Obama rushes to quell racial uproar he helped fire

[foginthemorn]

Source: AP




Obama rushes to quell racial uproar he helped fire

By NANCY BENAC, Associated Press Writer Nancy Benac, Associated Press Writer – 35 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Knocked off stride by a racial uproar he helped stoke, President Barack Obama hastened Friday to tamp down the controversy. Obama, who had said Cambridge, Mass., police "acted stupidly" in arresting black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., declared the white arresting officer was a good man and invited him and the professor to the White House for a beer.

Obama conceded his words had been ill-chosen, but he stopped short of a public apology. He personally telephoned both Gates and Sgt. James Crowley, hoping to end the rancorous back-and-forth over what had transpired and what Obama had said about it. Trying to lighten the situation, he even commiserated with Crowley about reporters on his lawn.

......................

It was a measure of the nation's keen sensitivities on matters of race that the fallout from a disorderly conduct charge in Massachusetts — and the remarks of America's first black president about it — had mushroomed to such an extent that he felt compelled to make a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room to try to put the matter to rest. The blowup had dominated national attention just as Obama was trying to marshal public pressure to get Congress to push through health care overhaul legislation — and as polls showed growing doubts about his performance.

"This has been ratcheting up, and I obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up," Obama said of the racial controversy. "I want to make clear that in my choice of words, I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department and Sgt. Crowley specifically. And I could've calibrated those words differently."..........................

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_harvard_scholar

[Captain Hilts]

1. Typical AP headline. nt

[texastoast]

2. What??

How wonderful to have my President take responsibility for his stupid mistake. Love it, love it.

[marshall]

35. It's basically on the job training, which can sometimes be a rough experience

Executives don't represent their own opinions in public statements.

[bobbolink]

51. That's true, of course. I would just expect a black man to have more street smarts of bullies.

[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

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[bobbolink]

55. I'm guessing you KNOW which one I'm referring to,

:eyes:

[Name removed]

57. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bobbolink]

59. Thank you for your honesty. You've shown where you are, and there is no need for further

discussion.

Have a fine day.

[bobbolink]

54. edit,,,,

.

[marshall]

60. His regular press guy was out having a root canal or something

Maybe Obama usually has an earpiece and he is advised about off the cuff questions like the one he took about this incident. Chalk it up as a lesson learned.

[never cry wolf]

3. The police did act stupidly and there is no uproar except among racists

This is a non issue

[KamaAina]

4. Now it's a "racial uproar"?!

Remember, you can't spell "crap" without AP. :eyes:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. One of AP's typically tendentious headlines.

:puke:

[foginthemorn]

15. "This has been ratcheting up, and I obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up," Obama said

[anigbrowl]

61. aw, gee, reality bites

Whether or not you agree with his initial comment about the police department acting stupidly, making a judgment call like that at the same time as admitting you don't have all the facts is asking for trouble. It was a mistake on his part, although I admire the way he acknowledged and handled it (something some people here ought to try once in a while).

[The abyss]

6. I just wish he would shut down the damn wars!

[tj2001]

7. Yeah. The whole thing was Obama's fault

He probably should have declined to comment in the first place, but now that he has practically apologized, the message to America is loud and clear:

THE POLICE OFFICER IS ALWAYS RIGHT. THE POLICE REPORT IS THE TRUTH.

[gtar100]

11. That's not what I got. I thought he handled it pretty well.

[babylonsister]

8. The AP can bite me. nt

[berniebern]

9. The media should be discussing health care

But they they thrive in an environment of gossip and triviality. It's sad.

[defendandprotect]

24. Wait a minute . . .this is an important issue, as well. We have time for it --

This is he kind of incident educates America --

And, I think we all need to give it its deserved attention --

Racial profiling and brutal policing has been a frequent but still

hidden issue in America for decades. Those who suffer it suffer it alone.

If we went justice we have to end prejudice.

Especially if it is occurring in our police departments!!

[anigbrowl]

63. so why has DU been abuzz with this storm in a teacup all week?

last weekend people were complaining that the media was ignoring the story. Now people are complaining the media is focusing too much on it. Moral: be careful what you ask for, in case you don't like it when you get it.

[bitchkitty]

10. Uproar? I don't hear anything.

Typical AP dramatics.

[DonCoquixote]

12. Wonder why the wars are going on

Simply put, this man cannot even express an opinion without the MSM able to push familiar buttons about race. They know that as long as they make sure to stir the pot, that the Dixie Dems will be free to stab his back without reprisal. If he cannot make a statement about a bunch of stupid cops, they know he cannot shut the war down.

Of course, maybe we should all just get used to the idea that only southern white males who are firmly centrists right should be president, after all, we are not mature enough for anything else, right?

America, you make it hard to like you sometimes.

[Odin2005]

13. What a stupid, inflammatory headline, fuck the AP.

[Judi Lynn]

14. I can't imagine a Democrat would post a piece of crap like this. n/t

[foginthemorn]

16. Are you referring to Obama who admitted rachetting up the uproar.

[bobbolink]

47. Partly, yes. He hasn't learned that playing nice with bullies and taking the fall

isn't going to bring peace.

Sad.

I'm beginning to think he'd also apologize for getting shot in the face. :(

[defendandprotect]

21. Democrats should only suppress stuff like this -- even when OBAMA acknowledges it -- !!!

Wake up for heaven's sake!!!

This is a valid and normal discussion -- and let's hope some progress will be made

from this case.

What we need here is the actual police report by Sgt. James Crowley which from what

I hear relates the tale of stupidity.

Ron Reagan was reading it tonight -- 6 police officers appeared to arrest him!!

It was good of Obama to defend his friend -- he should stick with it.

And instead of making nice with this racist officer, he should be discharged.

[BlooInBloo]

50. Welcome to reality. Our team is the *right* team, but its members are as big of shitbags...

as the other team's.

[ShamelessHussy]

17. Nonsense. Arresting a man in his own home started the fire.

I for one am glad he spoke up on this important matter.

[liberalmuse]

18. My guess was AP or Politico.

The only people in an uproar are old white bigots. Fuck 'em. They will go the way of the Stegosaurus soon, and good riddance!

[defendandprotect]

19. Sounds more like Sgt. Crowley should be fired . . .something wrong with that guy --!!!

Happened to hear Ron Reagan tonight -- not all of it --

but he had the Sgt.'s actually written report, letting him speak for himself.

Wow!

Presume we can find it on line somewhere?

I'll try to check.

Either this guy is virulently racist or he's virulently stupid--!!

[AverageJoe5]

20. Glad about Obama's remorse

I am glad Pres. Obama expressed remorse for the stupid mistake he made when he essentially said the police were stupid. But a direct apology to the Sgt. would have been better.

[defendandprotect]

22. Have you read Crowley's actual written report of the incident?

If not you should --

and then you'll understand why he should be fired.

Obama was right the first time around -- this was stupid --

and obviously motivated by racism on the officer's part.

In fact, 6 officers showed up -- and got lucky when Gates did walk out onto the porch.

[Bette Noir]

26. You must not read the news. Obama *did* apologize.

[HughMoran]

38. Thankfully he didn't

And the poster is using the "stupid" as an adjective when it was used as an adverb to describe their behavior.

Only one kind of idiot could make that mistake. wink, wink

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

49. Except he didn't express remorse nor did he make a stupid mistake

nor did he say the police were stupid.

[defendandprotect]

23. Evidently, the internet has been scrubbed of the actual police report by Crowley . ..

http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/013738.html

If you want to see the actual report made public and put back on internet

Boston Globe -- comments @globe.com

or David Beard 617-929-3008

or general feedback 617-929-7949

-----------------------------------

I heard Ron Reagan tonight reading the report -- and it should be read by everyone.

[Abq_Sarah]

29. The Smoking Gun has it

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html

[ProudDad]

32. The fucking cop escalated the whole thing

He should have (and is PAID TO) swallow his fucking pride, return the ID and get the fuck out of there with an apology for bothering Professor Gates.

As for police reports, they are routinely and invariably a tissue of lies, prevarications and outright whoppers...they have less credibility than "eye witnesses"...

[Barbara2423]

42. Thank you very much for posting. Barack was right the first time

The officer did a stupid thing.

[EFerrari]

52. He didn't change his position. He only said he didn't intend to malign

the officer or the department. Then he reasserted his original position.

[Bette Noir]

25. I'm so proud of our diplomat-in-chief.

He'll have Gates and Crowley hugging each other and singing Kumbaya by the weekend.

[Hulk]

27. I thought it was a mistake when he commented on it....

...but I believe it's going to turn out damn good now that he is going to deal with it.

Shame that it's going to be a problem in the country for years to come...but at least we have a president that can demonstrate HOW you can deal with problems in a rational manner.

What a nice change!

[Barbara2423]

44. I thought this way in the beginning. But remember Barack

authored Legislation on this subject in Chicago. So, he has alot of background information on racial profiling.

[pauldg0]

28. This is a non-issue....

....and the repuks are drooling for a racial war within the democratic party.

The subject should be dropped. We should always take heed when reporters want to start a brew ha ha...look at the sources of any writings and keep cool.

Let Obama work on the important things at hand.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ken Burch]

30. Great moments in objectivity there, AP Headline Drones

What would their headline about Appomatox have read like?

"Military Men settle regional property dispute started by Lincoln"?

[TexasObserver]

34. Unrecommend ... rightwing propaganda.

[bobbolink]

65. Oh, you're so very right.... we shouldn't have the opportunity to KNOW the propaganda.

"We believe most DUers are using the unrec responsibly." :rofl:

[City Lights]

36. Screw the AP.

:thumbsdown:

[HughMoran]

37. Fucking media should be held accountable when they stir racial hatred like this

It wasn't Obama that stirred the pot, it was the fucking media. Makes me very angry reading a fallacious headline like this. :mad:

[JonLP24]

40. Stupid headline. I hate the AP.

Aside from this headline I've seen the get facts wrong prematurely and I avoid using them as a source as much as possible.

[mmonk]

43. Sorry AP but the racists didn't need nor get any help from Obama.

[Quantess]

45. Oh for fuck's sake.

Obama was merely addressing the event in an honest and fair way. People expect him to sometimes talk about racial situations. He is black, after all.

Tempest in a teacup.

[malletgirl02]

56. Also, if he didn't answer the question

or sidestepped it some how, the headlines would be "Obama dodges question". I think he did the best choice of answering the question directly.

[bobbolink]

46. What great "journalism"....shit..... Now I miss Cronkite all that much more!

Without an honest and active press, we're toast as a country.

[BlooInBloo]

48. BWAHAHAAHAAHAHAAA!!!!! Gotta love the Jackie Robinson rules.

[omega minimo]

58. It's NOT "a measure of the nation's keen sensitivities on matters of race that the fallout from a.."

"It was a measure of the nation's keen sensitivities on matters of race that the fallout from a disorderly conduct charge in Massachusetts — and the remarks of America's first black president about it — had mushroomed to such an extent that he felt compelled to make a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room to try to put the matter to rest."


It is the result of the toxic talking heads and spinmeisters that rule the media now. :evilfrown:

[BlooInBloo]

62. Wow. I had no idea we white folks were quite THAT oversensitive.

[spanone]

64. 'knocked off stride' reporting or commentary....the lines are so blurred these daze

[Strong Atheist]

66. Welcome to DU!

:toast: