Obama Stands By Criticism Of Gates Arrest: 'Cooler Heads Should Have Prevailed'

ABC News:

President Obama today stood by his comments that the Cambridge, Mass. police department acted "stupidly" in its arrest of Henry Louis Gates, telling ABC News that the Harvard University professor should not have been arrested.

Read the whole story: ABC News

Comments

[kushka53]

The notion that 2 Harvard educated black men are going to sit down with a white blue collar cop and "have a beer together" is a joke, an elitist fantasy of class harmonies. Bottom line: Racial profiling does still exist here in the USA but this case is not one of them. Reading the police report (even if one assumes bias), it's clear that Gates was offended that he, in his exalted status as a well-known Harvard personality, wasn't being deferred to. The cop did his job by the book--and for the record, I'm not a big fan of cops, having had my own issues with them. Gates was behaving exactly the way privileged white men used to behave, except that in 2009 instead of being let off the hook for obnoxious behavior like his white counterparts had been in the past, he was arrested. These politically correct days, a white man would have been arrested also...Gates, get over yourself! And the Prez, knowing one of the people involved, in this particular case, should have kept his mouth shut and let the matter sort itself out on its own...

[realitytest]

I agree with what President Obama said but also agree "stupid(ly)" was an unfortunate word choice under the circumstances - by which I mean, prime time, at a historical moment when the wingnuts are desperate to find ways to derail the President's Healthcare initiative.

Perhaps describing the Cambridge police's behavior as 'unfortunate, "hasty", "premature" or "impetuous" (etc.) would have ruffled fewer feathers at this crucial time. Wingers are already hysterical about imaginary issues concerning Obama's alleged racial favoritism, without this accelerant.

[Hunt555555]

The POTUS or black people can no do anything to please some Caucasians,because the same people will not give blacks the benefit of doubts in anything. Blacks are guilty until jailed. Some conservatives and FOX news,Lou Dobbs and others will used this moment to create a wider schism in America. When you have not tasted a daily dose of institutionalized racism,you will defend the culprits.

[Beefcake]

Probably the most obvious sign the judicial system and law enforcement is messed up is that the Department of Justice is blatantly lying about the racial composition of drug-related prison data:

http://www.tremblethedevil.com/my_weblog/2009/04/even-without-lies-the-damage-is-already-done.html

[Siara]

QUOTE: "but it is a real issue that affects millions.

The Prez has probably been profiled before himself"

I'm sure he's been profiled. But he's intelligent enough to realize that there's a bigger issue at stake now, which is why he's being very low key and dodging questions about the Gates arrest,

[Siara]

The health care bill is a lot more important than racial bickering, which is what this is. It's disgusting that there are racist cops out there (I don't have enough facts to know whether these cops fell into that category). But the way to overcome that sort of junk is to educate the black community and make it stronger.

The health care bill will insure that all kids have decent care and can go to school feeling healthy.

This, "You're a racist" , "No you're a racist", "Down with the cops. They're racist pigs" stuff is counterproductive.

[lordjin]

It is a potentially counterproductive distraction to the larger agenda. Obama commented on it (correctly) and moved on. We should do the same. You're right.

[Hunt555555]

You are correct. The Pres wrote in his book the Audacity of Hope about experiencing racism. Racism is a common denominator in our country. When you comment ore see pundit on TV ,who does not understand raciam,it makes you realizes how far we have to go.

[betty22]

you are suppose to be leader of the country....also you are an attorney glad you don't defend me...I see you don' get all the facts before you speak....even if they are right or wrong....poor counselor..

[lordjin]

I don't agree with many of the man's policies, but even when i am less than pleased with Obama, I've never thought or said that he is lacking in depth of feeling or intelligence. Because he is not.

If I were ever in a legal bind, I would feel GREAT about having counselor Obama on my side. He's an expert on consitutional law, but perhaprs more importantly, I would have complete faith in his charisma and diplomatic tact.

Interesting to see such blatant, basless criticism of our president from one who can barely write.

[betty22]

yeah stand by your good friends ......and don't forget to through your grandmother under the bus with everyone else

[lordjin]

I heard they're having a sale on clues. Would you like a small loan so you can go purchase one?

[Siara]

The important racial thing that's happening now is the health care reform bill. This bill will ensure that poor inner city kids (read: poor black kids) will be able to go to school healthy and alert and ready to do their best.

In order to pass the bill we need the support of the moderate community.

This trivial Gates issue, which smacks of 1960's hysterical, knee-jerk leftism, is going to put off moderate supporters, many of whom are left but NOT politically correct "power to the people" radicals. ,Thr result will be:
(1) all of us posting here are going to have the pleasure of shooting our mouths off
(2) the moderates will get scared that the left is still in radical 1960's mode
(3) we lose their votes and the bill doesn't pass
(4) inner city kids continue to get bad health care.

I wish you people who are having so much fun getting "outraged" and calling everyone a "racist" would use your heads and see that you aren't helping the race issue. You're wrecking the chance for a currently downtrodden segment of America's kids to have a healthy childhood.

[Hunt555555]

Institutionalize racism is not a knee jerk. it's jerks who do not know the seriousness of racism. If moderates let fear cause them to vote against the poor,they are already racists.

[detroit3slayer]

I'm 180% behind President Obama!!!

Ladies and Gentleman,

Let's not fool ourselves here but what exactly do Democrats have to gain from pandering to cops, their fans, groupies and wannabes? Ask yourself, how many white police officers do you know who DO NOT vote Republican? An article published in a prominent gun magazine prior to the 2000 presidential elections featured a LAPD sergeant bragging that over 70% of his department vote for George W. Bush. (Sorry, I can not find a reprint of the article online) And if someone told you that the LAPD force is roughly 70% white - does that sound about right?

Cops and cop defenders are part of the 25% hardcore Republican base. These power-tripping, egomaniacal, liberal-hating, PC bashing, Question Authority - ask me anything, 9/11 everything will never admit to wrongdoing. When was the last time a "mainstream" police organization such as the FOP endorsed a Democrat? When was the time that predominantly cop ghettos such as Edison Park Chicago, Staten Island NY, Ocean County NJ, Simi Valley CA voted Democrat?

If you still have doubts, head over to any one of these popular online cop hangouts - officer.com, policelink.com, policeone.com - and see for yourself the vile, racist and unprintable garbage you will find from our "fine men and women" that overwhelms these sites.

Really, if law enforcement is purportedly such a "tough job", maybe its time for these whiners to pull a Sarah Palin!

[doneflyin]

Pending approval, I'm attempting to say the same thing! Under Bush and this "war" police were given carte blanche to "protect us from Terra-rist.s"
They've been tripping out on the militancy ever since. It's happened right here in my own small white suburban neighborhood. It's an attitude thing. Do what I say or I'll bust your chops.

Well, some of that came to an end with this Gates incident. There's a new sheriff in town.

[mikeVA]

Exactly, I guarantee that Killion person just got done listening to right-wing radio, and he decided to come with more heat and _stupidity_.

[Siara]

I'm a huge Obama fan Sign in the yard, bumper stickers on the cars, donate to Move On in hopes of forwarding his agenda, etc., etc..........

But this issue is nowhere near as important as Obama's health care plan. These "outraged"­sanctimoni­ous rants about racism are going to turn moderates away from the left and destroy Obama's plans for the future.

[southernsepia]

Maybe but it is a real issue that affects millions.

The Prez has probably been profiled before himself.

When he did the whole personal responsibility thing last week whites were singing his praises.

But it's a two way street, Americans need to grow up and talk about the realities of race.

[Hunt555555]

Why should moderates turn from the left when the right wing radio and TV is spewing racism 24-7.Huh? Explain what you mean.

[Ramirez]

From WSJ:
*******

...Mr. Gates lives in a city with a black mayor, a state with a black governor and a country with a black President. The dispute was arguably about town-gown relations rather than race. If this is a teaching moment, one lesson is that it’s usually better to cooperate during encounters with law enforcement so that matters don’t escalate needlessly. ....

Mr. Obama’s broadside against local cops sends the wrong message to Americans of every race about how to respond to misunderstandings with police. His comments may also do more to aggravate than alleviate tensions between police officers and the minority communities they serve.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203517304574306092096257248.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[idesign]

Watch his poll numbers slide!

[StellaRay]

Watch you, salivating and panting, hoping for the president of your country to fail.

[darker]

Thanks, but no thanks, for your recount of the WSJ BEAN-COUNTING of blacks in Beantown
and the state of Mass.
It completely MISSED THE POINT of what really went on there with the Gates incident.

[Siara]

It's going to be very bad for the leftist agenda. I could almost believe it was instigated by the right to make the left less appealing.

[Hunt555555]

I am a lefty and I stand by our POTUS 100% . It's the right wing media using this to their advantage. They have no plans for America,so they will use bigotry to promote themselves. They are America's enemies.

[Hunt555555]

Ramirez. You are one-sided. Why couldn't a profession cop leave the scene with thing in order? This guy is trained to defuse situations. You have a black guy who was raised in institutionalized racism. Trained Cops does not have to prove that they are brutes.

[sweetwhine]

I stand by you President Obama. Just onehundere­dandfiftyp­ercent!!!

[tek kwene]

This argument seems so schizophrenic! The very people screaming about "taking back the country" and "restoring American freedoms", are the same people who don't think a person should be able to express himself in his own home! Where are we, anyway? Where does freedom of speech fit into all of this?

[RuWii]

Bingo!

[KillBillV2]

It seems weird first off that Crowley now feels the need to say "I didn't vote for Obama" and then for the other Police chief to say something along the lines of feeling ashamed that Obama is their Commander-­in-Chief..­.I'm starting to think they knew that Gates was acquainted with President Obama....

[idesign]

Obama should have kept his mouth shut!!

[SG Phillips]

Obama was answering a direct question, posed by the press. His answer was intelligent and plain-spoken and CORRECT.

No one should be arrested for demanding a policeman's badge number and name.
It was a STUPID action by the police.

[Hunt555555]

No,The POTUS can speak on anything he like. Even institutionalized racism. No we as American can continue serious dialogue.

[dancingbearfilms]

I really don't think this has anything to do with race. I think this has to do with cops being a-holes. The one time in my life I gave a police officer a snarky response (which was very tame) he tackled me, pushed me to the ground, dugs his forearm into the back of my neck, screaming "don't resist" (of course I didn't) and I was arrested. the charges were, of course, dropped (which tends to happen a lot in cases like this). If you read the report you know that it's an utter piece of complete fiction. I can believe that Gates was flippent with the cop, but are really going to blieve that the officer continued to remain christ-like as Gates continued to yell at him? Pfffttt...the cop knew Gates was the owner. Technically he should have left after that. End of story. The truth of the matter is that both of them are probably a-holes (which is Gates' right), but once again we see cop overstepping his legal boundries, and once again, we see cops refusing to admit that mistakes--of any kind--were made.

[rockyrococoAZ]

That seems like a fair assessment to me...

[KillBillV2]

Agree, I said from the beginning that I didn't think it had to do with race. I think it had to do with Crowley wanting to arrest someone, especially after thinking it would have arrested two people that were maybe robbing the home. When he found out that wasn't the case it seemed like he wanted to stick around knowing that it was making the Professor annoyed.

[StellaRay]

Dancingbear,

I can't disagree with your premise that cops see themselves as part of a power struggle---us against them.

But when you conflate this into the assumption that Gates was an a-hole too, I gasp. I'm guessing you're not black, so you have no idea how often the simple fact of your skin tone can elicit the response you got for a snarky comment, without one. You apparently have no idea how many black people have experienced this. Which tends to make a person a bit touchy, particularly a person as aware as Gates.

One of my best friends is black, comes from a large family. I'll never forget the night we all sat around the table as each and every one of her family told of their experiences being pulled over, yanked out and called out by white cops.

[dancingbearfilms]

I am not black, but my daughter is (see picture). And you are right, I'll never truly understand what it means to be black in America and either will you from spending a night at a dinner table with your best friend's family. I only said Gates may have acted like a pretentious liberal a-hole because he's a Harvard professor, it has nothing to do with his skin color. And I have the right to say that, because I am a pretentious liberal a-hole.

[Hymiebitch]

What did you do? Break into a whitefolk's home?

[dancingbearfilms]

I was at a bar. There was a fight. I was not involved. Just standing around. A cop told me to go home before he arrested me. I said "For being aaaaahh-mazing?" To this day, I really wish I would have came up with something better than that. But, I was drunk and it sounded funny in my head.

[Ramirez]

From John Hinderaker:
********

President Obama is widely regarded as a gifted orator. Actually being President, however, is a very different task from running for President-­-something that the inexperienced Obama seemingly hasn't figured out. As a small-time local politician, as a Senator and even as a Presidential candidate, it is possible to speak carelessly and get away with it. Glibness is rewarded; not much else matters.

A President, however, must choose his words carefully, because they actually matter. As I've noted before, President Bush chose his words with great care, even when doing so made him seem halting in his delivery. As a result, he made fewer verbal mistakes--I'm talking about substance here, not minor stumbles--than any politician in memory.

Obama, in contrast, continues to overestimate his verbal skills. All his life, he has been rewarded for assuming a certain pose and offering up platitudes in a reasonably glib fashion. These are minor talents at best, but they got Obama elected President.... Now that he is President, however, these limitations are starting to haunt him. Obama's foolish and entirely needless assertion that Cambridge policeman James Crowley "acted stupidly" when he arrested Harvard professor Henry Gates is beginning to turn into a major political issue that will hurt Obama with broad sectors of the electorate. ...

This is one more in a series of self-inflicted wounds that have contributed to Obama's steadily declining standing with Americans.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/07/024116.php

[Paul Peete - Huffpost Blogger]

Still spreading the manure around, I see!

[KillBillV2]

Exactly...­Republican­s love to use race in anyway possible.

[winstonian22]

If by "maure" you mean "truth" then I guess you are right Paul Peete Huffpost Blogger.

[winstonian22]

Spelling correction: Manure

[SaddieMcCall]

Bush chose his words with great care and made few verbal mistakes?

[Ramirez]

Hinderaker was speaking " about substance here, not minor stumbles..."

Bush fumbled words continuously but his major gaffes were few. Can you name a couple?

[fiorastar]

You must have REALLY criticized Bush, by that standard..­.right?...­right?

[mi]

Ill chosen words from our great President Obama.
Gates may be proven right or an eletist, pretentious, Harvard professor.
all the facts are not in, and audio tapes are yet to be released.
Mr. Obama should have shown some restraint in his opinion.

[sweetwhine]

Whatever!! They did act stupidly!!

[SaddieMcCall]

I do think it was stupid to arrest a man after it was proven that he lived in the home and was not breaking and entering. If the police felt that he did nothing wrong, why was he resistant to provide his name and badge number to the officer?

It reminds me of a case where an elderly woman failed to water her lawn (in a desert state,while the state was suffering from a drought) and the local ordinance officer went to her home to give her a citation. She became upset and turn to go inside her home, and he got physical with the woman, injuring her while trying to prevent her from going back inside her home. This became a national news item. The guy could have mail a ticket to her residence, but to try to physically force her to accept his citation was escalating the situation and made it so much worse.

I would say that was stupid as well. There are real criminals walking around because they are constantly being "caught and release" the police arrest them and the jails release them within a few hours. Some actually end up arrested within a couple of hours of being released --- and yet we have some officers that want to escalate a stupid situation into something much bigger than it is.

[shubes61]

then the cambridge police department should have also shown some restraint by not having that big press conference where they announced that they fully supported sargeant crowley's actions, as a group and individually.

since all the facts are not in, and audio tapes are yet to be released.