We live in a nation that’s going to hell in a hand-basket with exploding debt, socialized medicine, soaring energy taxes and a weakened military presence, but for the past 24 hours we haven’t been talking about any of that stuff.
What have we been talking about?
Henry Louis Gates – the Harvard professor who became an international news sensation when the President of the United States decided to inject himself into his racial nontroversy.
Note that we called it a “nontroversy,” people. Which is our way of saying it’s a manufactured scandal.
To recap … black professor returns to his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts from an overseas trip. His door won’t open so he sneaks in the back. Neighbor calls the cops and says “hey, somebody’s breaking in.” Cops come by to investigate. Black professor flips out and accuses them of racism. They arrest him for disorderly contact. Black professor flips out again and threatens to sue. Charges are summarily dropped.
All done, right? We can move on to the next manufactured nontroversy, right?
Not hardly. President Barack Obama, without knowing any of the facts of the case, decided yesterday to inject himself into the nontroversy by calling the entire Cambridge Police Deparment “stupid.”
Ill-advised of him? Not in the short, short-term …
Of COURSE Obama weighed in on this ridiculousness. And whatever intermediate-term/ long-term damage he may experience as a result of having done so, he succeeded in his immediate objective …
HE CHANGED THE FRIGGIN’ SUBJECT.
Obama’s public approval ratings are currently dropping like a rock. Why? Because as much as people may have liked his “change” thing back during the campaign, they’re beginning to see what that “change” actually means in terms of specific issues.
And they don’t like it.
So … what better way to take people’s mind off of those pesky issues than a nice racial nontroversy?
Look, it’s too bad that Gates and his neighbors in liberal, lily-white Cambridge don’t know each other that well. We figured that would be a Fresh Prince neighborhood, but apparently not.
Is this thing really worth absorbing the nation over, though?
Apparently, Obama thinks so … and given his timing in playing the first-ever “Presidential race card,” we think we know why.
Everybody’s talking about this now, not his crappy poll numbers.
Update – Obama has now called the Cambridge police officer and expressed “regret” for his remarks.
By Crooner July 24, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Weakened military presence? You getting your talking points from Fox News these days?
By Margarita July 24, 2009 at 5:14 pm
THIS is what Obama said:
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
He didn’t call anyone “stupid” and you have that word in quotes as if that is exactly what he said
I believe the case could be made that the officer DID “act stupidly” (which IS different than calling someone stupid…anyone can act stupidly from time to time, that doesn’t make them all around stupid) in this situation…
1) The charges were immediately dropped, if the charges weren’t of a stupid nature why were they dropped when he said he would sue?
2) Disturbing the peace in his own home? He showed the officer his ID, proof that he was in his own home, that should have been the end of it IMHO.
By fitsnews July 24, 2009 at 5:18 pm
stupid v. stupidly? your point is stupid. and made quite stupidly.
-fits
p.s. – and yes that should have been the end of it. but Gates is alleged to have belligerently refused to let that be the end of it.
By EM July 24, 2009 at 5:43 pm
The question is: If you were the cop, would you go to the White House with Gates and have that beer with Obama?
By bob jones July 24, 2009 at 5:59 pm
fits,
if you want to be considered credible (have you any idea why the main stream news outlets didn’t echo your ‘european vacation’ scoop until someone less fanatical did? i counted the hours between…and it was plenty), it’d be wise of you to be a bit more even-keeled in your ‘reporting’. otherwise, you’ll continue to be what you are — fringe.
my best,
bob
By The Baldmongoose July 24, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Margarita,
You forgot the “stupid is as stupid does” test in your analysis. I’m sure you’re a nice person, but your argument is stupid.
p.s. I feel stupid for using the word stupid so much. Stupid me.
By FWFIV July 24, 2009 at 6:56 pm
More Hannity/Fox talking points regurgitated on Fits. There was a time when this blog contained interesting and origninal content.
By Meghan July 24, 2009 at 9:17 pm
How exactly does one “sneak” into his own house?
By sinbad July 24, 2009 at 10:07 pm
It’s all about an egomaniac Harvard professor who doesn’t respect a cop.
By The Truth July 24, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Let’s be for real here. We had a black man who wanted a little publicity. He wanted to grind an axe with a white police officer. He got in the guys face and was disrupting. I mean really! Here the neighbor called that someone was breaking in the home. The home was actually broken into about 2 weeks prior. Thus, they were justified when they saw a black man with a crowbar on the front door. Most crime in the country is committed by blacks. Thus, more of them end up in jail. Just accept it and move on! I really wish there were an answer. I think the answer is in ensuring that blacks grow up in families and not broken homes. Look around at the fathers. Many of them are fathering children by more women than they can even remember. Medicaid has allowed them to get away with this. If they were white, they would have to pay support for all of these offspring. However, with Medicaid, they avoid this. Medicaid has killed the black family unit. Now Obama wants us all on it! What a mess!
By Liberty for me July 24, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Gates is a racist and an asshole…but there is no law against that..
The police should be reprimanded for arresting him.Cops have such a power control problem.They need a class in American freedoms
By sic shillie July 24, 2009 at 11:48 pm
chaplinsky vs. New Hampshire, fighting words doctrine. Look it up, idiots. so, basically, this guy was in his house, the cops came, he showed them his ID, it confirmed his identity and residence, then the dude, totally wronged, in his own home, only questioned/viewed by the cops as a potential criminal because he was black- this is an obvious and indisputable aspect to the case- acts uppity to the officers. the police get offended that this uppity fellow is speaking to them in any other way than the way his kind are allowed- not knowing he is a high profile harvard a-hole and friend to the president- treat him the way they normally do to uppity types like him (by that, i obviously mean black people): they haul him off to jail. oops, the uppity chap was somebody who can turn up the heat by shrieking to the media and causing a ruckus. LOL. bottomline, he was only taken downtown because he got uppity with the cops. the cops actually are held to a higher standard of tolerance to soley verbal assaults, according to the supreme court’s interpretation of the first amendment of the bill of rights, if that means anything at all to anyone. the cops should have swallowed their pride, admitted that it was a total mistake, taken the higher road and apologized, defusing the situation. instead, they arrested the guy because the dude showed them disrespect. the arrest of gates was proven as totally illegitimate for no other obvious reason than that all the charges were dropped.
By bob July 25, 2009 at 7:11 am
Margarita, Are you seriously saying that because the police drop charges the person charged did not do the offense? That is, well, stupidity. Or do we need to point to specific instances of where some ass (insert solicitor or State Supreme Court Judge name here) had charges dropped because who he is rather than what he did.
By Just the Facts Ma'am July 25, 2009 at 7:15 am
Just an aside. Anyone who claims that FITS is just another FOX News avenue is completely out of their element. Will Folks is totally independent in his thoughts and presentation and certainly does not follow the political or conservative moral leanings of Hannity or anyone else at FOX. If you’re going to make an argument, at least have the balls to make your points based on fact and logic, not just throwing “is too, is not” stupidity out there.
By liz shepherd July 25, 2009 at 9:07 am
FITS, a prophet is without honor in his hometown right?????
I KEEP TELLING YOU PEOPLE THAT I HAVE THE STORY ON THE FINANCIAL CRISIS AND IT IS COMING STRAIGHT FROM SOUTH CAROLINA. I have 2500 pages of documents to back me up OK?
FIRST IT WAS THE SALAMI ATTEMPTS TO SUPPRESS ME, CHOP IT UP, DENY EVERYTHING BECAUSE SUM TOTAL IS TREMENDOUS BUT PARTS CAN BE PASSED OFF…..
but it didn’t work, so next……
DISTRACT DELAY DISCOUNT DENY
DISTRACT DELAY DISCOUNT DENY
DISTRACT DELAY DISCOUNT DENY
hello distraction~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
delaying and discounting didn’t work and distracting won’t either….
By ethel krabitz July 25, 2009 at 9:10 am
Jesus! You yell at a cop, you’re gonna get arrested! a HARVARD professor can’t figure this out?
By seymour July 25, 2009 at 9:18 am
It’s been reported that King Obama had 17 delinquent parking tickets which he refused to pay for decades to the Cambridge P.D.
Even as a US Senator, he refused to pay his delinquent tickets.
Only 2 days before announcing his presidential bid, did King Obama bother to pay his tickets.
I guess parking tickets must be racist, too.
By Margarita July 25, 2009 at 9:37 am
bob, yes, the fact that the charges were dropped faster than panties on prom night after they were challenged one time is ONE of the reasons I believe the officers in this case acted “stupidly”. It’s true, charges can be dropped for many reasons and sometimes it is a “favor” based on titles but since the guy didn’t call up and say “hey Fred, why don’t you let me off on this one?”, his lawyer called and said “are you quite sure you want to push these (trumped up, won’t hold water) charges much farther?” and BOOM…charges…what charges? That’s my opinion, I’m entitled to it, even if you think it’s stupid or stupidly (since, apparently they are the same word and mean the same thing)
By Sorry FITS, but I disagree on this one... July 26, 2009 at 12:05 am
I admire you, Will, for speaking your mind and keeping this site interesting with your colorful language. However, while you are correct that there are more important pressing issues (Obama said the same thing), I’m with Bob Jones on this one. Be a little more even keeled in your reporting on matters such as racial issues, the economy, the BIG topics. Otherwise, I LOVE this website for its reporting and reader responses.