POTUS Obama Says Cops Who Arrested Gates "Acted Stupidly" Vs Nixon's "Manson Guilty"

[MattusMaximus]

Unfortunately (or fortunately?), that's always going to be the nature of politics. If you are the currently elected leader of a country, you will be evaluated for every noun, verb, and adjective you say. (Don't get me started on the adverbs!)

Too true. This stupid (ha ha) flap reminds me about the hubbub concerning Don Imus's "nappy headed ho's" comment. That was dumb then, this is dumb now

I'm still just waiting on a US President to drop an F-bomb during a press conference. Now THAT will be a news day!

When that day comes, I'm throwing a party, because that's the day the F-bomb can safely come out of the closet!

 

[MattusMaximus]

Apparently, VP Biden's hoof-and-mouth disease is an affliction that is contagious. It may be to late to quarantine Obama.

Well, some people have a greater susceptibility to foot-in-mouth disease. If this is Obama's first real gaffe like this, I think he's been pretty well inoculated against Biden

 

[Personal Grudge]

Apparently, VP Biden's hoof-and-mouth disease is an affliction that is contagious. It may be to late to quarantine Obama.

I generally see the "sticking foot in mouth" moments to be great entertainment, and I don't see this trend ending.

President Bush was, in my opinion, great at saying idiotic things that made great entertainment. My teeth would grind each and every time he said the word nuclear (Noo-kyoo-lurr).

At the same time, I hope that most of us do not associate the occasional gaffs with an "inability to govern". If I was punished for every stupid "foot in the mouth" moment I had, I'd be serving a life sentence.

 

[MattusMaximus]

I generally see the "sticking foot in mouth" moments to be great entertainment, and I don't see this trend ending.

President Bush was, in my opinion, great at saying idiotic things that made great entertainment. My teeth would grind each and every time he said the word nuclear (Noo-kyoo-lurr).

At the same time, I hope that most of us do not associate the occasional gaffs with an "inability to govern". If I was punished for every stupid "foot in the mouth" moment I had, I'd be serving a life sentence.

Excellent point, PG.

 

[Cavemonster]

I give the same advice to conservatives now that I did to liberals during Bush's reign.

Concentrate on the petty stuff at your peril. There was an awful lot of talk about how stupid Bush sounded, but he still won reelection in 04.

Emotionally charged bashing won't win those fence sitters and centrists. Oddly enough they actually pay attention to the large issues, but if you camp out on the petty stuff, you make your camp very unatractive.

Making fun of Bushisms and the smaller gaps in his judgement may have been cathartic during the first Bush term, but it largely served to distract from the more important issues and paint the opposition as shallow and elitist.

If you really disagree with Obama's positions, coming off as "Oooh! Everything your messiah does just makes me so mad!" won't win you any hearts and minds.

 

[Personal Grudge]

If you really disagree with Obama's positions, coming off as "Oooh! Everything your messiah does just makes me so mad!" won't win you any hearts and minds.

You don't know how much I want to agree with this. However, I'm not sure I really do.

I may be pessimistic, but I do think terms such as "Socialist" and "Tax and Spend Liberal" do influence a great many minds among American citizens. I don't want to sound haughty, but I'm not sure that most Americans have any idea what the real issues are, nor do they care to investigate and find out.

I'd like to say that President Obama won the election because he just had better ideas than John McCain. (And I personally think he did). However, how many votes did he gain just because George W. Bush was portrayed as such a total **** up?

When we look at healthcare, as an example... will the better idea win? Or will the best-spread propaganda win?

Either way, I think I've pretty much derailed this post from the original topic, so I think we should probably continue to discuss the actual issue presented in the original post.

 

[shuize]

I give the same advice to conservatives now that I did to liberals during Bush's reign.

Concentrate on the petty stuff at your peril...

A lesson President Obama might do well to keep in mind himself.

In my opinion, jumping in on something that should be way below presidential comment just to call the police "stupid" makes him sound that much less presidential.

 

[staunch]

Cambridge police union is now DEMANDING an apology From the President.

And the beat goes on.

 

[Oliver]

Cambridge police union is now DEMANDING an apology From the President.

And the beat goes on.

How stupid can it get?

 

[Darat]

Outbreak of severe bickeritus surgically excised and dumped in the surgical waste container. We are working on a vaccination but are having trouble obtaining sufficient mercury.

Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: Darat

 

[NoZed Avenger]

That wasn't bickering.

It was homeopathic kindness and love.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

I'll add the same point I made in the other thread on this topic: I find it refreshing that Obama gave a straight, and un-PC answer to the question. He could easily have hidden behind a vague statement about the "unfortunate incident" or said "mistakes were made" or some such, but instead he gave a straight answer when asked about his thoughts on the incident.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

Nixon got lambasted for commenting on the Manson trial. Is it different if the POTUS makes a disparaging comment on law enforcement as opposed to making a proclamation on the guilt of the defendant in the middle of the trial?

Several distinctions spring to mind.
1) In the Gates incident, there is no trial.
2) In the Gates incident, there is no crime (and hence no question of "guilt" of any "defendant").
3) Gates is a personal friend of Obama's, while I don't think Nixon knew any of the parties in the Manson case as personal friends.

 

[Denver]

I suppose Obama could have taken the opportunity of the question from the audience to comment in such as way as would 1) Allow him to comment on race relations status, and 2) guarantee the media and opposition lose focus and time over the next few days talking about this, rather than health insurance.

If so, it was a slick move.

ETA: I just tuned into Glen Beck's radio show this morning.
First topic: Health Insurance? Economy? Afghanistan?

Nope. This Gates thing.

 

[alfaniner]

What? No outrage from Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson yet? It's only a matter of time.

 

[doobiedoright]

While I agree that the President (or any politician) could have chosen a more neutral word than "stupid"...

I actually find it rather refreshing to hear our President refer so directly to the perceived violation of a citizen's Constitutional rights. He did state clearly that he was not there and did not have all the facts. But, from what we do know at this point... two individuals were involved in this situation. One of these individuals did violate Massachusetts law. And that individual was the police officer, by refusing to provide badge number and identity when requested.

By reading the link I am providing you will see your self to be wrong.The info was given to the whacked out nut job of a professor twice only he was so busy yelling that the cop was a racist he never heard it!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17612247/...e-arrest-of-Henry-Louis-Gates-Jr?classic_ui=1

 

[linusrichard]

By reading the link I am providing you will see your self to be wrong that the police report makes a contrary claim.

Fixed.

You clearly trust a police report as gospel, but there's nothing about it that makes it any more trustworthy than any other story someone might tell. There's a reason that a police report is generally inadmissible evidence in a criminal trial.

 

[Cicero]

Several distinctions spring to mind.
1) In the Gates incident, there is no trial.

Could be a civil trial as Gates may sue.

2) In the Gates incident, there is no crime (and hence no question of "guilt" of any "defendant").

So the whole incident is just a misunderstanding? OK

3) Gates is a personal friend of Obama's, while I don't think Nixon knew any of the parties in the Manson case as personal friends.

And that is why Obama should have refrained from making any comment on the matter. He has a personal interest in the arrest of his pal and should have had the legal sense to stay the Hell out of the fray.

 

[Cicero]

Fixed.

You clearly trust a police report as gospel, but there's nothing about it that makes it any more trustworthy than any other story someone might tell. There's a reason that a police report is generally inadmissible evidence in a criminal trial.

"Cops cannot testify to what is in their police reports unless their original testimony is impeached in some way and the report can rehabilitate the testimony; or, if they cannot remember some detail which is otherwise admissible, they can use the report to refresh their recollection or to read from as a "past recollecton recorded".

 

[linusrichard]

"Cops cannot testify to what is in their police reports unless their original testimony is impeached in some way and the report can rehabilitate the testimony; or, if they cannot remember some detail which is otherwise admissible, they can use the report to refresh their recollection or to read from as a "past recollecton recorded".

You're right. So I guess I shouldn't have said it's always inadmissible evidence in a criminal trial. Maybe I should have said it's generally inadmissible evidence in a criminal trial.

Oh, wait...