Obama Firm on Stance That Cop Overreacted to Gates

You've got to admire President Barack Obama for sticking by his guns in a controversy that many say he never should have injected himself into in the first place: the arrest July 16 of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., PhD in his own home by police who were called there to investigate a suspected burglary complaint. Gates has accused the officers of treating him unfairly because of he his black, while the Cambridge police say they were justified in arresting him for disorderly conduct because he "exhibited loud and tumultuous behavior."

On July 22 Obama, who considers Gates a friend, remarked that Cambridge police officers "acted stupidly" for arresting the 58-year-old academic after he had proven that he lives in the residence near Harvard Square. He also said that while he didn't know all the facts of the case, that "there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."

The arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, objected to Obama's remarks, saying that he had done nothing wrong and is himself an expert on racial profiling. Obama is "way off base wading into a local issue without knowing all the facts, as he himself stated," Crowley told WBZ-AM radio. On July 23 Obama told ABC News he stood by his comments, and while he respects the difficulties of police work, "cooler heads should have prevailed."

At the July 24 daily White House press briefing the president said that he had spoken personally to Crowley, and while he regretted his choice of words in characterizing the officer's actions, he also hoped the case would become "a teachable moment" to improve relations between minorities and police officers. The professor-in-chief did not agree that he should keep his nose out of a "local" issue.

"The fact that this has become such a big issue is indicative of the fact that race is still a troubling aspect of our society," said Obama. "Whether I were black or white I think that me commenting on this and hopefully contributing to constructive...understandings about the issue is part of my portfolio."

He then said that he, Gates, and Crowley might get together over a beer at the White House some time in the near future.

Just as he followed up the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy during his presidential campaign with his seminal speech on race, Obama has decided not to shrink from the Gates arrest controversy, but rather use it as a way to bring Americans closer together. Rather than be vilified, he should be congratulated for not butting out of a "local" matter.

President Obama Pictures

US President Barack Obama winks as leaves after signing a proclamation celebrating the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2009. AFP PHOTO/Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

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US President Barack Obama reacts after signing a proclamation celebrating the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2009. AFP PHOTO/Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

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US President Barack Obama signs a proclamation celebrating the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2009. AFP PHOTO/Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

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President Barack Obama salutes from the stairs of Air Force One as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Md, Friday, July 24, 2009, after a day trip to Cleveland and Chicago.(AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

President Barack Obama walks down the stairs of Air Force One as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Md, Friday, July 24, 2009, after a day trip to Cleveland and Chicago.(AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

U.S. President Barack Obama makes remarks at the daily briefing after a surprise visit to the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, July 24, 2009. Obama said he should have chosen his words more carefully when he said police "acted stupidly" in arresting a prominent black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, touching off a debate over race. REUTERS/Jim Young (POLITICS CRIME LAW)

Reuters