Chris Matthews: Reagan Knew The Way Americans Felt After Soviets Downed A Plane in 1983

Realclear. Potilics Video ^ | July 17,2014

[Hojczyk]

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me finish tonight with a flashback. From the moment I heard about today's shooting down of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine, I remember that 1983 shooting down of a Korean airliner over Soviet airspace (Korean Air Lines Flight 007). Back then, the Soviets, still in a Cold War mindset refused to even admit responsibility for the deliberate murder of 269 passengers including, U.S. Congressman Lawrence McDonald of Georgia who was aboard. Here's how President Reagan reacted:

REAGAN: What can we think of a regime that so broadly trumpets its vision of peace and global disarmament and yet so callously and quickly commits a terrorist act to sacrifice the lives of innocent human beings? What can be said about Soviet credibility when they is a flagrantly lie about such a heinous act?

MATTHEWS: I can tell you, he was speaking for the American people back then who were absolutely furious at what the Soviets had done. Their cold-blooded killing of so many innocent people, their brutal destruction of so many human lives, their utter lack of compassion for the people aboard that plane. Here's the way our president and we, the American people, felt:

REAGAN: We know it will be hard to make a nation that rules its own people through force to cease using force against the rest of the world, but we must try. This is not a role we sought. We preach no manifest destiny. But like Americans who began this country and brought forth this last best hope of mankind, history has asked much of the Americans of our own time, much we have already given, much more we must be prepared to give.

MATTHEWS: There are events like this today that no one forgets, especially not today.

[entropy12]

According to your criteria, many popular leaders are failures.

Reagan signed total amnesty for every illegal but then regretted it.

IKE was war general yet changed his mind about expanding military.

Churchill was for for preserving the British empire, but then helped India gain independence after WWII which was the start of breakup of the empire.

Evolving on social, economic and geo-political issues is a sign of maturity and wisdom, if the change is permanent.

Romney is head and shoulders above Obummer in business experience, work ethic, and stance on illegals & military.

If you think Romney would have been as bad as Obummer as president, I sympathize with your lack of judgement.

In 2016, fortunately GOP can field far better candidates than either Romney or Hillary.

[trebb]

Put Reagan and Obama side-by-side and Obama’s mask comes off in the comparison - it reveals Obama as a steaming turd with flies buzzing around.

[SoConPubbie]

Evolving on social, economic and geo-political issues is a sign of maturity and wisdom, if the change is permanent.

Well, since Romney never evolves to a conservative position, he has no maturity.

[SoConPubbie]

Reagan signed total amnesty for every illegal but then regretted it.

Apples and Tire Irons comparison.

Reagan's Amnesty included strict enforcement which were never enforced by either Democrat or GOP Presidents. Furthermore, we are talking about one major failure here, not catastrophic failure or being on the wrong side of every major issue like Romney is and has been.

[SoConPubbie]

Romney is head and shoulders above Obummer in business experience, work ethic, and stance on illegals & military.

Apparently you have not been paying attention lately as Romney just came out recently in full favor of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

[SoConPubbie]

If you think Romney would have been as bad as Obummer as president, I sympathize with your lack of judgement.

With your continued support of a Progressive Liberal, Romney, on a conservative site, I know you have a lack of judgment.

[Iron Munro]

So, where do we go from here? Is the country finished if more and more dependents are created every year?

There was a time when I thought smarter, cooler heads would prevail and we would pull back from the abyss, but no more.

I think that the election of Obama shows that we are past the tipping point and have passed the point of no return.

Politicians on both sides know that we cannot pay off the debt we now have but like dope addicts, cannot say no to the moocher crowd.

Liberals want to keep plunging ahead and republicans are too cowardly to take decisive action.

One way or another it will stop - our politicians have decided to let it end in the worst possible way.
After all - they figure they already got theirs and will survive the apocalypse.

Some even figure they will prosper from it.

[entropy12]

You can’t be that bad in English comprehension, are you?
Romney never received my support during the primaries. As a matter of fact he was at the exact bottom of my preference list.

However compared to Obummer, who has caused huge destruction to the economy, foreign affairs, military and encouraging illegals, Romney would have been head and shoulders better.

Get it? Romney would have been a huge improvement over Obummer. If you think Obummer is no worse than Romney, I indeed feel sorry for you.