>>> GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is heading in to the New Hampshire primary trying to overcome self-inflicted wounds. The former U.N. Ambassador is facing backlash over her comments on slavery and racism in America. Listen to what she told my colleague Jake tapper at a town hall this week. >> First of all, I'll tell you when you look at the declaration of Independence, it was that men are created equal with unand I will alienable rights. What I look at it is, I was a brown girl that grew up in a small rural town. We had plenty of racism that we had to deal with. But my parents never said we lived in a racist country. And I'm so thankful they didn't. Because for every brown and black child out there, if you tell them they live or were born in a racist country, you are immediately telling them they don't have a chance. And my parents would always say you may have challenges, and, yes, there will be people who are racist, but that doesn't define what you can do in this country. So I think it is important that we tell all kids that look, America is not perfect. We have our stains. We know that. But our goal should always be to make today better than yesterday. It is hugely important. We have too many people with the national selloathing and it is killing our country. We have to go back to loving America. We are blessed because that little brown girl in that smul rural town in South Carolina, she grew up to become the first female minority governor in history. She then went on to be U.N. Ambassador and now she's running for president of the united States. I want every brown and black child to see that and say no, I don't live in a country that was formed on racism. I live in a country where they wanted all people to be equal. And to make sure that they have life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. >> Just to push back a bit, because I was a history major in New Hampshire, you are talking about the ideals of America machine but America was founded institutionally on many racist precepts including slavery. >> But when you look, it said all men are created equal. I think the intent, the intent was to do the right thing. Now, did they have to go fix it along the way? Yes. But I don't think that the intent was ever that we would be a racist country. The intent was everybody was going to be created equally. And as we went through time, they fixed the things that were not all men are created equal. They made sure women became equal too. All of these things happened over time. But I refuse to believe that the premise of when they formed our country was based on the fact that it was a racist country to start with. I refuse to believe that. I have to know in my heart and everybody's heart that we live in the best country in the world and we're a work in progress and we got a long way go to tiks all our little kinks. But I truly believe our funding fathers had the best of intentions when they started. And we fixed it along the way. >> Joining us right now is writer John Blake. Great to see you. You wrote a piece on this, currently the top story on CNN's home page. And we'll talk about that in a moment. The promise people at the time about race in Obama's inauguration. I wonder your assessment of Haley and her comments today, what she meant by that, how she kind of brings together sort of an acknowledgement of racism. I grew up this South Carolina and had months of racism, but then say it is her preference not to see racism. >> Yeah, I think on one level what she says about the country never being racist is absurd from historical point of view. Clearly the country was racist. Slavery, Jim crow, the very formation of the country was forged in racism. Native Americans were here and they were displaced. So what she's staying from an historical point of view does not make sense. But from a political view, it makes all the sense in the world to me. Because in the Republican party, the Maga world, they have a different view of racism. And they have this alternative universe where they look back and they don't see racism. You look at the slogan make America great again, the assumption is that the country was once race. For whom and when? When you ask that question, you have to deal with slavery and Jim crow. One of the best ways that deal with that if you are a GOP politician, you ignore it, you rationalize it. But when someone asks you a direct question, you are in the habit of minimizing what will come out is the answer that Nikki Haley gave. >> And it is interesting, she said this this week and then here today we're hearing the endorsement from South Carolina Tim Scott. And there are some real similarities on how Haley and Scott have kind of approached this whole idea. They were both asked about racism and Scott Scott used himself as an example, if I was able to reach this, then it certainly couldn't come from a society that anybody would want to call oppressive or racist. So talk to me why Haley and Scott, you know, who have lived the experience, right? But why they profess that this rosier view, how is it advantageous for the parties, for them as political leaders, how is this advantageous for the country? >> Yeah, they cannot go high in GOP circles by saying or implying that racism is other than isolated incidents that occur between people.ypically in G op circle, race is somebody called me a bad word but I rose above it. But an acknowledgement that racism is more than that, that it might involve the justice system, that it might involve housing and all these thing, if they talk in those terms, they will not get far in GOP circles because the GOP party, they do not subscribe to that definition of racism. So what you have to do if you are a person of color, you have to use yourself as an example of this country can't be racist because look at me. For them racism is like dandruff, an irritant but not something that is pervasive either past or the present. >> I don't know if you want to call it a coincidence or just how telling it is that here we're having this conversation about this and on the anniversary of Obama's first inauguration and you wrote so eloquently about the hope and promise that that moment brought, that that campaign brought. But at that moment, people being reflective, does it mean that -- how far have we come, are we know longer a racist society. But then here we're having conversations about many who want to deny the truth, deny the journey of this country. And failing to or unwilling to be introspective about where we are. So how do you kind of classify this moment that we're in? >> You raise a good point because this discussion is taking place on the very day Obama was inaugurated 15 years ago. But I think if Nikki Haley and Tim Scott look at Obama's example, they could learn something. Because Obama talked frankly about this country's racism in the past. But he said that part of loving the country is the ability to be self critical and to know that our greatness is not just in the past, but our greatness rests in the future and what we're becoming. And they haven't been able to find the kind of receipt tore Aric to go there. But he did that so well.tore Aric to go there. But he did that so well. He gave a great speech where he talked about part of patriotism is being self critical. So that is one of the things I wanted to convey, but also that people had tremendous hope back then and that you need that type of hope if you are going to forge ahead with all the problems. I'm concerned that there is so much cynicism right now that people have given up on this country even becoming a multiracial democracy. So that is part of what I wanted to convey today with the story about Obama. >> So beautifully done.
