The Gibbs Gaggle: Obama Regrets Media ‘Obsession’ Over Skip Gates Comment

Obama’s lack of understanding can be explained in two words: Reverend Wright.

ABC News:
“On the emerging issue of whether health care reform will lead to taxpayer-funded abortion, Gibbs called this a “red herring,” arguing that medical procedures are already tax deductible.”
Could you please elaborate? Are abortions specifically tax deductible or medical procedures in general?

What a lot of nonsense is getting whipped up by the wingnuts over next to nothing. I’m confident that any of our fine upstandin’, gun totin’, authority hatin’ white citizens would have reacted with civility, restraint, understanding and grace had they been put in the same position as Professor Gates.

I think it’s pretty funny. I agree that he should have had all the facts before making any sort of comment. However, what he said regarding whether or not it was actually necessary to handcuff the cane dependent man in his own home has some basis.

Obama liked it better when he could get the whole press talking about how many houses John McCain has.

First of all, someone who calls others a derisive, meant-to-be-insulting name in an argument has already lost.
Most people, white, black or any variation there of, would be thankful and a little embarrassed that the police would have to check on someone breaking into their house, even if it is a misunderstanding.
Most would give the police their drivers license first, not a work ID which has no address on it. Most would not expect to be “recognized”. “You don’t know who you’re messin’ with.”
It was a possible home invasion. No one is above the law.
Gates made it about race. Obama upped the ante. The police officer should be given an apology and Obama and Gates should be sent to “Sensitivity Training”.

Ryan C:
What the hell point are you trying to make? Have you forgotten Obama’s a Democrat?

The pres was wrong. He came off as a race baiter just like other African Americans who use it as a political and PC tool. The race hate is pushed at non-whites because without it social justification will not happen. God forbid people really get along. Yes, there are haters in all races, but real change happens in each of our hearts.

How long before the liberals, with full cooperation of the media, start digging in to this police officer’s past in an attempt to smear him and his family? Simply calling him a racist and stupid won’t be enough for Obama and his followers.

“As usual, Ryan, you are way, way off base”
Well let’s see.
“Obama’s lack of understanding can be explained in two words: Reverend Wright.”
“Listening to Rev. Wright for 20 years did rub off.
He hates america, has nothing good to say about our nation, its getting better all the time.”
“So the Race-Baiter In Chief is saying that the press is obsessed with race?”
Looks like I was dead on.

How long before the liberals, with full cooperation of the media, start digging in to this police officer’s past in an attempt to smear him and his family?
~~~
I’m pretty sure that is going on as I write this. Hopefully the MA police and the police unions will make clear the consequence of such actions.
I really don’t think this president can spare every cop (and firefighter) in this country.
He’s got the professors tho. I’ll give him that.

A black officer handcuffed and arrested a 58 year old (elderly? LOL) white man after a young black woman called 911 having observed said man wedging his shoulder into a door, appearing to be breaking into a residence.
The suspect asked the officer if he was being questioned because he was “a white man in America.” He also threatened the officer by saying “you don’t know who you are dealing with.” When asked to come outside onto the porch the man taunted the black officer with, “yeah, I’ll speak with your mama outside.”
The man persisted being beligerant, yelling, and refusing to follow the officers instructions. As the situation was escalating, the officer arresed the man for disorderly conduct.
Yes, I believe it could happen.

“Close your eyes and picture reverse rolls same outcome … ARREST
“Black officer [suspects break-in and then] handcuffs and arrests prominent white elderly professor (your dad) walks with a cane on his porch for talking, or yelling back to him……..”
________________________________________
Interesting perspective . . .

Well media, now that Obama has blamed you for causing the backlash over his stupid comments…
Does he still make you weak in the knees?
Was he worth losing your integrity and credibility?

Posted by: Ryan C | Jul 24, 2009 1:34:27 PM
or we could be saying, “We told you so.”

Shows how arrogant, naive and clueless Obama really is to believe this wouldn’t cause a huge reaction.
Some Americans still appreciate the truth.

larry:”Was he worth losing your integrity and credibility?”
They lost their integrity while they were cheerleading Bush’s efforts to take care of Sadaam’s massive store of chemical and biological weapons and on-the-brink-of-a-mushroom-cloud nuclear weapons program.

Besides leftist professors (who loved him anyway) and frustrated liberals (what to do with their “everyone’s a racist” meme, now that we have a black president), Obama has cemented his “street cred” with the very same people who cheered about the OJ verdict and descended upon Jena, LA. (Remember when some said he wasn’t black enough?)
It’s a win/win for Obama. His core base applauds his remarks as speaking the truth. Don’t get bogged down in the details or the facts. Besides, how many police officers are there in America anyway…

“How long before the liberals, with full cooperation of the media, start digging in to this police officer’s past in an attempt to smear him and his family?”
What you mean the media reports about how he is well liked? Or how he gave CPR in an effort to save Reggie Lewis?
The officer acted stupidly, he does not appear stupid or evil. Obama’s comments were politically clumsy since they allowed this distraction from more important issues, but not inappropriate.

My son gets hassled by the police all the time because he has a car commonly used for “drifting.” He gets approached in parking lots and pulled over for safety checks. No tickets, they just let him know they have their eyes on him. Guess what? He’s WHITE.

I bet Obama’s speechwriters are busy writing Major Race Speech Part II.

Ryan C: Rush Limbaugh?
Close, Jesse Jackson, Jr.

“Obama doesn’t like our country.
He wants to pay us back for everything he perceives as a misjustice.”
Looks like I was way off in those accusation of the GOP fanning the flames of racial tension.

“the President regrets the “obsessive” coverage that his comment on Skip Gates has caused.”
Awww . . . but He doesn’t regret setting up the question with Chicago groupie Lynn Sweet?
When things don’t go their way, the Obama organization ALWAYS blames somebody else . . .
Was that blue eye shadow He was wearing, at the press performance? It didn’t look all that great.

Sure but I do enjoy politics and this is one of the few sites I make comments on.

jhw539: “The officer acted stupidly, he does not appear stupid or evil.”
You should not judge what a police (fire, rescue) officer does when they are in the middle of a possibly dangerous situation, with no idea what the outcome will be. And I doubt they were thinking “is this politically correct?” You do not know what went on that day, only what the media has told you and you said the media has no integrity.
“Obama’s comments were politically clumsy since they allowed this distraction from more important issues, but not inappropriate.”
While I agree the comments were clumsy, I disagree that it was inappropriate. People in positions of power HAVE TO watch what they say. Like it or not, that is one of the responsibilities of having power.

“Oh come on, Ryan C, Lynn Sweet has quite the reputation in Chicago for her ability to detect racism in the smallest of dust motes.”
With who Freepers?

“Lynn Sweet is pretty fair, very much like Tapper.”
She USED to be.
After the election, not so much.

“No, ryan, not with Freepers, but rather with everyday people who are tired of having all of life portrayed through the prism of race and racism. Sweet loves crying wolf.”
Yeah I don’t think of Freepers as everyday people either.
But I disagree with you on Sweet as I think she has asked tough questions of Obama and is pretty fair.

“Yes, you are way off. You don’t get it.”
Well let’s see.
“These are “Obama’s perceptions” – it is how he sees the world. He thinks that so many have been wronged including himself due to his transitory up-bringing by white grandparents after abandonment by his father and mother and long struggle to find a place in which he fit in). He went to some of the finest schools in the country where some many had so much more than he. He resents it to this very day. He is a class warrior and draws power by “standing up” for the “downtrodden” and those “who didn’t get breaks in life” (although his approach is to bring society down rather than raising it up). He is a Marxist and an acolyte of Alinsky. Pulling the race card is just another tool in his toolbox.”
Guess I was totally wrong about the Republicans are trying to frame OBama as an aggrieved black man who hates his country.
The stupid it burns.

If you just watched TV, Pres. Obama is back peddling just as fast as he can.

“Guess I was totally wrong about the Republicans are trying to frame OBama as an aggrieved black man who hates his country.”
Did I mention race? No, I did not. You (as usual) inserted race. But he does seem to dislike much about this country.
Have you been discriminated against? Perhaps it would explain why you are so quick to pull the race card.

“Did I mention race? No, I did not. You (as usual) inserted race. But he does seem to dislike much about this country.”
In the first 5 comments right wingers brought up race calling Obama a race baiter and mentioning Rev Wright.
You responded to my response to that which was that the Republicans are encouraging the framing of Obama as anti-white (in this case opportunistically but its fits with the pattern of the election and since he was inaugurated) in a cynical ploy for votes.
Then after disagreeing with my premise you basically did the same exact thing as the posters I originally responded to.

“Have you been discriminated against? Perhaps it would explain why you are so quick to pull the race card.”
Me? I am a white male age 25 to 40, everyone listens to me.
But I have seen the different treatment handed out when out with friends that are not white, whether business or the police.
I have seen racism at my place of employment.
Which is why it baffles me when people shrug it off.

“In the first 5 comments right wingers brought up race calling Obama a race baiter and mentioning Rev Wright. You responded to my response to that which was that the Republicans are encouraging the framing of Obama as anti-white (in this case opportunistically but its fits with the pattern of the election and since he was inaugurated) in a cynical ploy for votes.”
Barack Obama IS a race-baiter!

“Barack Obama IS a race-baiter!”
So you agree with my premise that the Republicans are making a cynical ploy to cast Obama as anti-white is hopes of gaining votes in 2010.

So, Obama now tells us this was a “teachable moment.” I hope he learned a thing or two in the process.

“Note that Gates started The Root website, which was quite helpful to Obama in co-opting “black” criticism of The One when He was a mere candidate.”
This is new since I did not see the Root mentioned by anyone during the campaign.

So, Obama now tells us this was a “teachable moment.”
It’s gonna be a looong teachable moment for The One, for Lynn Sweet, for Henry Louis Gates, for David Axelrod, and for Deval Patrick, anyway.
Sometimes, people are just too darned smart for their own good: could Gates have done this on purpose to set up a “racism” story, with an eye to saving The One’s bacon on so-called “health care reform”?
If so, it went waaay wrong.
Why the heck didn’t Gates go to a neighbor’s house, or use a cell phone to summon a locksmith, when he found himself locked out? In other words, how did it come about that Gates was “locked out”, with no hidden spare key, etc.

Ryan C: “The stupid it burns.”
Obama offers apology.
Is that what you meant, Ryan?

Rican:”You should not judge what a police (fire, rescue) officer does when they are in the middle of a possibly dangerous situation, with no idea what the outcome will be”
Yes, yes I should. We are not a police state.
The last time I sat on a jury (a fun 4 weeks), every member of that white, middle class suburbanite panel assumed the officer’s testimony did not meet the reasonable doubt threshold. We started from the assumption that the officers were lying (information we gained after the trial was over, supported this belief).
Why do you think that was? Do you think it serves justice to have officers unquestioned when they arrest someone for being disrespectful, protected by unions regardless of their infraction, held and honored as above the law themselves – and then viewed as liars by the jurors who ultimately put people behind bars? I don’t. In our system, ultimately police command respect proportional to the standard they are held to.

Bet says: “Why the heck didn’t Gates go to a neighbor’s house, or use a cell phone to summon a locksmith, when he found himself locked out? In other words, how did it come about that Gates was “locked out”, with no hidden spare key, etc.”
It really doesn’t matter why he was trying to break into his own house, that is his own business. What does matter is how he responded to the police investigating a possible burglary, and that is where Gates is a total jerk and he really shows us how much a Harvard education is worth.

BO isn’t surprised that the media created a controversy…
He’s probably stunned that he got negative publicity from the press.

jhw539 says: “We started from the assumption that the officers were lying (information we gained after the trial was over, supported this belief).”
Well, so much for having an unbiased and open mind. You took your preconceived judgement and prejudices into the courtroom and whether you were correct or not on the veracity of the officer, you did a disservice to our justice system.

Gates (on theroot}:
“My driver and I carried several bags up to the porch, and we fiddled with the door and it was jammed. I thought, well, maybe the door’s latched. So I walked back to the kitchen porch, unlocked the door and came into the house. And I unlatched the door, but it was still jammed.”

If you break it, disown it.

NOBAMACARE
Do not make Excuses for that pathetic piece of garbage Bush they Knew there was no WMDS That is not why Bush/Cheney started that war

angie says: “Do not make Excuses for that pathetic piece of garbage Bush they Knew there was no WMDS That is not why Bush/Cheney started that war”
Wow, Angie must be really angry or something else, to account for the odd capitalization errors mid-sentence and and I really like, “they Knew there was no WMDS” (sic) which is really a great example of the tragedy that our public school system has become. Angie, why did “they” start the war? I am sure it had nothing to do with Saddam being a state sponsor of terrorism, and that he was constantly refusing to comply with UN inspection requests regarding said WMDs. Bush lied people died sounds good to the left as they chant it, but it does not mean it is rational and even viewed as valid by the majority of Americans. Get over your Bush hatred and cheer for Obama if you choose, or not.

“Angie, there were WMD’s in Iraq. Saddam Hussein had used chemical weapons against his own people. Chemical weapons are WMD’s.”
Umm that was in the 1980′s, ya know when Saddam was glad handing with Rumsfeld and had the support of the Reagan administration.
Saddam’s WMDs were systematically destroyed by the US and the UN over the course of 10 years post the 1st Gulf war.
In 2003 there wasn’t anything left and we knew that.
“They didn’t find them when they (the UN) were allowed to look that doesn’t mean they weren’t there and were moved. Chill.”
Chill? Over 4000 Americans are dead. Over 100,000 innocent Iraqis are dead. To say nothing of the tens of thousands of both groups who have been maimed.
All for a country that was no threat to us and had nothing to do with 9/11 despite the Bush admin’s attempts to conflate the two.

de Nies:
“The President has not and has no plans to speak to either Gates or the officer involved in the Cambridge incident.”
He shouldda STUCK with that. But noooo, He’s slopped over into total slapstick.

Saddam said that he had every intention of reconstituting his WMDN program once he got the sanctions dropped. The Iraq war was going to get fought sooner or later.
And now Obama is setting the stage for losing Afghanistan.

“The Iraq war was going to get fought sooner or later.”
______________________________________
More revisionist history by an apologist for the Bush Republicans.
For sure, just like the Bush administration said ‘the mushroom cloud’ is looming. Lies.

“Every person on this planet, no matter their intelligence level, has acted stupidly numerous times.”
It’s doubtful, however, that ANYone has ever equalled the acting-stupidly “race” play Obama — with a coy straight-man set-up from Chicago media-marm Lynn Sweet — tried to run at the “press conference” performance.
(Not since 1938, anyway, when Wrong Way Corrigan read his compass wrong and flew to Ireland, instead of to Long Beach.)

If you break it, disown it.
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why are the press oseessed with my stupid comment? uh, casue you intentionally brought it up with a planted question and inserted yourself. wow. he’s starting to show some signs of a deteriorating mental state. 25th amendment time for mr biden. soon.