Obama "Stupidly" Reveals His True Self

In President Obama's "health care" press conference last night, Obama took the time -- actually stopping his answer to one question short -- to bungle through a question on the arrest of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates. Jr.



I didn't want to comment on this, as the president was so obviously wrong to weigh in on this issue, but most of the commentary I have heard so far has not hit on this point.

Departing from his typically sprawling, incoherent answers, Obama matter-of-factly accused Sgt. James Crowley and the entire Cambridge, MA police department of acting "stupidly" in arresting Gates. That is, after he announced repeatedly that HE DIDN'T KNOW ALL OF THE FACTS!!

Obama was irresponsible on so many fronts with this charge it is hard to find where to start.

First off, he picked this question out specifically to answer, and to answer last. If, as he and Gates claim, the two are friends, Obama should never have fielded this question. It is a serious conflict of interest for a national public official of his position to comment on a matter involving a local police department and his friend.

Further, for him to levy such a blunt response to an issue for which he admittedly did not have all the information is a complete abdication of leadership. Any good leader would not take the question until he had all the facts. But, a leader, Obama is not.

Then, to aggravate the problem further, Obama rattled off a time line that was completely incorrect and devoid of many of the key facts in the event. Without my laboring over the well-documented facts, yet again, Obama uttered not one word about Gates' improper behavior, which he admits to himself.

For your edification, Mr. President, while it is possible that the initial 911 call was racially-motivated, the only time race truly entered this incident is when Gates started screaming Racism. From all accounts, the officer did nothing even slightly racial. It was Gates who acted racially the entire time.

Whether or not Gates should have been arrested is a matter for the police to sort out. But, the fact the our president would speak to the country -- to the entire world -- levying the charge of racism and incompetence about a police force that protected him while he was at Harvard University, is an utter embarrassment and a complete abdication of leadership.

I fear that Obama showed his true self last night. He is a man overly-conscious about race (remember his "typical white" grandmother) and racism who has serious issues with authority and anyone who might exert authority over him.

It is clear from his choosing to answer this question, his tone of voice, his willingness to dismiss relevant facts (ones that Gates himself acknowledges) in order to not just criticize the police, but insult them is telling. This is the true Obama, and he laid it out for all of us to see last night.

As the top law enforcement officer in the country, Obama should be ashamed this morning. I know I am.

Media Bias is Bigger Issue than Racism in Boston

In Boston, folks are often charged with being racist. The allegation comes from old misunderstandings and misrepresentations -- and from the Boston Globe!

Earlier today, esteemed (and whack-job) Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested for apparently trying to break into his own home.

Police arrived at Gates’s Ware Street home near Harvard Square at 12:44 p.m. to question him. Gates... had trouble unlocking his door after it became jammed.

He was booked for disorderly conduct after “exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior,” according to a police report. Gates accused the investigating officer of being a racist and told him he had "no idea who he was messing with,'' the report said.

Gates told the officer that he was being targeted because "I'm a black man in America.''

Sounds like a straight-forward case of Arrested for Being Black, right?

The arrest of such a prominent scholar under what some described as dubious circumstances shook some members of the black Harvard community.

Not so fast. It seems the Globe "neglected" to include some key facts from its story, as detailed in the Boston Herald:

An officer ordered the man to identify himself, and Gates refused, according to the report. Gates began calling the officer a racist and said repeatedly, "This is what happens to black men in America."

Officers said they tried to calm down the 58-year-old academic, who responded, "You don’t know who you’re messing with," according to the police report.

These sound like the actions of a stable, respected individual don't they?

Oddly, the Globe did link to a copy of the Boston Police Incident Report:

(The 911 caller) said she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpaks on the porch (of the house)...

Office James Crowley noted that he stood in plain view of the man... I asked him if he would step out on the porch and speak with me. He replied: "No, I will not."... I asked Gates to provide me photo identification so I could verify he resided (in the house). Gates initially refused...

I could hear Gates demanding my name (for a third time) I again told Gates that I would speak to him outside. His reply was: "Ya, I'll speak with your mama outside."

For what reason could the Boston Globe have for omitting all these details about Gates' action leading up to his arrest? Gates wasn't arrested for breaking-and-entering, he was arrested for Disorderly Conduct. He wasn't arrested for being black, he was arrested for being a pain in the ass.

Why do I have the sense that Officer Crowley will face more of a reprimand than will Gates?

A man -- any man -- is trying to pry open the front door of a house with a crowbar, refuses to identify himself, refuses to provide proof that he lives in the house, and gets belligerent with the police; damn straight they better arrest him.