Tavis Smiley: Obama’s Race Speech ‘weak as Kool-Aid’

David Eldridge
Washington Times
July 21, 2013

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President Obama’s personal remarks Friday on his reaction to the George Zimmerman verdict have been praised by many, including the parents of Trayvon Martin, but black talk-show host Tavis Smiley says it’s too little too late.

The PBS commentator, appearing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” was sharply critical of the president’s “weak as pre-sweetened Kool-Aid” response to a Florida jury’s decision clearing Mr. Zimmerman in the 2012 shooting death of the 17-year-old Trayvon.

“I appreciate and applaud the fact that the president did finally show up,” Mr. Smiley said. “But … he did not walk to the podium for an impromptu address to the nation. He was pushed to that podium. A week of protests outside the White House, pressure building on him inside the White House, pushed him to that podium.”

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