Obama, Is Your Wright Side Showing?

The police associations voiced their unanimous support for Sgt. Crowley today in a press conference, stating that President Obama “used the right adjectives, but directed (them) to the wrong party” and asked for both President Obama and Governor Patrick to “make an apology to all law enforcement officers.”

Consequently, due to the “unfortunate” ”media frenzy” ignited by his own words, President Obama made a surprise appearance in today’s daily press briefing to inform America that he just spoke with Sgt. Crowley.  Obama stated that this is a “teachable moment” for all to take more time to listen however he “continues to believe” it was an “overreaction” and that “Professor Gates probably overreacted as well.”  Obama added, the “fact that this garnered so much attention is a testimony that these issues are still sensitive.”  According to Press Secretary Gibbs, the telephone call was a ”five minute conversation” although there was no confirmation from Obama or Gibbs of an apology.  During this telephone conversation, Obama extended an offer for Sgt. Crowley and Professor Gates to “have a beer” with him at the White House.

For the President of the United States to comment on a local police matter during a healthcare press conference certainly was peculiar, though mostly disturbing.  For those who believe this was staged to sidetrack the topic of the morning newspapers, the strategy would be a success although the backlash was not anticipated. What the President does not seem to understand, is that Americans generally support the rule of law, including standard operating police procedures, regardless of race. 

President Barack Obama elevated the dispute when he said Wednesday that Cambridge police “acted stupidly” during the encounter. Obama stepped back on Thursday, telling ABC News, “From what I can tell, the sergeant who was involved is an outstanding police officer, but my suspicion is probably that it would have been better if cooler heads had prevailed.” AP Today

“I believe that Sgt. Crowley acted in a way that is consistent with his training at the department and consistent with national standards,” said Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas. “I do not believe his actions were in any way racially motivated . . . I think he did his best to de-escalate the situation.”

The facts show the only inflammatory behavior exhibited in connection with this incident requiring a “cooler head” was perpetrated by President Obama and his friends Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, who implied the arrest by officer Sgt. James Crowley was racially motivated  and  Governor Deval Patrick, who stated, “In some ways this is every black man’s nightmare and a reality for many black men,” Patrick told a crush of reporters at an impromptu press conference in a hallway at the State House.

Obama simply fueled these remarks during his healthcare presser by adding “there’s a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That’s just a fact.”

President Obama concluded with an arrogant broad attack, assuming all police officers are racist, by stating “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.” 

Without a doubt, these comments will negatively affect the efforts of our police departments and our communities striving as a team to fight crime.

As Howie Carr stated today in the Boston Herald “How many billions have been spent on McGruff the Crime Dog, Neighborhood Watch and “See Something, Say Something” – all designed to get people to call 911 when they see a possible crime in progress. So a cop responds, and gets dressed down by the president of the United States.”

“I think that kind of pressure coming from the commander in chief, coming from the president of the United States, can’t help but put pressure on an investigation and affect its objectivity,” said Tom Drechsler, a Boston attorney who has represented numerous police officers facing criminal and civil rights charges. Boston Herald July 24, 2009.

 We are all aware of Obama’s close relationship with “uncle” and “mentor” Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr.  Clearly, this situation begs the question, are Obama’s true beliefs seeping out during these off-the-cuff remarks? 

After Rev. Wright left Obama’s campaign as a spiritual advisor, due to his inflammatory sermons, such as “God Damn America” Obama asked “the American people” to “trust” that “my values, my ideas…in terms of bringing the country together will override guilt by association.” MSNBC March 14, 2008.

Frankly, President Obama’s remarks that any American would be “angered” by police asking for identification to secure their home, that police acted “stupidly” for carrying out their duties and by asserting that all (white) police officers need racial profiling training, have an obvious racial undertone which warrants a second look at ‘guilt by association.’ 

 “Barack knows what it means, living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people,” Wright said.