Hotline After Dark -- Hard Day's Night

"World News", "Evening News" and "Nightly News" led with the Ft. Hood memorial.

Pundits reacted to Pres. Obama's speech at Ft. Hood 11/10 p.m.

NPR's Liasson: "I talked to White House officials before the speech who said that when it comes to discussing striking the right balance between honoring Muslims who serve with distinction in the military and not allowing people who are attracted to the violent strain of Islam as opposed to mainstream Islam to serve in the military, he looked to George W. Bush as his model, actually" ("Special Report," FNC, 11/10).

Ex-CIA agent Bob Baer, on Obama invoking religion during his address: "I think it was a mistake. If this man, the major, was driven by religion, the last thing we want to do is evoke religion on our part. This is not a war against religion, a clash of civilizations we're fighting. It's a war against terrorism. So to evoke God I think was a mistake on his part." ("Hardball," MSNBC, 11/10).

Ex-Bush speechwriter David Frum: "This is a well done speech. And ... it hit, also, on some very delicate matters, like the question of accountability, of responsibility, of the relationship between the killer and his religion and the question of the man's mental responsibility. All of those things couldn't be ducked. They were touched on. They were done deftly. Barack Obama always brings tremendous dignity to this job, whatever else one thinks about him, he is a person of tremendous composure" ("Situation Room," CNN, 11/10).

After the jump, more reactions and Bill Clinton meets with Dem senators.

(RACHELLE DOUILLARD-PROULX & ABBY LIVINGSTON)

Dem strategist Donna Brazile: "This was a very somber occasion. And so I thought the president really expressed the profound sadness we all feel over the loss of life and the gratitude that I think most Americans feel toward our military, our brave men and women who serve our country. So this was a very important memorial, especially in light of the fact that tomorrow is Veterans Days" ("Situation Room," CNN, 11/10).

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer: "It was a very sober speech. It was respectful to the fallen, and he did have that reference that we saw to the element of jihadism in this attack. ... He never uses the word [jihadism]. The war on terror is over, and all this stuff. But there is no escaping it" ("Special Report," FNC, 11/10).

SENATE "BILL"

Pundits and pols discussed Bill Clinton's trip to Capitol Hill 11/10 p.m.

Ex-"West Wing" EP Lawrence O'Donnell: "What's ironic about what President Clinton apparently had to say today is he is now of the Obama school and the Rahm Emanuel school of accept anything. There's nothing worth fighting over. There's nothing worth voting no over here. This is exactly the opposite of what his approach was in 1994" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 11/10).

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), on Bill Clinton telling Dems that they were "winning": "They're using Bill Clinton and the president to create an echo chamber with enough noise so that they don't hear what the American people are saying. But once they leave town and they go home and listen to their constituents, they're going to hear what I'm hearing. Americans don't want government-run health care. The longer this plays out, the less chance it has of passing" ("Your World," FNC, 11/10).

Brazile, on whether Clinton can turn Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT): "I will leave Joe Lieberman to Harry Reid. I think that is a special situation. But can he persuade Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln, Evan Bayh, Ben Nelson -- I think he has enormous sway inside the Democratic Caucus and he can twist some hands" ("Situation Room," CNN, 11/10).

CNN's Crowley: "This was a political speech he gave to them. And the underlying message from him, who is the best politician in his party and the best strategist in his party, is, folks, you have to go along with this. You don't get health care, you're in huge trouble. This was a politician coming to talk to other politicians" ("Situation Room," CNN, 11/10).

Ex-WH dep. CoS Karl Rove: "The Obama White House wants to take these jittery Democrats and convince them that the problem is not passing a bad bill, the problem is not passing any bill at all. And so Clinton was up there today making the argument that, Look, why we lost Congress in 1994 was we failed to actually pass a health care reform bill. Look, they got trouble in '94 because they tried to pass a bad bill, not because they failed to pass a bad bill" ("On The Record," FNC, 11/10).

CNN's Borger: "I also think what Bill Clinton was saying there was, you want me to come campaign for you, I'm popular in the Democratic Party, you'd better vote for this" ("Situation Room," CNN, 11/10).

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI): "His experience, not only as the president, but now, as someone who travels the world, is something that was very influential" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 11/10).