1. Tom Penn wrote:

Like most Americans, I don’t know what took place at Professor Gates’ home that evening, because I do not have all the facts. In fact, President Obama said the same thing at his press conference on Wednesday night. “I do not have all the facts.” Yet, our president who is not only a lawyer, but a former law professor, made a judgment without having all of the facts. Then he finds out he lit a media powder keg, and had to retract his comments on Friday. Why? Because he buried the coverage on his health care initiative, and if he loses on this heath care bill, a serious threat to his presidency may emerge as the media begins the 2010 election cycle when Congress gets back in the Fall.

The president should have said, Skip Gates is a friend of mine, I do not know all the facts in this case, so I’d rather not comment at this time. I hope his “teaching moment” remark turns this negative into a positive, and that the lead story when the three men get together for that beer is, what brand of brew they drank.

2. Mario wrote:

Wow, there’s a lot to be said with this video. I’m suprised at Huckabee. He’s usually the only Republican who can speak reasonably on race, but he seemed to back down from this one saying race doesn’t enter the minds of White people when they see someone else especially Black males trying to enter a house in a wealthy neighborhood so he disappointed me. Ann Coulter as usual brought the most extreme ridiculous comments in the conversation. First she tries to make Obama a half-white guy who is really white acting because he’s educated. Right and Du Bois, the father of pan-africanism really isn’t Black either. I’m sure he’ll turn back Black to her though when she is trying to instill fear into conservatives about the ill effects of affirmative action. Then she says what if the police left and Gates beat up his neighbor’s girlfriend, which I believe is alluding to the the lies about Black men abusing and raping White women and she should’ve been called out. Marc you definitely didn’t get enough time but I’m glad you said what I’ve been thinking. Obama was exactly right to call the arrest stupid because it was against the law. The officer cannot arrest for disorderly conduct just on verbal abuse and no one knows yet if the police report is true or if Dr. Gates’ story is true. However, being the president and a Black president Obama can’t really say those things even if they are true. To me though the main issue is why the neighbor called the police and couldn’t recognize the most prominent Black scholar who is near 60, wears glasses, and uses a cane. It should’ve been pretty obvious that it was her neigbor trying to get in his house. I’m sure Larry Summers wouldn’t have had that problem. The neighbor would’ve probably gone outside and said let me help you with the door.

3. DCI74 wrote:

Typical Ann Coulter, projecting her opinion and attempting to pass it off as fact and speechless when her bluff is called, she has no proof of anything but I guess all she cares about is making things sound good that have no foundation. Mike Huckabee is completely wrong if he thinks racism no longer exists in the south and Marc you hit the nail on the head, the police report is merely one side of the story.

4. Tom Penn wrote:

They just released the 911 call from the woman who phoned the Cambridge Police. She said, “Two gentlemen.” She made no racial reference until she was asked by the police officer on the other end of the line, were the men “White, Black, or Hispanic.?” At that time she said one may have been Hispanic, and she said couldn’t tell the race of the other gentleman

As for the beer? Sgt Crowley likes Blue Moon, and Professor Gates enjoys both Red Stripe and Becks. Dr. Gates will not get his prefered brew, because both of those beers are foreign, and the White House has a long standing tradition of serving only American beers

5. Cézsar wrote:

You just proved the point that race was indeed a factor Tom. The police specifically asked if the men were “White, Black, or Hispanic”. If all those 3 are equal in their eyes, then why ask? What should it matter? How does this information aid their policing ability?

Huckabee reading the police report of both officers and citing them as evidence, what is that supposed to prove exactly? That police officers dont lie to protect each other? That they are somehow infallible? Really? Is this the same police force, whose unions up and down the country, spontaneously coalesced around and in support and defense of one of their own, even though NONE of them were present at the arrest, simply because a Black man told it like it is? If they (the unions) like the rest of us were not in possession of the facts as none of us (including Huckabee) were there except the officers involved, then just what was this mass show of solidarity in aid of? It couldn’t have been about preservation of the truth because all they had was Crowley’s word, and most of those union members have never even met Crowley. So just what was the basis of their “shock and awe” show of unity? What were they responding to? Race? Do they feel under attack by the minority in America?

The implications of the answers to these questions are deadly serious. Because if Obama is meant to be the president for ALL Americans, then the police who can take your life away most definitely should equally protect and serve ALL Americans. But if they react in this way to one member of a minority group, then it must be a lot worse for ethnic minorities in America than I thought. Hypothetically speaking, based on their reactions, if a race war were to happen, ethnic minorities wouldn’t stand a chance. Old school Germany comes to mind.

But that’s the good news. The bad news is, if they were not reacting to race (as they claim), and they could treat their Commander-in-Chief in this way, then I think what most people have missed is the fact that the police are now the most armed, dangerous, autonomous, agenda-driven group in the world. And that should give every American pause, no matter your race.

6. Tom Penn wrote:

Cézsar wrote:
“You just proved the point that race was indeed a factor Tom.You just proved the point that race was indeed a factor Tom.”

What I understood to be the key component of this case was the call to 911 and whether or not the caller played the racial profile card. When she said to 911, “Two gentlemen” I thought that negated that charge.

In a an attempt to be as inclusive as possible, in addition to “White, Black or Hispanic,” the 911 operator could have also asked did the suspects look like, Haitian Homosexuals? Latvian Lesbians? Albinos? Paraplegics? etc, but I think that law enforcement does us a service by asking for a description of what the suspects looks like. What should we say in the future? “Officer, I think the men barging through the door looked like Humans.” That way everyone alive in Cambridge that night would have been a suspect, and if this had been a real break in attempt, the criminals would have had that much more time to get away.

7. Marc Lamont Hill wrote:

The interesting to me is that, despite the fact that the caller didn’t mention race, Crowley wrote in the police report that he was told by dispatch that the suspects were black. That speaks to race bias.

8. Corve DaCosta wrote:

I am shocked, flabbergasted, taken aback, amazed at your comments to the president Marc Lamont Hill. One the president was not speaking on behalf of his friend. He opened his answer by saying he will be biased. The reporter asked ‘what does that incident say to you’. I do not know where in that you get that the president should be speaking on behalf of Gates.

There is something I learnt last year; that Presidents do not comment on local issues. And even if Obama is going to comment on this issue which was tied up in racial claims; for crying out loud walk the high ground. Be diplomatic about it.

So you don’t even see anything wrong with the LEADER of the free world using the word ’stupidly’. There is no cut rule for this but Presidents should never, at anytime use degrading, demoralizing words to describe their police force or army. They always take offense and always feel de-motivated by actions of that nature. So the use of the word was uncalled for very insipid from the president. I am sure others think that way. Way too harsh.

Finally Marc why can’t you believe the police report. This issue is the dead story its a non issue. Gates isn’t contesting the report. I am upset about this issue. Gates was wrong, the police officer at some points was wrong, the president was wrong. All the parties were wrong. That makes this matter the teachable moment.

I am not always negative Prof Hill, I’m just the devil’s advocate.

9. DCI74 wrote:

Hmm so its clear the 911 dispatcher’s description was “two men” yet Crowley wrote the dispatcher said “two black men” which means if the police report is correct there must be another mystery dispatcher who took another call from some other mysterious neighbor! I don’t know about you but I’m about to round up Scooby and the rest of the crew ’cause it sounds like somethings-a-brewing up in the Bean lol. I know Velma is ready the blow the roof off this one with a missing recording and yet another neighbor who didn’t recognize Dr. Gates.

Come on if that’s not an indication of the cop’s bias then what is? If you believe everything that has been reported and substantiated it makes no sense. There is no way the dispatcher and the cop are right, one was recorded the other was written and if taken at face value completely contradict each other.

10. EminemsRevenge wrote:

Note Geraldo said Cambridge, Massachusetts is probably the most LIBERAL city in the cuntry…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zPdkKuEXFM

Ah…the good ol’ daze…..

11. ~JJG~ wrote:

I am disappointed with Obama’s retraction regarding the Skip Gates’ situation. I was so proud of him when he spoke in defense of Skip Gates, a Black man, but shortly after, I was let down. Does Obama really think/believe that the racial issues entwined within this situation will be resolve over beer? I’m going to decide not to be insulted. I knew/know Obama was/is not the “fight the power type” of President, but I’m still saddened by his decision. I feel like the chick who the dude told from the jump that he didn’t want a relationship, but thinks she can convince him otherwise. I sometimes convince myself that Obama will fight for Black people.

12. Cézsar wrote:

Nice analogy JJG. His NAACP speech really blew me away though; for the first time he spoke the other half of Black truth which has nothing to do with Blacks. And I liked his original truthful stance on this issue; he just shouldn’t have backed down. How can you back down from the truth?

Y’all must see this: www(dot)msnbc(dot)msn(dot)com/id/21134540/vp/32183430#32179133

13. Logic wrote:

JJG,
Obama has to be strategic in his actions. He can’t alienate white folks. If he does, then he won’t get anything done. The Repubs already have shown themselves uncooperative. Imagine if Obama loses the trust of white America.

He is already losing steam because of the impatience of Americans. Take the example of health care. He set a deadline, and they ignored it. That’s because he is losing political capital by the day, thanks to the idiots that reside here.

14. Tom Penn wrote:

President Obama has to get this health care bill through Congress. If he does not, it will do irreparable harm to his presidency, as it did to Clinton.

15. Clif Soulo wrote:

JJG, while I would have loved Obama to stand firmly with his statement (using the word ’stupid’), I can understand and can respect him saying he would have calibrated his words differently. And lets remember, that’s no the same as saying “i’m sorry for saying it was stupid”. He didn’t apologize. At the end of the day, stupid isn’t really the best word for our president to use, maybe a revolutionary, a civil rights activist, but the president, not so much.

Oh, and Ann Coulter is just an idiot.

16. Mario wrote:

I also want to copy Michael Eric Dyson in saying America needs to look at itself now on how it reacted against Eric Holder saying on race we act as a “nation of cowards”.

We as a country are still avoiding a conversation about race after the New York Post’s cartoon which really compared Obama to a monkey, the South Carolina official comparing Michelle to a gorilla, the new leader of the Young Republicans laughs at the racial slur towards Obama, a racist e-mail from the Tennessee showing all 43 presidents but Obama was a black space with only two eyes showing, a White Supremacist killing a Black security guard at the Holocaust Musuem, the Valley Swim Club in Philadelphia kicking out kids attending a day camp who were mostly Black saying the Black kids might “change the complexion”, and now Dr. Gates. Each issue has been quickly pushed to the side. How much more needs to happen before we realize that we need to face this issue now and quit trying to act like we are a post-racial society?

17. ~JJG~ wrote:

Logic, but of course Obama has to appease white people, but at what cost? And how long are we (Blacks) supposed to accept this sentiment from the our President or do we just simply say it’s for the greater good?

Clif, I won’t argue against the notion that maybe Obama should have used a different word than “stupid”, although it is clear in the context of his statement that he is not referring to the police officer as “stupid.” Obama now stated that he feels that both Skip Gates and the officer were wrong. That’s the easy way out. For Obama to stand in defense of a Black man it could be politically detrimental, which I understand, but he was wrong to retract his initial stance.

18. Clif Soulo wrote:

believe me, i’m just as dissappointed on one hand, because for a quick second, I thought Obama was finally gonna stand strong on something (regardless of the political bs), but several days later, i was reminded that he is in fact a politician, who (atleast as of now) when the ready to risk a dip in the political polls, he will back down. but it’s better than the bs he did when the sean bell verdict came down, so i guess it’s improvement…sorta

19. Henry D. Brown wrote:

I recently spoke with a friend who is both black and a cop working in the Chicago area where crime in the enter city is a major problem. When I asked him whether or not he would have arrested Professor Gates given what SGT Crowley said is true. He admitted that he would have, especially after Gates made the comment, you don’t know who you’re messing with. He also admitted to being a victim racial profiling and fully understands why Skip was upset initially. So, I guess we must admit to ourselves that parties were at fault and at the same time justifiable in their actions. The only person who was wholly wrong was President Obama. Being that Gates is a close friend he should have abstained from making a comment other than, “Prof. Gates is a close friend of mine. However, I don’t have all the information as to what transpired. With that being said I will refrain from making a comment.”