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

linusrichard said:
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...
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But the police report in this case, if it ever made it into criminal court before the case was dropped, would find its way into the courtroom since Gates' attorney would most assuredly attempt to impeach the cop's original testimony.
 
"Asked whether Obama regretted commenting on the matter, spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that the president probably would regret distracting the media with "obsessions."

http://www.kirotv.com/politics/20164365/detail.html

That's rich. Candidate Obama enjoyed the lame stream media's "obsession" with him. Now as POTUS, his comments are a "distraction?
 
Darth Rotor said:
IMO, Obama was being a complete dick.

The Boston Police department has already taken step one: drop the charges. Obama decides to comment. For a guy as eloquent as he is, his choice of words is amazingly crude and low rent.
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So the decided not to press charges that they had no chance of winning? This is supposed to be significant?
 
Well, the conservative blogs have a new name for Obama: President Stupidly. It will be interesting to hear the police tapes; if they back up Crowley's story, that nick might stick.
 
If you consider people getting arrested for trying to enter their own home anything other than insane, you're an idiot.
 
Jeff Corey said:
Jon Stewart just said, "I wasn't there and I don't know all the facts...but I think President Obama acted .....stupidly."
Damned liberal, left wing media!
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Does the liberal media now include comedians? I know Olbermann is a goof, but he isn't a comedian.

BTW: In the same segment, Stewart lampooned Republicans, Democrats, Fox News, CNN, Brian Williams, and health care reform. Why would Stewart turn away from comedic gold now, regardless of the source, when he couldn't resist "Snipery" Hillary's Sarajevo airport account or Camelot Caroline's fusillade of "you know's."
 
Peephole said:
If you consider people getting arrested for trying to enter their own home anything other than insane, you're an idiot.
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Sure. You would think Gate's neighbors would recognize him as the owner of the home and not call the cops on him for "breaking in."
 
Cicero said:
Could be a civil trial as Gates may sue.
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There could be, but right now there's not.



So the whole incident is just a misunderstanding? OK
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I think maybe that's a false dichotomy (either there's a court case or it was "just a misunderstanding").
I think the cop's behavior was wrong and he deserves a reprimand or at least compulsory training before he deals with the public again. That the cop was unprofessional or incompetent isn't the same thing as saying he was guilty of a crime.

I was answering this question which you asked in the OP : "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?"

Answer: yes it's different.



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.
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So the President doesn't have First Amendment rights? I'd think less of him if I knew Gates was his personal friend and he didn't stick up for him.

As I said, it's refreshing that he didn't describe the arrest in PC-speech "regrettable and unfortunate", as if there was no agency involved, as if the arrest was a fluke of the weather or something.
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
So the President doesn't have First Amendment rights? I'd think less of him if I knew Gates was his personal friend and he didn't stick up for him.

As I said, it's refreshing that he didn't describe the arrest in PC-speech "regrettable and unfortunate", as if there was no agency involved, as if the arrest was a fluke of the weather or something.
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Refreshing? Had Obama been more circumspect, he wouldn't now be inviting the "racist" cop to the White House. The POTUS needs to exercise caution when exercising his 1st Amendment rights, especially when speaking as POTUS about an incident that involves a personal friend. The Executive doesn't have authority over the police department.
 
Cavemonster said:
The woman who made the call did not live in the neighborhood.
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The women who called 911, Lucia Whalen, is circulation and fundraising manager at Harvard Magazine, a news and alumni magazine affiliated with the school. Amazing that she didn't recognize her colleague Gates in broad daylight, even if she didn't know whose house was supposedly being broken into.
 
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Kudos to President Obama for backtracking:

Obama said he spoke to James Crowley, the sergeant who arrested Gates, "and I have to tell you that, as I said yesterday, my impression of him is that he was an outstanding police officer...and that was confirmed in the phone conversation."

"In my choice of words, I unfortunately gave the impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sergeant Crowley specifically," Obama said, walking back his sharpest criticism.

But, the president said: "I continue to believe, based on what I have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling Prof. Gates out of his home and to the station. I also continue to believe, based on what I heard, that Prof. Gates probably overreacted as well."
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Cicero said:
The women who called 911, Lucia Whalen, is circulation and fundraising manager at Harvard Magazine, a news and alumni magazine affiliated with the school. Amazing that she didn't recognize her colleague Gates in broad daylight, even if she didn't know whose house was supposedly being broken into.
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1) I don't think you have a sense of how large an institution Harvard is.

2) Soooo, what does that mean to you? That Gates is not really a professor and was actually breaking inso a house? That Gates is so unpleasant that his colleagues and neighbors do not know him? What exactly are you trying to show here that has any relevance?
 
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/crowley_pleaded.html

And here's an account of the President's phone conversation with Officer Crowley. This is a big part of why I respect Obama. Every President in history has made some judgement calls wrongly, prematurely and even stupidly. Not all of them have been ready to publicly revise their position and admit a mistake when new information comes to them.
 
Cavemonster said:
1) I don't think you have a sense of how large an institution Harvard is.

2) Soooo, what does that mean to you? That Gates is not really a professor and was actually breaking inso a house? That Gates is so unpleasant that his colleagues and neighbors do not know him? What exactly are you trying to show here that has any relevance?
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You are the one who said the women who made the call did not live in the neighborhood. What did that mean to you? That she had zero connection to the guy who was breaking into his own house? You were wrong.

Come on. I've been on the campus. The rap on the cops is how could they not recognize Gates since he is supposedly this high profile, widely known professor. Yet the circulation and fundraising manager at Harvard Magazine couldn't identify the guy in broad daylight.
 
Cavemonster said:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/crowley_pleaded.html

And here's an account of the President's phone conversation with Officer Crowley. This is a big part of why I respect Obama. Every President in history has made some judgement calls wrongly, prematurely and even stupidly. Not all of them have been ready to publicly revise their position and admit a mistake when new information comes to them.
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I wonder if the JREFer posters who cheered POTUS Obama for his initial remarks will be "ready to publicly revise their position?"
 
Cicero said:
You are the one who said the women who made the call did not live in the neighborhood. What did that mean to you? That she had zero connection to the guy who was breaking into his own house? You were wrong.

Come on. I've been on the campus. The rap on the cops is how could they not recognize Gates since he is supposedly this high profile, widely known professor. Yet the circulation and fundraising manager at Harvard Magazine couldn't identify the guy in broad daylight.
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What the devil are you talking about? Who here is faulting the cops for not recognizing him?
 
Cicero said:
I wonder if the JREFer posters who cheered POTUS Obama for his initial remarks will be "ready to publicly revise their position?"
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I don't know, but if you read this thread, you'll see I thought his statement was inappropriate and said so immediately.
 
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