President Obama Says He’s ‘Fascinated with the Fascination’ About Suds Summit But ‘This Is Not a Summit’
Email“I am, I have to say, fascinated with the fascination about this evening,” President Obama said today in the Oval Office, sitting alongside Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He wasn’t referring to the constructive conversation he was having with President Arroyo, but rather media interest in the beers he’s hoisting tonight with Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley.
The idea for the beers came when he was on the phone with Crowley last Friday, the president recounted.
“Maybe I’ll have a beer in the White House some day,” Crowley said, according to the president.
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Obama said he responded.
The president said he’s heard the event called the “Beer Summit.”
“It’s a clever term,” the president said, “but this is not a summit, guys. It’s three folks having a drink at the end of the day and hopefully giving people an opportunity to listen to each other. And that’s really all it is.
“This is not a university seminar,” said the president who last week suggested this would be a “teachable moment.”
“It’s not a summit,” the president continued. “It’s an attempt to have some personal interaction when an issue has become so hyped and so symbolic that you lose sight of just the fact that these are people involved, including myself, all of whom are imperfect.”
Said the president, “hopefully instead of ginning up anger and hyperbole, you know, everybody can just spend a little bit of time with some self-reflection and recognizing that everybody has different points of view.”
Concluded Mr. Obama, “I would be surprised if you guys all make this the lead — as opposed to a very important meeting we just had with one of our most important partners in the world — but the press has surprised me before.”
– Jake Tapper and Karen Travers
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Uh huh. Just “three folks having a drink at the end of the day”. Plus Secret Service, plus a few lawyers for Gates, a lawyer AND a union rep for Sgt. Crowley. Just a few guys having a beer. Right.
Posted by: Stoutcat | July 30, 2009, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
So this isn’t a “teachable moment” anymore?
Posted by: Sad | July 30, 2009, 4:31 pm 4:31 pm
I predict the most stilted and uncomfortatble round of suds in the history of brewing.
Posted by: mesquito | July 30, 2009, 4:42 pm 4:42 pm
“It’s an attempt to have some personal interaction when an issue has become so hyped and so symbolic that you lose sight of just the fact that these are people involved, including myself, all of whom are imperfect.”
Said the president, “hopefully instead of ginning up anger and hyperbole, you know, everybody can just spend a little bit of time with some self-reflection and recognizing that everybody has different points of view.”
====================
Sounds like the President did learn his lesson from this teachable moment.
Posted by: MayBee | July 30, 2009, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
It’s a photo-op and an attempt to stop the bleeding.
Obama needs to accept reality.
Americans are not as stupid as they were a few months ago–just look at the polls.
Posted by: tyler | July 30, 2009, 4:54 pm 4:54 pm
It has a lot of attention because the President still has not apologized right? If he had come out and said he was sorry, and that he actually acted stupidly, this would be over and would have made much more sense to send the police department a dozen 12 packs of beer WITH an apology.
Posted by: KR | July 30, 2009, 4:57 pm 4:57 pm
Sounds like a photo op picnic
Posted by: Becky | July 30, 2009, 4:59 pm 4:59 pm
“you know, everybody can just spend a little bit of time with some self-reflection and recognizing that everybody has different points of view.”
Yea, now that he’s got the rest of the country screaming at each other.
Posted by: Traffic Cop Timmy | July 30, 2009, 5:02 pm 5:02 pm
Obama knows the Gates case had nothing to do with racial profiling.
Obama/Gates tried to make it about that and got a big surprise from the public.
I bet Obama had his racial profiling speech written–itching to go on TV and make another major speech.
He’s addicted to facetime on TV.
Posted by: tyler | July 30, 2009, 5:02 pm 5:02 pm
Bud lite.
Obama is such a regular guy.
He’s just like us.
So when do Obama and Gates leave to vacation at Martha’s Vineyard?
Bet they’ll grill some hot dogs–or $100 a lb. steak.
Obama is a fraud.
And America is awake.
Posted by: max | July 30, 2009, 5:08 pm 5:08 pm
Kudos to the officer for being so gracious and willing to help smooth things over. However, this isn’t going to bridge any racial gaps since it wasn’t about race to begin with. The home owner, instead of saying “thank you for checking my house”, refuses to give the police officer ID and goes hysterical on him. Officer had no idea what he was dealing with other than an out of control individual who obviously flunked Manners 101 and thinks he is above the law as a big shot. The ONLY reason they are claiming race as an issue is that covers up just how badly Obama’s friend misbehaved. An over privileged Harvard professor abused a police officer who was just doing his job. He is the one who should apologize not the officer.
Posted by: Pepper | July 30, 2009, 5:12 pm 5:12 pm
I was worried that Crowley was naive and suckered in by Obama.
By taking his lawyer Crowley shows Obama that he isn’t some gullible starstruck pushover that will get walked on.
Posted by: bailey | July 30, 2009, 5:13 pm 5:13 pm
The police was doing thier job.
Posted by: whiterivertim | July 30, 2009, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm
Obama caused this whole thing.
His arrogance and the need to stick his nose in everything.
From telling us what car to drive, food to eat, temperature to set our thermostats, how to exercise, the health care we need and on and on.
He is a contol freak that needs to consider Cuba or Venezuela as a place to call home—not the land of the free.
Posted by: jack | July 30, 2009, 5:34 pm 5:34 pm
So now its now big deal? Well, of course, it isn’t! Barry’s got nobody to blame but himself. He got the mountain out of that molehill. Now he can live with it.
Posted by: Dirt | July 30, 2009, 5:45 pm 5:45 pm
“The home owner, instead of saying “thank you for checking my house”, refuses to give the police officer ID and goes hysterical on him.”
_____________________________________
That is not true. The officer arrested the man AFTER the man had provided his ID.
According to the police report, the man was upset and yelling (in his own home after providing ID) and the police officer suggested he step outside if he wanted to continue the exchange. The man came outside and was arrested by the police for yelling outside.
We’re also finding out more facts as this goes along – we now know the woman who called 911 says the police lied on the police report.
Who knows what else REALLY happened? You can guess and pretend you know – but you do not know what happened.
What we do know is that a man was arrested at his own home for yelling at a police officer, something that is not illegal under Mass. law.
Seems to me there’s some blame to go around here, and the police might well have acted stupidly. Arresting someone for something that is not illegal, seems stupid to me.
Posted by: danita | July 30, 2009, 5:55 pm 5:55 pm
danita..The man was handcuffed when he proceeded to follow the officer out of the house yelling at the officer….NOW if your the cop do you ignore the situation and hope this guy does not go back into the house and get a gun and begin shooting up the neighborhood because he is so angry or do you use caution and cuff this guy for the safety of the public and possibly the offender as well. Keep in mind you have no idea who this guy really is and what his history is….Hmmmmmmm that’s a toughie all right….Hand me the cuffs…
Posted by: Parallex View | July 30, 2009, 6:18 pm 6:18 pm
Parallex_View . . .
“The man was handcuffed when he proceeded to follow the officer out of the house yelling at the officer”
_______________________________________
No according to the police report. Read it.
Posted by: danita | July 30, 2009, 6:26 pm 6:26 pm
Where was the profiling? The police went to investigate a specific incident at a specific residence. The people that were involved in the incident were black. It’s not like the police pulled them over or stopped them in the neighborhood to ask what they were doing. More PC, victimization non-sense. America can’t move on until everyone does.
Posted by: andy | July 30, 2009, 6:28 pm 6:28 pm
andy . .. .
The profiling is slowly being revealed. The 911 caller says she did not speak about ‘black men’ breaking in and did not speak to officer Crowley at the scene.
Yet Crowley has her profiling the men as ‘black’ – she absolutely denies it.
Seems very possible Crowley hung the ‘black men’ profiling on the 911 caller to make things a lot easier on himself after he made the arrest.
Posted by: danita | July 30, 2009, 6:33 pm 6:33 pm
Obama once again covers himself, with the Beer Summit. He displays his racism on a prime time Obama Show. Then invites the two parties to meet with him…and they are all “imperfect.” Maybe since Biden just showed up, he will get drunk and since ‘The Villages’ song. And afterwards, Obama hopes everyone else in America drinks the Kool-Aid.
Posted by: clint | July 30, 2009, 7:05 pm 7:05 pm
The only thing missing in this debate is
“what are the individual protections to privacy enshrined in our constitution?”
The Forth Amendments protects citizens from unlawful searches from those in power.
We may respond emotionally but the solution lies only by following the constitution and the law of the land!
Posted by: Bill | July 30, 2009, 8:01 pm 8:01 pm
WHAT A WASTE THIS WHOLE AFFAIR WAS – AT A TIME WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY MORE IMPORTANT ISSUES TO CONSIDER. I SEE THAT THE 911 NEIGHBOR HAS FINALLY CONFIRMED THE 911 CALL IN WHICH SHE WAS ASKED TWICE RE RACE OF INTRUDERS. SHE FINALLY SAID, “I’M NOT SURE.” SHE ALSO SAID THAT SHE HAD NOT SPOKEN UP OUT OF FEAR FOR HER SAFETY.
Posted by: Temagami | July 30, 2009, 9:20 pm 9:20 pm
“I am, I have to say, fascinated with the fascination about this evening,”
“Watch ME.”
“Pay attention to ME.”
“It’s all about ME.”
Posted by: drjohn | July 30, 2009, 10:40 pm 10:40 pm
Obama: “I have always believed that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart.”
“Miller Lite”
Posted by: drjohn | July 30, 2009, 10:41 pm 10:41 pm
“I am, I have to say, fascinated with the fascination about this evening,”
That’s why he had a photographer at the ready to document this historic event.
Posted by: drjohn | July 30, 2009, 10:43 pm 10:43 pm
The president says he’s fascinated by
the fascination about the so-called
“Suds Summit”.
Well I’m fascinated that he still
Doesn’t Get It!
There was no need for any kind of
get together or meeting!
All President Obama had to do was
admit that he was wrong to comment
on something before knowing all of the
facts and leave it at that.
The Liberal News Media always complained
that President Bush never admitted to
making any mistakes.
It appears that President Obama has the
same Malady. Yet we hear few complaints
from the Liberal News Media! Why?
Posted by: reaganfan | July 31, 2009, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm