海角大神

Should President Obama go to Ferguson, Mo.? Notably, Mr. Obama did not rule out that possibility on Monday night when he appeared in the White House press room to urge calm in the wake of the decision by a grand jury to not indict the police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown.

鈥淟et鈥檚 take a look and see how things are going,鈥� Obama said when asked whether his presence might make a difference. He pointed out that Attorney General Eric Holder has already made a number of visits to the area.

Obama鈥檚 going to Chicago Tuesday to try to bolster support for his immigration actions, so he鈥檒l already be in the region. Would his presence help things cool down? Or would it inflame the situation?

Some pundits were vehement on Tuesday that the president needs to seize this opportunity for a personal attempt at healing the nation鈥檚 continued racial divide. As the son of a black father and a white mother, he鈥檚 uniquely positioned to speak to this enduring schism of American life, writes National Journal鈥檚 veteran analyst Ron Fournier.

Obama should reemphasize the point that the nation鈥檚 rule of law needs to be respected, according to Mr. Fournier. Then, he could remind whites that the nation鈥檚 African-American communities are bedeviled by real problems, not imaginary ones. He could remind blacks that the United States is not static and that progress has been made on racial issues.

鈥淥bama should go to Ferguson because he is uniquely skilled and situated to this time. After failing miserably to unite the reds and blues of U.S. politics, Obama can still bring calm and understanding to the racial shades of America 鈥� the whites and blacks and browns, etc.,鈥� Fournier writes.

In addition, the circumstances surrounding Mr. Brown鈥檚 death are more complex than those surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teen killed by neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman in 2012. That makes it even more important and urgent that a president put them in the proper context for the nation, writes Brian Beutler in The New Republic.

Unlike the Martin case, the Brown shooting involves a cop. It raises questions of the racial disparity between Ferguson鈥檚 largely white police force and a largely black population. It points out the difficulties of establishing exactly what happened in a moment filled with fear and anger for all involved.

鈥淭his is Obama鈥檚 first opportunity ... to use the bully pulpit to steer the national agenda in a positive direction since the slaughter at Newtown, Connecticut, and it鈥檚 the first time since he became a national figure that he鈥檒l be able to address a racially charged issue without an election in his future to deter him,鈥� Mr. Beutler writes.

But it鈥檚 also possible the president would just get in the way. Not everyone believes in the power of presidential rhetoric.

鈥淚s there a term for this passion for speeches 鈥� this pundit-class faith that it is inspiring words from a paternal figure that drive the engine of social change?鈥� writes Jesse Walker at Reason.com.

The split-screen image on many news channels Monday night showed Obama speaking from the White House on one side and violent protests in Ferguson on the other. The words didn鈥檛 seem to be getting through to those burning Missouri businesses, Mr. Walker points out.

鈥淭his is the news, not 鈥楾he West Wing.' Words are cheap,鈥� he writes.

Not everyone thought Obama鈥檚 words were all about calm. Some on the right saw them as an incitement.

In essence, Obama was saying that the normal investigative process was followed in Ferguson, but it鈥檚 understandable that some Americans are still angry about the result, writes Jazz Shaw at right-leaning Hot Air.

In saying that a deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color, as the president did, he鈥檚 validating a violent response, implying that the lack of an indictment was clearly an act of racism, according to Mr. Shaw.

鈥淭hat speech was a thinly veiled call to action, not to improve the nation, but to reinforce the idea that the legal system is not be trusted,鈥� writes the Hot Air correspondent.

On Tuesday, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) ordered additional National Guard forces to Ferguson to protect the police station, which has been the focus of protests. With protests planned outside the courthouse in nearby Clayton, the area remained on edge after a night in which at least a dozen buildings burned.