President Obama has manifested very deft political skills once again. Minutes ago, he went to the press room of the White House and spoke to the media. Evidently, he has been on the phone with both Sergeant Crowley (the police officer in question) and Professor Gates. Obama's statement just now was that his opinion was still that Crowley had probably overreacted, but that unfortunately, Gates had overreacted, as well. And to the extent that he, President Obama, had misspoken in characterizing the situation as he did, he regretted that.
He did not apologize but he projected empathy for both sides, in contrast to his gut reaction on Wednesday.
I find that I fear this President's initiatives more and more and that his policies are more extreme than I thought they were. But this shows that his instincts in regards to at least the appearance of personal skills are more highly attuned than the last two Presidents' were. Both Bush 43 and Clinton tended to dig in their heels when uncomfortable situations arose. Obama finds ways to neutralize the issue quickly in a way that will satisfy the broad middle.
I think it is safe to say that the danger of permanent infliction of harm to his reputation has passed, at least stemming from this particular incident. However, the pundits will probably continue to vocally ponder the story for the next week or so and we can expect to hear it subjected to further commentary on the Sunday shows. This is as it should be. The President's initial wording on Wednesday was insulting and unfair, but he did pivot well to cover his tracks today.
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2 comments:
Wow. I would say I can't believe he actually almost apologized, but that broad middle you talked about probably determined an almost apology was the best way to go. I'm not saying he did this on purpose, but you and I both know if you want to say something that no ones going to carry, then announce it on a Friday. Now the story is extinguished, and no one's going to carry the fact that Obama admitted to wrongdoing (almost).
It amazes me that the global apologist can apologize for our nation's greatness, yet he can't apologize for his ignorant response to a situation he knew nothing about.
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