We Now Move To The Post Post-Racial Phase Of The Obama Presidency

[AS CLOSE AS I WILL COME TO ORIGINAL:  On the question of whether the police should have simply said good night and moved on or stayed and asked a few questionS after Gates (allegedly) produced a driver's license showing his residence at that address:

Is it inconceivable that Gates was an angry husband in the midst of a ghastly separation from his wife?  Not every woman who kicks her husband out and changes the locks also gets a temporary restraining order, and perhaps the police don't check for TROs in their immediate response to a break-in call.  My question - is it the official position of domestic violence workers and the feminist movement that henceforth, police should simply move on if the apparent man of the house says all is well and refuses to answer any questions?]

At his health care press conference Obama was asked about the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates for disorderly conduct.

Shorter Obama - I don't have all the facts but I am going to side with my friend Skip Gates and show some racial solidarity by declaring the Cambridge cops to be stupid. 

Hmm, thank heaven we don't have a stupid President like George Bush, who would spout off without all the facts...

By these everything old is new again post post-racial standards I shouldn't even waste time trying to ascertain the facts either - the arresting officer, James Crowley, is white and maybe even Irish, so I'm sure he behaved appropriately.  Additional facts, such as the news that James Crowley is a bit of an expert in race relations, are hardly relevant:

Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley has taught a class about racial profiling for five years at the Lowell Police Academy after being hand-picked for the job by former police Commissioner Ronny Watson, who is black, said Academy Director Thomas Fleming.

I assume Obama and Gates will want to get to the bottom of this Cambridge cover-up.

Bill Cosby thinks Obama jumped the gun with his opinion, which is so June 2008 - where's the solidarity, Bill?

Let me reprise Obama's response at the press conference:

Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Recently Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested at his home in Cambridge. What does that incident say to you and what does it say about race relations in America?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I should say at the outset that "Skip" Gates is a friend, so I may be a little biased here. I don't know all the facts. What's been reported, though, is that the guy forgot his keys, jimmied his way to get into the house, there was a report called into the police station that there might be a burglary taking place -- so far, so good, right? I mean, if I was trying to jigger into -- well, I guess this is my house now so -- (laughter) -- it probably wouldn't happen. But let's say my old house in Chicago -- (laughter) -- here I'd get shot. (Laughter.)

But so far, so good. They're reporting -- the police are doing what they should. There's a call, they go investigate what happens. My understanding is at that point Professor Gates is already in his house. The police officer comes in, I'm sure there's some exchange of words, but my understanding is, is that Professor Gates then shows his ID to show that this is his house. And at that point, he gets arrested for disorderly conduct -- charges which are later dropped.

Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that, but I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge Police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact.

As you know, Lynn, when I was in the state legislature in Illinois, we worked on a racial profiling bill because there was indisputable evidence that blacks and Hispanics were being stopped disproportionately. And that is a sign, an example of how, you know, race remains a factor in this society. That doesn't lessen the incredible progress that has been made. I am standing here as testimony to the progress that's been made.

And yet the fact of the matter is, is that this still haunts us. And even when there are honest misunderstandings, the fact that blacks and Hispanics are picked up more frequently and oftentime for no cause casts suspicion even when there is good cause. And that's why I think the more that we're working with local law enforcement to improve policing techniques so that we're eliminating potential bias, the safer everybody is going to be.

Let's extract the President's insights:

I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry...

Angry about what?  Having the police show up at my house in response to a break-in report?  By his own account Gates was hostile and uncooperative from the outset.  Yet Gates now claims, improbably, that he is grateful for the role played by the neighbor who instigated the incident:

[Gates] has no qualms about the neighbor who called the police.

"I'm glad that someone would care enough about my property to report what they thought was some untoward invasion," Gates said. "If she saw someone tomorrow that looked like they were breaking in, I would want her to call 911. I would want the police to come. What I would not want is to be presumed to be guilty. That's what the deal was. It didn't matter how I was dressed. It didn't matter how I talked. It didn't matter how I comported myself. That man was convinced that I was guilty."

Well, Gates was convinced from the outset that the policeman had an attitude, anyway.

Back to the President:

[N]umber two, that the Cambridge Police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home...

I think the President is wading in Number Two on this one.  First, there seems to be a dispute as to whether Gates produced a drivers license (with an address) or simply a Harvard ID (no address.)

Secondly, even if Gates had produced a drivers license with that address, is it inconceivable that the license was a bit dated and that Gates was a former tenant having a bitter dispute with his landlord?  Is it inconceivable that he was an angry husband in the midst of a ghastly separation from his wife?  Not every woman who kicks her husband out and changes the locks also gets a temporary restraining order, and perhaps the police don't check for TROs in the immediate response to a break-in call.  My question - is it the official position of the feminist movement that henceforth, police should simply move on if the apparent man of the house says all is well and refuses to answer any questions?

Per the possibly self-serving police report, one of the officer's first questions was whether there was anybody else in the house.  The unwillingness of Gates to even describe that seemingly reasonable question in his own possibly self-serving account caught the keen eye of Mickey Kaus.  One might further guess that if the question had been something outrageous and provocative that Gates would not have been so coy in recounting it later.

Back to the President again:

[N]umber three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact.

Right, and so what?  As Ralph Richard Banks of the Times round table explains, this case has nothing to do with racial profiling:

This is not a classic instance of racial profiling, in which a police officer assumed that Professor Gates was breaking into a home simply because he is black. Rather, Officer James Crowley was summoned by a woman who observed two black men on the porch trying to force open the door.

The officer approached Professor Gates not as a result of a racial profile, but based on a witness’s account of a specific suspect engaged in suspicious behavior, just as we should expect him to.

I understand why Gates wants to wrap himself in the No Racial Profiling flag.  I am far from clear why the President wants to play along.

STRAY THOUGHTS: 

CAN'T MAKE THIS UP:  The arresting officer, James Crowley, refers to himself as Jim Crowley, which as a helpful mnemonic can be shortened to Jim Crow.

CUI BONO:  It's easier to see Henry Louis Gates flourishing in the new-old post post-racial America than in Barack's post-racial America of yesterday.  Secondly, where was Gates' street cred prior to this arrest?  This is from the Times round table:

In a 1995 New Yorker magazine article, “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man,” Henry Louis Gates lamented the profound distrust between African-Americans and the cops. “Blacks — in particular, black men — swap their experiences of police encounters like war stories,” he wrote, “and there are few who don’t have more than one story to tell.”

 Yet if we believe what Gates told the WaPo, he had no war stories at all:

Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. has spent much of his life studying the complex history of race and culture in America, but until last week he had never had the experience that has left so many black men questioning the criminal justice system.

Gates was arrested outside his house in Cambridge, Mass., after a neighbor reported seeing two black men in the middle-class, predominantly white area pushing against the front door.

"I studied the history of racism. I know every incident in the history of racism from slavery to Jim Crow segregation," Gates told The Washington Post on Tuesday in his first interview about the episode. "I haven't even come close to being arrested. I would have said it was impossible."

But now Gates is a hardened criminal, with a terrifying four hour stint in the Cambridge lock-up to talk about, comforted only by the presence of several Harvard colleagues and attorneys - and now maybe he will get a book or a series out of it!  It's ridiculous to suggest that Gates planned this incident from the outset, but I don't think he was afraid to ride it as it developed.

CHANGING TIMES:  Between the Ricci case in New Haven and the stupid Cambridge cops, we have come a long way from 9/11 and the national admiration for New York's Finest and Bravest.  Of course, by "we" I don't mean all of "we", just the usual suspects of the left and (pardon my redundancy) the media.

BOO HOO: John McWhorter tells of being stopped for jaywalking and explains that "I simply cannot imagine [the policeman] stopping like this if a white man of the same age in the same clothes with the same stubble had done the exact same thing".

Yeah?  Back in 1986 I was in Beverly Hills for a friend's wedding.  While out jogging at about 9 in the morning I was hassled by a cop for jaywalking and threatened with a trip downtown since I didn't have any ID.  A trip "downtown" in shorts and a t-shirt really didn't appeal to me or fit into the wedding schedule, so rather than summon forth the memory of centuries of British oppression of the Irish I employed the power of positive groveling.  Don't cop an attitude with the cops - is that rule too complicated?

But my experience suggests a helpful "diversity" course for the Cambridge cops - the tentative title will be "How to treat black people the way black people think cops treat white people".  Yeah, because I tell 'em what I really think.  Ten minutes after they are gone.

Comments

[Old Dad]

President Obama: I don't really know the facts of the case but I'll condemn the police any way....I haven't really read the provision in this trillion dollar proposal that you're referring to, but I want you to pass it anyway.

Words fail.

[Neo]

In the racial equivalent of bring a sword to a gun fight …

Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley has taught a class on racial profiling for five years at the Lowell Police Academy after being hand-picked for the job by former police Commissioner Ronny Watson, who is black, said Academy Director Thomas Fleming.
“I have nothing but the highest respect for him as a police officer. He is very professional and he is a good role model for the young recruits in the police academy,” Fleming told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The course, called “Racial Profiling,” teaches about different cultures that officers could encounter in their community “and how you don’t want to single people out because of their ethnic background or the culture they come from,” Fleming said.

I suggest that Obama tell his good buddy “Skip” Gates to “cool it”

[Dave (in MA)]

Supposedly Boston's talk station WRKO was duped by a fake Officer Crowley today on the Howie Carr show. Carr is convalescing after a hip replacement and veteran talk-show host Avi Nelson is filling in.

[Semanticleo]

For anyone under the illusion that only mouthy, obnoxious, belligerent black men are arrested by police officers trying to do their job, I suggest you disabuse yourself of your ignorance by watching a few episodes of COPS.

COPS
COPS
COPS

etc.

[matt]

The Man be keepin him down!

Mr. Gates has thin skin viz. his dust ups at Harvard on various issues, so I'm not surprised. He is an elite professor not used to being questioned by anyone. He can ornery.

It was a legitimate question for the cop and Mr. Gates seems to have driven events, it seems now, to his regret.there were multiple witnesses, so we'll see how it all plays out. For sure, though, Mr.Obama is taking it on the chin for his jumping in without all the facts.

[Holly]

Interesting link at greenfootballs about a guy tweeting the healthcare bill Obama has yet to read. LUN

[bad]

My almost arrested moment happened in college when my roomate's cousin (whom I never met} stopped by and some police showed up at the door later in the evening when my roomate had run out on an errand. The cousin looked through the peephole and saw them, then told me they were friends of his and he wanted to avoid them. When I answered the door and they asked for him I said he wasn't there.

Seems there was a warrant out for his arrest! They told me one of them would go get a warrant to search my place and if he was there I was going to jail for obstruction. I nearly peed my pants with fear but then the cousin walked out and told them I had nothing to do with him.

They let me go and I learned a lot that night.

[Thomas Collins]

One of the unwritten rules of the Cambridge-Boston area is that Haaaaaahvud profs must be given the utmost deference. If Gates did show a Hahhhhhvud ID, albeit one with no address, and Sergeant Crowley didn't accept the ID, Sergeant Crowley committed a heinous sin under the "utmost deference" standard. Although this case clearly has racial aspects, I think the class aspect is the most important one. I suspect that if the Hahhhhhhvud prof had been of pallor, he or she would have been equally outraged by Sergeant Crowley's questioning (although the pallor prof would have had to use police brutality instead of racism as the pretext for acting up).

[Step, type, step, type, step, type, type, type, step.]

Staircase philosophy-the blogging advantage.

[Ranger]

I posted this in another thread, but it obviously belongs here:

Well, Obama just http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=8153681&page=1>doubled down on his statement about the Gates arrest.

This has got to be one of the biggest nonsense statements I've ever read:

The president said he understands the sergeant who arrested Gates is an "outstanding police officer." But he added that with all that's going on in the country with health care and the economy and the wars abroad, "it doesn't make sense to arrest a guy in his own home if he's not causing a serious disturbance."

So, according to the president, given all that's going on right now we should just throw all police department standard protocalls (which exist to ensure maximum safty for police officers) out the window until things in DC and the Middle East settle down.

[Thomas Collins]

By the way, I would appreciate it if a JOMer with the proper prep school and Crimson credentials would enlighten me as to whether the proper pronunciation is Haaaaaaahvud or Hahhhhhhhhvud. I've never quite figured that out! :-))

[verner]

YAY Obama!!! We're looking at a 45% presidential approval rating by mid August at this rate!!!

Post-Racial my backside....SUCKERS!!

[bad]

Page 4 of Ranger's link makes the point that a regular guy couldn't have had the charges dismissed so quickly without a hearing as Skippy Gates were disappeared.

Ahhh, the advantages of social standing.....

[Porchlight]

How utterly delicious that Obama's chosen distracton/planted question of last evening is causing him quite a bit of blowback today AND on top of that his super duper urgent healthcare bill is stalled, too. So he didn't accomplish a single objective last night and in fact probably made things worse for himself. HA ha.

And no surprise in the ratings department - this looks to be the lowest-rated presser yet for The One.

[matt]

have been rather rambunctious in my youth I had a rather painful experience with the NYPD once. A few years later, having been in the right place at the wrong time doing the right thing (by my way of thinking, anyway)from a Eastern European public safety/national security perspective, I found that public safety and security personnel should for the most part be avoided if one is doing something that might arouse suspicion or ire, regardless of color or ethnicity.

[Dave (in MA)]

">http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/godfather/images/thumb/2/27/Moe_green.jpg/250px-Moe_green.jpg">
Pulling a "Moe Green" didn't end up so well for Moe Green, so I don't know why these pantloads are so fond of the tactic.

[Thomas Collins]

Look at it on the bright side, Ranger. Obama made Gates and Crowley the focus of the last news cycle, and now assures that media attention will continue to focus on Gates and Crowley for at least the next couple of news cycles. Obama has ensured that his push for his health plan (whatever it is) at his press conference will be overshadowed by youdon'tknowwhoyou'remessingwithgate.

[Thomas Collins]

Whoops! I wasn't trying to plagiarize you, Porchlight, on your post about blowback from Obama's Gates/Crowley remarks. Typepad seems to be a little slow tonight in updating posts (I'm deleting my cookies and clicking Refresh, but it doesn't seem to be working too well). I hadn't seen your post when I did mine.

[Fresh Air]

The president said he understands the sergeant who arrested Gates is an "outstanding police officer." But he added that with all that's going on in the country with health care and the economy and the wars abroad, "it doesn't make sense to arrest a guy in his own home if he's not causing a serious disturbance."

All that's going on with...health care? The economy? Oh yes, I forgot, there's a lot going on there... Hmmm... So if the economy is going well, and we pass your asinine bill and we win the war in Afghanistan...THEN will it be okay to arrest a guy in his own home if he's not causing a serious disturbance?

Zero is not only not smart, he is just about the dumbest elected official in Washington. No logic, no learning, no clue.

[Porchlight]

GMTA, TC! I think we are all on the same page today. And TypePad is behaving very oddly...

[Jane]

with all that's going on in the country with health care and the economy and the wars abroad, "it doesn't make sense to arrest a guy in his own home if he's not causing a serious disturbance."

For some reason I find that utterly hysterical.

I say we just get rid of the cops until Presidebt solves all the big issues. God knows we need the money we will save, Presidebt might want to have his next date in LA.

The man is a joke.

[bad]

The American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS)responding to tonsilgate:

“We, too, are in favor of evidence-based medicine that supports quality patient care. President Obama’s statement highlights the complexity of medical decisions like this. However, the AAO-HNS is disappointed by the President's portrayal of the decision making processes by the physicians who perform these surgeries. In many cases, tonsillectomy may be a more effective treatment, and less costly, than prolonged or repeated treatments for an infected throat.

“For the past several years, the Academy has been developing clinical guidelines based on evidence and outcomes research, including ‘Quality of Life after Tonsillectomy,’ a January 2008 supplement to the journal Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery. We are in agreement with the President’s statement that physicians, patients, and hospitals should make the decisions, based on the evidence, about what’s best for patient care.”

A very gracious way of saying the gummint needs to butt out...

LUN

[clarice]

The Presidebt is surprised by the Gates hoopla.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/07/white_house_cla.html>He got away with thie nonsense all thru college and in Hyde Park, whassup with this?

[Jane]

Well well well,

Apparently there was a burglary attempt at Professor Gate's home while he was in China - the vacation he was returning from when he had that horrible experience.

You would think the cops would know that people only try that stuff once.

[Julie]

I think Mr Gates was out of line. According reports, he was yelling at the officer. There is never a time when someone should be yelling at a police officer. The best thing to do is cooperate with them. They are only trying to do their job.

[Pagar]

Holly, that is a good link you put up. For those who have given up on Charles Johnson, the link goes to Little Green Footballs2. which as I understand it, is a separate blog started by some people who think Charles Johnson has gone round the bend.

[MayBee]

O/T- but here is Obama in an interview with Terry Moran for tonight's Nighline:

OBAMA: The government would play that role with respect to money that the government is spending. Right? Which it always -- it currently plays that role. That's not a change.

So Medicare and Medicaid -- those programs in which the government is involved and honing up dollars, I think taxpayers would expect that we spend that money wisely.
===========

Is "honing up" a fiscal term I just am unfamiliar with?

[bad]

I thought one honed up on a skill or honed up on knowledge.

I had no idea one could hone up dollars.

[GMax]

Skip Gates = 4 door jackass.

[Rick Ballard]

"By the way, I would appreciate it if a JOMer with the proper prep school and Crimson credentials would enlighten me as to whether the proper pronunciation is Haaaaaaahvud or Hahhhhhhhhvud. I've never quite figured that out!"

TC,

I haven't the proper credentials but I've always heard Harvard pronounced "overpriced bullshit" (accent on the penultimate syllable). Perhaps it's just a regional difference.

[PeterUK]

"So Medicare and Medicaid -- those programs in which the government is involved and honing up dollars".

Street vernacular,he means "Hoing" up dollars.

[Danube of Thought]

OT: Google "Chia Obama." Be the first on your block! Order now! Great gift idea!

[Extraneus]

According to Wiki Answers, "hone up" isn't actually correct in any sense, except possibly as a mistake for "hone in" or "bone up." Either way, neither "honing in dollars" nor "boning up dollars" makes any sense.

Now if Bush had said such a thing...

[Ranger]

You have to understand, Obama simply equates money with skill. That's how he became president!

[Rick Ballard]

Extraneous,

Huh uh. "Hone up" means to sharpen up and isn't particularly misused in this instance (he said, splitting a hair with his Buck knife).

[PeterUK]

Looks like the politicians arrested were DEMOCRATS!

[BB Key]

Gates to Crowley:
"you don't know who you are messing with"

Obama, Olgatree, et al are trying to prove that Skip was right

[windansea]

let's hear the tape :)

Law enforcement sources told ABC News that the conversation between Gates and Crowley was transmitted over Crowley's open police radio and Gates can be heard yelling.

[bad]

Juan Williams just spanked the presidebt for inserting himself into the Skippy Gates matter.

[Captain Hate]

Are any of you surprised that a Community Activist in Chief would be acting like a race baiting hustler?

[bad]

Jane, I love the term "presidebt." I copied it from you.

[matt]

oh my word, PuK...I am shocked, simply shocked....

[Rick Ballard]

Extraneous,

I left out "as gibberish" as being understood, given the speaker. I suppose I should have mentioned that..

[clarice]

I stole it without crediting her but we all knew it was Jane's so it seemed far enough. Anyone know how to do the trademark symbol?

[PeterUK]

It would be thought that after so many years of expensive education Obama would have picked up a reasonable vocabulary.

[willem]

Apparently the officers' radios were on and they captured recorded audio of Gates going foursquare pentecostal on the officers and talking about their Momma in the front yard -- after they had concluded the incident was over and were leaving.

I found reading the police report to be priceless. Sounds to me like an obsessive racialist in a napoleonic rage. It's what I would expect from someone who seems to have spent a lifetime promoting what seems little more than a postmodern derivative of victorian phrenology.

Professor Gates, Chris Rock has a lesson for you. The advice is good. (Hat Tip to AT)

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/07/dear_professor_gates.html

[Captain Hate]

It would be thought that after so many years of expensive education Obama would have picked up a reasonable vocabulary.

I wish that was the only thing his shills vastly overrated.

[Jane]

presidebt.

It's my most copied tweet, and along with making Congress subscribe to the health plan my absolute claim to fame (and we can't be sure about the health care one). I extend everyone the privilege (or is that "the right") to use it.

[MayBee]

I am thinking of honing up the term "presidebt".

[clarice]

Brava..and gracias, Ms Jane.

[Pofarmer]

I said it from the very beginning, this President is going to ignite racism in this country like no other could. It's been his stock in trade.

[Extraneus]

Wouldn't it be great to parley a racial or ethnic identity into a highfalutin career as a tenured somebody?

Just type "henry" into Google and he comes up first, the esteemed "Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research."

What a racket, huh? Who can blame the race hustlers for riding this like Monica Lewinsky? (As 0's esteemed mentor might put it.)

I'm looking forward to the audio of the professor in action. Anyone have a link to that yet?

[PeterUK]

"We Now Move To The Post Post-Rational Phase Of The Obama Presidency".

Enter the Red Queen.

[bad]

Thanks Jane. I kinda sorta been using it already so I'm glad you don't mind.

[bad]

I'm dying to hear that audio as well, Extraneous.

[Sue]

I asked Lynn Sweet a follow-up question this morning after she answered my "was it a plant" question in the negative. My follow-up has not been posted. I asked her if she knew before the press conference that Obama was going to call on her and if so, did she know she would be the last reporter to ask a question. I think she fudged her answer to me.

By Sue on July 23, 2009 11:07 AM I would also like to know if the question was a "plant" question. Obama made sure he ended with Ms. Sweet.

LYNN SWEET REPLY
the question was not a plant.
president obama had no idea what i would ask

If I had known she was going to respond personally to me, I would have been more specific.

[Mike Myers]

Racial Profiling? Cops get a report that two men are breaking into a house. They respond, find two men inside the house. WTF are they supposed to do--look for two Martians or two Venusians? They're looking for two men, they find two men--and it doesn't matter what color they were because they were the only two guys in the house. This is racial profiling? This is bovine excrement is what it is and nothing else.

[clarice]

I've asked her follow up questions and she's posted none of them--her mailbox must be overflowing. I think the Sweet-Obama tango was too obvious.And anyway it has definitely backfired.

[DebinNC]

Speaking of BO's vocabulary:

There was a report called in to the police station that there might be a burglary taking place. So far, so good, right? I mean, if I was trying to jigger into -- well, I guess this is my house now, so...

Is "jigger" (v.) a word? In Urban Dictionary a jigger is a pejorative term for a black jew (like Sammy Davis Jr.). What are the chances after 25 yrs. with Uncle Jeremiah that Obama didn't realize that.

[Extraneus]

Oh, and bad, and anyone else wondering about 0's delayed choice of a Christian church in D.C.? It's cool, not to worry, because...

Obama says he prays 'all the time' for guidance

At least when he's not answering letters.

Btw, does anyone have a link to all those answered letters? I have an old 11-volume series of "Messages and Papers of the Presidents" documenting all the spoken and written correspondence from Washington to Wilson. 0's letters must be saved somewhere, right?

[hit and run]

Presidebt™

[Captain Hate]

How many more hits can wackademia take before people start thinking WTF on spending huge amounts of money for what? Prior to this I thought that Skippy was on a higher plane than obvious scamsters such as Cornel West, Ward Churchill and the Duke Gang of 88.

[clarice]

There are an army of volunteers who under staff guidance generally respond to correspondence to the President.

[Porchlight]

Sue (and Clarice), sounds like she dodged your initial question and evaded your follow up. It sounds very similar to Nico Pitney where the reporter knew in advance they would be called on, but claim stridently that the question wasn't known to the President. I don't buy it.

[PeterUK]

"Obama says he prays 'all the time' for guidance"

Only five times a day.

[matt]

didn't the oxymoronic House Intelligence Democrats demand an inquiry into Cheney's role in the nonexistent CIA assassination program? what happened? Enquiring minds have got to know!

I demand an inquiry into the inquiry, I say!

Mr. Hastings! Ms. Schakowsky! Mr. Schiff! Mr. Reyes! I demand an explanation for your condemnatory memo on a program that was only an exercise in preparedness. Mr. Panetta! WTF?

[matt]

and I condemn your condemnatory letter to boot!

[Captain Hate]

Obama says he prays 'all the time' for guidance

Muslims observe the formal prayers at the following times:

Fajr (pre-dawn): This prayer starts off the day with the remembrance of God; it is performed before sunrise.

Dhuhr (noon): After the day's work has begun, one breaks shortly after noon to again remember God and seek His guidance.

'Asr (afternoon): In the late afternoon, people are usually busy wrapping up the day's work, getting kids home from school, etc. It is an important time to take a few minutes to remember God and the greater meaning of our lives.

Maghrib (sunset): Just after the sun goes down, Muslims remember God again as the day begins to come to a close.

'Isha (evening): Before retiring for the night, Muslims again take time to remember God's presence, guidance, mercy, and forgiveness.

[Porchlight]

0's letters must be saved somewhere, right?

Extraneus,

O is going to have the world's tiniest presidential library when all is said and done. Either that or it will be one of these new grand glass and steel palaces with nary a book or an archival storage carton in sight. It's gonna make the Clinton doublewide on stilts look like the British Library.

[Sue]

===And anyway it has definitely backfired.===

Indeed it has. What I don't understand is why she chose that particular incident to ask the race question. There is one in OK where a white OK Hwy Patrol officer choked a black EMT with a patient in the back of the ambulance. That case has been decided by IA and the officer in question has been suspended without pay. Why didn't she choose that case where the facts are already decided, instead of the one in Cambridge that directly involved Obama's friend? And how did she know Gates was a friend of Obama's? His friends list has been held close to the vest. Obama wanted that question asked. Did he owe Gates a favor?

[Jane]

Yes, we all should hone it - regularly.

[Semanticleo]

Matthews of Hardball is disemboweling chief 'birther' Gordon Liddy who is apparently catatonic and unaware of his 'old fool' status.

Don't it make y'all proud?

[hit and run]

Porchlight:
O is going to have the world's tiniest presidential library when all is said and done.

http://thevimh.blogspot.com/2008/08/obama-and-library.html>Can't help myself.

[PeterUK]

The Obama Bumper Book of Bollocks. Complete with dictionary.

[Semanticleo]

Liddy claims to have a deposition from someone in Kenya that Obama was born there.

He's not producing it.....

Racial profiling at it's best.

BTW; Y'all do know that it's 'he said, he said' in the Gates matter. Not that it would matter to you, but no witnesses have come forward to substantiate or repudiate the claims of either party. Carry on....

[PeterUK]

Is something trickling down Matthews's leg?

[hit and run]

but no witnesses have come forward to substantiate or repudiate the claims of either party.

Which is exactly why Obama was utterly correct to say the Cambridge police acted stupidly.

In the absence of facts, call the police stupid.

Works every time.

[Porchlight]

Interesting, Sue. From what I understand of Sweet, if Obama wanted something asked, she'd be a good go-to.

I hope it all blows up in their faces. This isn't January - as incurious as the press still is, it's not going to be as easy to shove this to the back of the drawer as it was a couple of months ago.

BTW I am not feeding any trolls tonight, but I do notice our little pet shows up most often on Barry's bad days.

[Semanticleo]

The RNC should put Liddy and Ollie North on the 2012 ticket. It will complete their Descent into the Maelstrom.

[Semanticleo]

My beloved Barry never has a bad day.I would rather shave my butt and show it at every street corner.

[Porchlight]

Can't help myself.

Hit, you are way ahead of me as usual!

[Mark O]

Obama is simply a man of prejudice:
He cares not a whit about facts. He has his prejudices which, to him, are simply facts. He doesn't need to read the Socialized Medicine legislation because, in his prejudices, any such bill is better than nothing. He doesn't need to know that Gates was a foul-mouthed troublemaker, he knows, in his prejudices, that the police always target black men.

He is callow and dangerous.

[Semanticleo]

Do you know why I worship The Obama? Because he is like me simple.

[Sue]

Ollie North is right up there with Dick Cheney in my heart throb books I would take either of them into battle with me. The day Oliver North testified in front of congress is the first time I stood up and said hell yeah! I've loved him ever since.

[Semanticleo]

"I don’t know – not having been there and not seeing all the facts – what role race played in that, but I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two that he Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home," Obama said in response to a question from the Chicago Sun-Times's Lynn Sweet.

Gates, Obama allowed, "is a friend, so I may be a little biased here. I don't know all the facts."

Hit; He doesn't have the facts, just his opinion. And you have yours. But without corroboration, opinion and 75 cents will purchase a ride on the bus.

In my opinion, certain personality types are attracted to law enforcement. Carrying a gun and having the weight of the law is a big part of the motivation for becoming a cop. Being in control is high on the desirability scale. I've seen enough 'cop mentality' to know that they have a problem with noncompliant people. Gates may have aggravated the situation by copping an 'attitude', but law enforcement receives a lot of training on how to dial down the acrimony, they just don't always choose to exercise that prerogative.

[bad]

May I add "shallow" to that line-up, pretty please, Mark O?

[Jane]

Hit,

I think you are being unfair in your Obama library entry. After all I'm sure he will proudly display the menus and playbills from all the Obama's date nights. Who could resist?

[Semanticleo]

Sue;

Just 'write' ollie in on yer next ballot.

[JM Hanes]

Thomas Collins:

"Haaaaaaahvud or Hahhhhhhhhvud"

If you have a Massachusetts accent, it's Haaaavud (as in "hack"). If you actually go there, it's ..... Harvard.

[Semanticleo]

"Hit; He doesn't have the facts, just his opinion. And you have yours. But without corroboration, opinion and 75 cents will purchase a ride on the bus."

Sorry, how stupid of me.As a lawyer Obama should know not to express an opinion when he doesn't have the facts.If he had done that with a case before a court the judge would have ripped him a new one.

[Semanticleo]

Sue,that is just how I feel about Obama,but in a boyish way.

[Parking Lot]

((After all I'm sure he will proudly display the menus and playbills from all the Obama's date nights. Who could resist?))

LOL!!!!!

yeah and maybe he even collect matchbooks ...

[stevesturm]

Could this be Obama's Sister Souljah moment... but in reverse?

[MayBee]

Sue- you've seen the trascript from last night, I presume:

OBAMA:Lynn Sweet. Oh. (Laughter.) Well, I said Steve Koff -- but he just stood up, huh?

Q: Yes.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's not fair. Shame on you. (Laughter.) All right, get in there real quick.

Q : -- [snip]

OBAMA:All right, I tried to make that short so that Lynn Sweet would get her last question in.

===
It kind of sounds like she'd been promised a last question.

[hit and run]

Hit; He doesn't have the facts, just his opinion. And you have yours. But without corroboration, opinion and 75 cents will purchase a ride on the bus.

I appreciate you putting me on par with the President of the United States, though I'm sure you love me less.

When I opine, I do so as a regular citizen, not the President, though.

Whether I know better or not, matters not, my opinion means nothing. Whether Obama knows better or not, is another matter, because he should.

When Obama opines, he is plainly meddling -- and of a type he is unwilling to exert say in the case of Iran.

You ok with that kind of meddling?

What's next...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3223/2742268769_face206c17_o.jpg>

[Ann]

Henry Gate's daughter is interviewed on CBS:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2009/07/23/cbs-s-smith-daughter-henry-gates-was-his-heart-broken ">eliteracegate

GATES: My father was so sad about this, and again because he's always – you know, my father might be one of the last black men on earth who actually believed in the justice system. You know, my father is a proponent of, you know, intellectualism can help you outrun the – the war on race. And I think the incident last week is a clear indication that that's not yet true.

[Semanticleo]

"In my opinion, certain personality types are attracted to law enforcement."

Though perhaps we shouldn't go into the types that go into politics and want to be the ruler of the world's only superpower.

[Porchlight]

The bottom line is that there was simply no need for Obama to offer any commentary at all. He could have said "Mr. Gates is a friend of mine, but this is a matter for local law enforcement and I don't have all the facts, so I must respectfully decline to comment." As I think Pagar mentioned earlier.

People just love to say how cool, calm, and professional Obama is. He was given a golden opportunity to demonstrate that professionalism and he choked.

[Semanticleo]

:Could this be Obama's Sister Souljah moment... but in reverse?:

In 1992 Sister Souljah made a statement to the effect that since 'black people kill black people' every day why not have just a week where 'we kill white people'.

You suggest the reverse?

Racism in all it's Southern Glory. It belongs to you folks. Marinate in it.

[Semanticleo]

"The bottom line is that there was simply no need for Obama to offer any commentary at all. He could have said "Mr. Gates is a friend of mine,therefore I have a vested interest,so it is best I do not comment on this".