Obama Weighs in on ‘Skip’Gate, Press Loses Their S***

President Obama held a press conference Wednesday night to shed some light on his healthcare plan.  In the final question from the press, he was asked for his take on the arrest of Prof. Henry Louis Gates, and of course… this is what the focus is on this morning.  After acknowledging that he is probably not the most impartial party, as Gates is a personal friend, Obama gave his response.

The extracted response (excerpt) after the jump.  You can read the entire press conference transcript here.

THE PRESIDENT:

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.

…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.

Not surprisingly, a lot of the headlines and blogs read something like: President Obama Calls Police Stupid!

CAN EVERYONE JUST GET A GRIP?

There IS a difference between ‘acting stupidly’ and actually being stupid.  The fact that an entity that deals exclusively in the business of words chooses to conflate the two is disconcerting at best, disgusting at worst.  But even more sobering, is that watching the press operate is a lot like that scene in Rocky II when Mickey makes Rocky train by chasing a chicken.  I suppose the one positive thing about that is that it makes Obama seem even more together while the press is totally psychotic.

The NY Times has gathered smatterings from various websites and publications, none of them in total agreement, and many of them expressing surprise, dare I say shock, that Obama would be so candid.  The last two are the most amusing… and reminded me of this: