I agree with Vanderleun that the "press conference" last night was a fellatio fest of seemingly prepared and rehearsed questions with lying responses (lying is back in fashion), but the O missed an amazing opportunity. Among the softballs and adulation was the question about Prof. Gates' arrest for disorderly conduct with police officers.
The correct answer was this: "Our American police officers respond to calls of all sorts, never knowing what sort of situation they are walking into. Their job is to protect the honest and the innocent, and our job as citizens is to give them the respect and gratitude they deserve for doing that."
In my view, Gates should have thanked the officers for wanting to protect his house. Most people know that it is never wise to give shit to police officers, regardless of the situation. Cops are always a bit edgy on the job - and rightly so.
And the "Don't you know who I am?" approach only works for Kennedys: they own the copyright.
Update: The O didn't mean to call the cops "stupid." Of course not.
Update: The cop comes across as more professional than the O:
"Mister Gates was given plenty of opportunities to stop what he was doing. He didn't. He acted very irrational, he controlled the outcome of that event."
"There was a lot of yelling, there was references to my mother, something you wouldn't expect from anybody that should be grateful that you were there investigating a report of a crime in progress, let alone a Harvard University professor."
According to the police report, Crowley asked Gates to talk outside, to which he responded "Yeah, I'll speak with your mama outside."
