did and that along this long difficult journey, we're becoming a more perfect union. not a perfect union. >> joining us now is my colleague toure, co-host of the "cycle" and jonathan alter a columnist for bloomberg view and the author of the 2012 campaign history "the center holds obama and his enemies." welcome to you both. jonathan, have you followed the president at every moment pre-2008 through the campaign. you heard him speak about race in the past. how does what he said today compare to what he has said in the past? >> well, it is actually of a peace with what he has said in some speeches but he hasn't done so at such a dramatic moment since the jeremiah wright speech during the campaign, and that was partly an exercise in damage control.