Obama Creates Distraction With Cambridge Police and Buddy

Well it seems there is no end to the distractions that keep steering the attention of the American people away from the important issues of the day. I’m beginning to suspect that President Obama may actually be enjoying these distractions, even if he is largely responsible for them.

Take the recent snooze fest that was billed as a “press conference” on the proposed healthcare reform, for example. At the very end of the conference, Obama calls on Lynn Sweet from the Chicago Sun Times for the last question of the night and, loe and behold, it’s about the arrest of a black professor named Henry Louis Gates in Cambridge, MA. Ordinarily such an arrest might seem trivial and certainly not relevant to a nationally broadcast press conference with the President of the United States, but as it turns out, Professor Gates, described as a “scholar,” is a personal friend of President Obama, so the president had plenty to say on the matter.

“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's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact," Obama concluded.

Obama’s decision to characterize the Cambridge police as acting “stupidly” for arresting his buddy is quite revealing. In recent weeks, he has remained silent on topics such as the CEO bonuses and the election protests in Iran, stating he needed more time to assess the facts. But right out of the box he comments on a local matter in Cambridge involving civilians, and during a press conference that was supposed to talk about health care, no less.

With the healthcare discussion sending many folks off into a deep visit to the Land of Nod, my cynical side has to wonder: Was Obama’s decision to wade into obviously controversial territory by design, or is it really that hard for him to pass up an opportunity to engage in racial politics? Or was this the perfect distraction at a time when Congress is trying to pass the most radical and sweeping overhaul of healthcare in our nation’s history? Whatever the case, it has come to light that the arresting officer is highly respected by both black and white officers in his department AND was hand-picked by a black police commissioner to teach recruits about avoiding racial profiling. So now, in an effort to engage in damage control, the President of the United States is left hosting a beer party for the two estranged parties. Meanwhile, what’s to become of the gazillion dollar healthcare reform bill? Who cares… just pour me another cold one!