Oh I'm sorry I thought it was Gates who first called the drink-up a "teaching moment." I see that it was Obama.

"My hope is that as a consequence of this event, this ends up being what's called a teachable moment, where all of us, instead of pumping up the volume, spend a little more time listening to each other ... and that instead of flinging accusations, we can all be a little more reflective in terms of what we can do to contribute to more unity."