Should Obama go to St. Louis?

I have some thoughts on this subject today. The rioting in Ferguson is now in its second week and show no signs of abating. Despite the pleas of community organizers and Missouri politicians, including the democratic Governor, rioters continue to set the agenda in the small city of Ferguson. Such is the anger than has taken hold following the shooting of an eighteen-year-old black man by Ferguson police.

What can be done to stop the looting and destruction?
How about a visit from the President of the United States, who, after all, was elected because he held out the promise of a nation undivided by racial animosity? Isn’t this the time–the moment for a Roosevelt-like fireside chat–when presidential leadership might actually have an effect on the heated events of the day?

A personal plea, an in-person pleas–from POTUS might be just the thing to show protesters and police, alike, that the time for reconciliation has arrived. The people of Ferguson and the people of the United States are wary of the unrest that has befallen the small city in Missouri. The president can do something about it. He should act immediately to quell the fires of outrage, and to calm the mood of the nation.