Washington – Seeking to quell the controversy over his Wednesday comments on the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to the White House briefing room this afternoon.
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“I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sgt. Crowley specifically, and I could have calibrated those words differently,” Obama told reporters.
At his primetime press conference Wednesday, Obama said the police “acted stupidly” in arresting Gates in his own home. The officer, Sgt. James Crowley, said in media interviews Thursday that he acted appropriately.
Obama said he spoke directly with Crowley today and has extended an invitation to meet with the officer.
However, the president did not back away from his other remarks on racial profiling in America. “The fact that it has garnered so much attention, I think, is testimony to the fact that these are issues that are still very sensitive here in America,” he said.
“I continue to believe that there was an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home to the station,” he said. “I also continue to believe, based on what I heard, that Professor Gates probably overreacted as well.”
“My sense is you’ve got two good people in a circumstance in which neither of them were able to resolve the incident in the way it should have been, or the way they would have liked it to be resolved,” the president said.
Obama further rejected the criticism that as president he should not have weighed in at all. “That I disagree with,” he said. “Race is still a troubling aspect of our society. Whether I were a black or a white, I think me commenting on this and hopefully contributing to constructive as opposed to negative understanding about the issue is part of my portfolio.”
The president expressed frustration that the controversy has distracted from the conversation he’d rather be having. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but nobody’s been paying much attention to health care,” he quipped.
Obama apologizes.Earlier today Police asked Obama for an apology
I can’t believe this guy got elected for president.
To me it seems that Obama was himself guilty of racial profiling in this case. Hypocrisy, you bet.
This shows what a real mentch Obama is. Can you imagine bush ever apologizing about anything?
“The fact that it has garnered so much attention, I think, is testimony to the fact that these are issues that are still very sensitive here in America”
The dued tried to break into a house in the night. He acted like a jerk. Obama probably spoke to Jesse Jackson before he made those stupid remarks.
Mr. President,
WADR, any statement you make that begins with “I do not have all the facts…” should immediately end with “…and I will withhold judgement until they are available.” Full. Stop. Anything else is beneath the dignity of your office.
Obamaspeak: “I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sgt. Crowley specifically, and I could have calibrated those words differently”
Man of Truth speak:: “I intentionally maligned the Cambridge Police Department and Sgt. Crowley specifically, and I should not have said what I said. It was wrong.”
This guy is bad.
i’m glad obama apologized, but he should have never mixed into this issue in the first place.
The President’s response is reflective of the REAL race crisis going on in this country. Whether it’s firefighters in New Haven (and now New York) or a Cambridge cop just doing his job, there are large and powerful forces in this country that immediately assume whenever something goes wrong for a “person of color,” It’s the white man’s fault. The tests are racially biased, the cop racially profiled etc etc etc.
Obama is one of these people. Remember, he was a community organizer. Interesting to note, this man Gates lawyer, a radical black activist who, among other things, demands reparations for slavery, was Obama’s mentor when he was at Harvard.
The President set a great example by apologizing for his remarks. Time and time again we read on this blog about people making mistakes, whether it is protecting child molesters, financial fraud, zoning and building code violations, etc. but I think the onoly person I recall hearing an apology from was Bernie Madoff. Taking responsibility, admitting when a mistake is made and apologizing is something more of us need to learn to do.
(BTW – If you read the police officer’s own police report, Professor Gates was arrested for being rude to or yelling at the officer AFTER it was determined by the officer that he was lawfully in his own home. Prof. Gates was in no way physically threatening to the officer. Even if Prof. Gates was rude or obnoxious, I found it very frightening that you could be arrested for being rude to a cop on your own front porch. That is why the charges were dropped so quickly — because there was no legal basis for them. Being rude or calling an officer racist is not disturbing the peace.)
“I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sgt. Crowley
He didn’t “give the impression”. He did malign.
#3- Bush would not have gotten into trouble by making an inflammatory statement like that. And Obama’s right. It shows racism. On HIS part. I want to know if we can say the same thing if we get busted. The professor could have shown id and that would have been the end. And his arrest was for disorderly conduct anyway.
It all started when he decided to confront Israel. His treatment of Israel is horrible and without precedent. Since then it’s been all downhill for him. Shattering teleprompters, failed health care initiative, plummeting approval ratings, and now this epic mistake which has put him in a very bad light. As long as he continues to malign G-d’s chosen people and their land it will only get worse.
HE jumped the gun….he supported his bro without knowledge of the facts…he is as prejudice as the rest of THEM
It seems to me that Gates, despite his ‘elevated’ position in the community, could not rise above a street thug’s tactic of screaming discrimination when it suits his purpose. How can Harvard keep a guy like this on the faculty? Also, my understanding is the house is not his, but belongs to the University. Too many professors are too entitled. This is why tuition is so high. Does he ever spend time in the class poisoning young mnds?
Obama and the proffessor are both racist creeps.
A Harvard trained lawyer should have been familiar with Latin phrase “prima facia evidence” and not shoot from the hip. Furthermore this illustrious Harvard “professor” is an antisemite