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Did Obama step in it over Gates and Crowley?

post #1 of 17
7/25/09 at 5:58am
Thread Starter 
I think this was one of the stupidest things the President could have done. For someone who is normally eloquent to characterize the actions of the Cambridge police officer as having acted "stupidly" in the same breath as admitting he didn't have the facts was, well, stupid. He could have said "unless there were extenuating circumstances" or he could have described the incident as "unforunate." But no, he had to rush to the defense of a Harvard buddy of his and side against the cop.

Bill Cosby made some level headed comments I thought:

Quote:
“I’ve heard about five different reports [on the details of the arrest],†Cosby said on Boston’s WZLX. “If I’m the president of the United States, I don’t care how much pressure people want to put on it about race, I’m keeping my mouth shut.â€
http://features.csmonitor.com/politi...-profs-arrest/

video here: http://wzlx.com/pages/4863089.php
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post #2 of 17
7/25/09 at 6:06am
I completely agree. Obama's "stupidly" remark was about as stupid as you can get. FWIW he did speak again on the subject and discussed how he had phoned Officer Crowley. BO made some comment about his previous comment, which didn't make much sense to me, since I never heard the words "I'm sorry" come out of his mouth.

BO is overexposed and Obama fatigue is settling in quickly for someone who's only been in ofice 6 months. I fear that if he continues as he has since the election, he will succeed in setting back race relations about 50 years.
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post #3 of 17
7/25/09 at 6:12am
I was shocked the moment it came out of his mouth. He is usually so careful with what he says. And then it's been reported that this wasn't just some question out of left field, David Axelrod asked the reporter to ask the question!

So...we're left asking ourselves if this was a momentary lapse of his famous self-control, or was it designed to do exactly what it did, which was to take the spotlight off the health reform discussion.

I think the latter is giving them too much credit for being able to see what would happen. Nevertheless, I think the statement was deliberate, although I'm not sure just who they feel they were helping. Robert Gibbs has made it clear they don't care that the FOP was unhappy, so perhaps it was just a bone thrown to the NAACP? It just seemed so out of character for a lawyer to carefully use a word that was bound to cause trouble.
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post #4 of 17
7/25/09 at 6:25am
So if Axelrod is behind the question, I'm left wondering which one is dumber, Axelrod for planting the question, or Obama for taking the bait?
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post #5 of 17
7/25/09 at 8:59am
I just can't see Axelrod doing that without being told to by someone else, Obama? I mean, he was on National TV, touting his health care plan, why in the world go, totally, off topic and say something so far out in left field?

Come on, Barack is not stupid, he had, to know the firestorm his comments would cause. He HAD to, IMO.

I don't put this in the "Biden gaffe" category.
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post #6 of 17
7/25/09 at 9:03am
Well, in keeping with "Occam's Razor," a principal I learned from intelligence types, I'm going to have to go with thinking it was something Obama felt strongly about and did not realize quite how much trouble it would cause.

Occam's Razor, by the way, says that the simplest explanation that fits all the facts is probably the correct explanation. In other words, if you're in Texas and hear hoofbeats, don't look around for zebras.
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post #7 of 17
7/25/09 at 9:04am
Robert Gibbs is an arrogant, snide, man IMO. I am not a fan of his.
His remark about the FOP supporting McCain in the election made me want to punch him in the mouth.

A comment from my brother on this subject was, "Does Obama really want to turn the military AND law enforcement in this country against him?

I do think that Barack's apology (because that is exactly what it was, an apology, whether he said the word "sorry" or not) was suitably humble.

But I still have this nagging feeling that something isn't right about all this.
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post #8 of 17
7/25/09 at 9:14am
BO is too arrogant to issue a simple apology. I don't believe he is sorry at all for what he said. I do believe he is sorry for having made a statement that caused such a furry that it detracted from his health initiative. In other words, he is not sorry for the sentiment, only for the media attention it received.

I now wonder how much pressure Crowley received to "make nice" with the President, and not stir the pot?
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post #9 of 17
7/25/09 at 3:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
I was shocked the moment it came out of his mouth.
Hubby and I both watched it. We had a duet of, "Oh No". when we heard it. It is a can of worms. it was 56 mins of a speach about health care followed by 2 mins of What?
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post #10 of 17
7/25/09 at 5:55pm
From what I have always understood Barack always knows the questions he is going to be asked in advance. Doesn't he?
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post #11 of 17
7/25/09 at 7:00pm
That's what I have heard. So it seems he wanted that question asked and gave a planned out answer. He used his position as President in order to give opinion on a local and personal matter, defending his friend. And he did it without all the facts.
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post #12 of 17
7/25/09 at 7:37pm
He probably had a brain freeze. I think it was one of the times when he forgot where he is for a minute and just said his honest opinion...kind of like the gaffe with the special olympics on jay leno (if I remember correctly??)
Not a smart move..
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post #13 of 17
7/25/09 at 8:30pm
That is what I mean about him not knowing how to act presidential.

I don't think it was a "brain freeze" if he knew the question was going to be asked beforehand.

If President Bush would have done something like that, I am telling you right now, the sky would have fallen.

But I do have to say Barack gave more of an apology than I ever thought he would.

But where the heck are his handlers, the people that are supposed to teach him what to say and what not to say? I think that "team" of his are a little bit to young and wet behind the ears.
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post #14 of 17
7/26/09 at 7:42am
So now Crowley and Gates are going to the WH to have a beer with Obama. Poor Crowley. He's damned if he does, cuz he will be ganged up on., and he's damned if he doesn't, because he will look like a poor sport. This is a no win situation for him, and he's probably going to come away cowering.

Damn Obama for sticking his nose in this situation in the first place. He needs to stay away from local issues and pay more attention to North Korea and Iran.
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post #15 of 17
7/26/09 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckblv View Post
From what I have always understood Barack always knows the questions he is going to be asked in advance. Doesn't he?
I think some one lost their press pass that day
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post #16 of 17
7/27/09 at 1:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dusty's Mom View Post
So now Crowley and Gates are going to the WH to have a beer with Obama. Poor Crowley. He's damned if he does, cuz he will be ganged up on., and he's damned if he doesn't, because he will look like a poor sport. This is a no win situation for him, and he's probably going to come away cowering.

Damn Obama for sticking his nose in this situation in the first place. He needs to stay away from local issues and pay more attention to North Korea and Iran.
You're probably right. I know I wouldn't do it.
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post #17 of 17
7/27/09 at 4:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckblv View Post
From what I have always understood Barack always knows the questions he is going to be asked in advance. Doesn't he?
I don't think that's completely true. He knows in advance who he's going to call on. You could tell that from the very first, the way he'd call a name without even knowing where the reporter was sitting. That may be a good way to be sure you spread the coverage around.

In this case, the evidence is he knew this question was coming, and he said exactly what he had planned, which really brings up a lot of questions.
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