991. that interpretation changed a tad bit over the 1990s when it was considered a victory, yes, but perhaps an inconclusive victory, given that saddam hussein still remained in power, and of course the conflict took on new meaning after 9/11 when it was perceived in many circles as the first falling domino in a series of unexpected events. but none of these interpretations that came after that fact, after that time, truly capture what it meant to be at that time. the sense of anxiety. the sense of fear. the sense of moving into uncharted new territory and how that adventure might turn out. or how ba

butterfield, for five minutes. mr. butterfield: thank you, mr. speaker, for yielding time. the gentleman from tennessee who just spoke said that sequestration is a game of scare tactics. apparently he hasn't looked at the statistics from his district in tennessee. let me tell you. sequestration is not only going to affect the people of my district but it's going to affect the people of his district and his state as well. sequestration is very troubling, mr. speaker. sensible people all across america are beginning to see the impact that sequestration will have on their families. we are hearing from governors every day, both democrat and republican. we cannot wait any longer. we have delayed this for far too long. the consequences of an unbalanced budget are very, very clear. my home state of north carolina already has one of the highest rates of unemployment at 9%. and these cuts, mr. speaker, to education and health care and low-income families and military readiness around my state and country will be disastrous to so many. our children are our most valuable asset and ens

herbert butterfield told us eight years ago week, and historians in general public by virtue of the way recall the past not the way it happens but the way it turns out what it meant to us not at what it meant to people at the time so the gulf war was a conflict understood as a tremendous victory in 1991. it was considered a victory by inconclusive fact saddam hussein remained in power and it took on new meaning when it was perceived as the first falling domino but none of these interpretations came after that's to recapture what it meant with the sense of anxiety, moving into a and chartered a new territory and how that might turn out to or how badly. contingency underlie the three major points the first, the gulf war was a fundamentally transformative moment for the engagement of the middle east. even before 90 it was largely beyond the direct sphere of influence now with united states was the primary player. after 1991, i would argue the united states became essentially another gulf states. all the events flow from the decisions made 1980 and '91. the gulf war need not be waged at all