Some Twitter reaction is positive to Obama entering the fray:
https://twitter.com/#!/CharlesMBlow/status/183198237644169216
https://twitter.com/#!/secupp/status/183196330993262592
https://twitter.com/#!/donnabrazile/status/183201806447419393
https://twitter.com/#!/zizii2/status/183215595553173505
https://twitter.com/#!/UncleRUSH/status/183219553684307968
But not all:
https://twitter.com/#!/RobSmithJr/status/183216428936208384
https://twitter.com/#!/PaulIzzo2/status/183200633774538752
https://twitter.com/#!/heatpacker/status/183197821846028288
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On the other side of the aisle, GOP Rep. Allen West of Florida weighs in:
https://twitter.com/#!/AllenWest/status/182936152473473024
I have sat back and allowed myself time to assess the current episode revealing itself in Sanford, Florida involving the shooting of 17-year-old Treyvon Martin. First of all, if all that has been reported is accurate, the Sanford Police Chief should be relieved of his duties due to what appears to be a mishandling of this shooting in its early stages. The US Navy SEALS identified Osama Bin Laden within hours, while this young man laid on a morgue slab for three days. The shooter, Mr Zimmerman, should have been held in custody and certainly should not be walking free, still having a concealed weapons carry permit. From my reading, it seems this young man was pursued and there was no probable cause to engage him, certainly not pursue and shoot him….against the direction of the 911 responder. Let’s all be appalled at this instance not because of race, but because a young American man has lost his life, seemingly, for no reason. I have signed a letter supporting a DOJ investigation. I am not heading to Sanford to shout and scream, because we need the responsible entities and agencies to handle this situation from this point without media bias or undue political influences. This is an outrage.
Recommended
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John Podhoretz at Commentary:
What soul-searching exactly is it “all of us have to do” here? A black kid was shot by a Hispanic adult apparently besotted with law enforcement whose volunteer work for neighborhood watch had him calling the cops in his Orlando suburb nearly 50 times in a year to report on his suspicions. That adult lives in a state where a “Stand Your Ground” law does not require people to retreat in the face of a threat outside their homes. A police chief where he lives decided that owing to the Stand Your Ground law, he had no grounds on which to arrest George Zimmerman for the shooting death—who claims he was attacked by Martin—and let him go. This is a very, very, very specific case—involving a podunk PD, an evidently problematic individual who had been slightly empowered by a private watch system, and a teenage kid in a hoodie on his way to buy candy for his brother. It took place in a state where 19 million people live. The circumstances may not be duplicable. Ever. Even so, the leading officials in the state—its governor, Rick Scott, and its superstar young senator, Marco Rubio—have already said the Stand Your Ground law may need revision in the wake of the case. The response has been overwhelming, and all in one direction.
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Background at Politico.
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