On CBS, Brinkley Marvels At 'Very Beautifully Written' Obama Speech; 'Seminal Moment'

August 28th, 2013 6:10 PM

Douglas Brinkley predictably fawned over President Obama's apparently "very beautifully written" address marking the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, mere moments after he finished delivering it: "I think it's one of the great speeches that Barack Obama's ever delivered." [audio available here; video below the jump]

Scott Pelley turned to Brinkley during CBS's special coverage of the anniversary rally. The liberal historian was quick to sing the President's praises:

SCOTT PELLEY:  Doug Brinkley, noted American historian, professor of history at Rice University – as we embark on the next 50 years, what will this day mean to us?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, I think it's one of the great speeches that Barack Obama's ever delivered. It had a theme of – the coalition of the conscience, he put it – about moral and economic justice. So, in President Obama's history, it's a seminal moment. But I think, most importantly, it's saying the struggle continues, and that we have to fight against, as the President said, the greed-mongers. There's a – it gets back to that 99-to-one notion that he ran on in his campaign – that we've got to pull together – and he started talking about everyday people that make a difference by lending a helping hand – very beautifully written.

The Rice University professor has a history of gushing over Obama. The day of the Democrat's first inauguration in 2009, Brinkley likened the Democrat to FDR and George W. Bush to Herbert Hoover. More recently, in October 2012, during the last days of the presidential race, the historian did his best to boost the incumbent: "He's [Obama] a very natural person....He's a really warm and genial person. What he has going for him is he exudes family values."


Earlier in 2013, Brinkley hailed Obama's reaction to the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial: "It certainly was historic....I think it elevated the Trayvon Martin story, really, to the annals of DayGlo, top-tier history....it was quite memorable." He later heralded the President as a "constant grief counselor."