That was the question posited by Greta Van Susteren tonight. And the answer: Some of both (except for the word "giant"). The motivation for this event was, make no mistake, grounded in His Majesty's effort to calm down a bad situation that was only getting worse for him politically last Friday. And as instantly stated in this space, Majesty's act late last Friday of phoning both men and inviting them to come together at the White House for a beer was a stroke of political genius in order to largely diffuse the whole story in very short order (which to a great extent he accomplished, at least in terms of where this story was quickly headed). So the primary motivation for choreographing this event was "PR stunt".
But let's not be so trite to let the end result and the symbolism of this event totally escape us. The scene and event itself were not a bad picture at all. Despite the political advantageousness to Majesty from this event occurring, we still see the two primary players coming together, shaking hands, talking in a civil fashion, and (dear to my heart) drinking some beer together! And they have now resolved to go forward with a dialogue -- they will talk on the phone this week and then meet again in short order. And what's so wrong with that as an end result? (Folks, do not listen to the far right's drivel and venom tonight about this being a despicable "dog and pony show" -- people of that persuasion always spew such radical spin and are not to be trusted, as made very clear in this space over and over.)
But I digress. The "step forward" and/or lesson learned? That those of us who come from substantially different backgrounds and life experiences and world views would oftentimes be better served to try to get together, share a beer (or other relaxing activity), and just get to know each other -- better served than just screaming at each other in hate, volatile rhetoric, and forgetfulness regarding our common humanity. I could use to learn that lesson myself a lot more, as a person who spews all kinds of anger at the two extremes just like they do towards each other all the time. So bottom line: Not a bad picture, not a bad moment, as an end result at the White House tonight. And I also agree with all the players' sentiments: Let's move on from this whole story.
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