Regarding that, BB, I think Charley Noble summed it up perfectly when he said this on the "Gates" thread:

"This story is more grist for the mill for those who want the American people to focus on other problems than enacting comprehensive and affordable health care and restoring our economic viability, problems that divide us rather than programs that bring us together.

Obama usually demonstrates more political sense than to be drawn into such a potentially divisive dispute, even if it were the case of a respected colleague that he had known for a long time. But shame on the talk-show hosts and political pundits who are exploiting this sad incident.

Charley Noble

****

If ever I've seen a tempest in a teapot, and much ado about almost nothing at all, that story is it. What a frikkin' waste of people's time it is to obsess about some cops who overreacted a bit, and a bad-tempered and tired homeowner who overreacted a bit when he was caught in a frustrating situation he had no reason to expect. They all showed some lack of good judgement. So what? Those sort of things happen every day in the USA...and in Canada...and wherever there are stressed-out cops and stressed-out people whom those cops are dealing with. Obama's main error was to get involved in it at all...but Gates is a personal friend of his.

If any one of us had heard of a personal friend of ours being arrested by some cops at his own house over a break-in report...well, our first assumption would have been that the cops acted "stupidly", wouldn't it? ;-) And it would take a fair bit of evidence to the contrary to get any one of us to come around to the notion that it might have possibly been our friend's fault too, wouldn't it?

But we might begin to consider that possibility if we weren't totally stubborn about it. (and most of the people here are totally stubborn once they've made an initial judgement of any kind).

Obama's a guy who is willing to admit to having made a mistake. He's done so before. I wonder if Gates is willing to admit to having made a mistake? Maybe not. Doesn't sound like it. How about the cop? Maybe not him either. If so...they'd be acting just like most of the people on this forum...stubborn to the bitter end.

In any case, the whole Gates incident is utterly trivial, and it's being exploited now by an irresponsible media...and by people who'd like to damage Barack Obama...and by other people who are obsessed with divisive racial issues. In all three of those cases, they are not people who are doing anything good...they're just causing a bunch of useless controversy, in my opinion.