I think the "Beer Summit" should be abbreviated to the "B.S."

...because that'd be a little more accurate.

So, the President opens his mouth way before he got the story. People showed significant evidence that they disapproved with how President Obama handled the situation.

The president backpedals....then invites everyone over to his house for a beer. Gates still wants his apology, apparently......The President wants to take hsi foot out of his mouth....and Crowley just wants to be...left alone.

I have to say...I'm disappointed in the way the President has handled this.

I'm disappointed that a cop lured someone onto his porch, then arrested him for yelling.

fixed.

I'm disappointed that the President will be drinking Bud Light.

i think i need to go to the doctor. i'm pretty sure it's not healthy to headdesk this hard.

my hat's off to Cash, though. i thought about making a post on this stuff, but i decided i didn't want to be the one to light that particular fuse.

Exactly. That was my point. I wasn't trying to say that what happened between Crowley & Gates was awesome (which I know you didn't accuse me of).

It just smacks of a lame, political publicity stunt...when really, all teh President had to do was shut his mouth before he got all the facts. all he should have said was "I have no comment on that at this time...let's get back to discussing more important issues....like my Healthcare bill".....instead of trying to talk tough about something he knew very little of at the time.

Seriously. When I heard that's what he was drinking, I was like, "Come on, Obama. Show some class."

I am able to separate the initial incident from the current one. And though I didn't really want to discuss the arrest in this thread...I'll address it here to avoid confusion later in the thread. One of two things should have happened during the initial incident.

1.) Gates should have refrained from shouting & carrying on...and probably would have found things to have worked out eventually

or

2.) Crowley should have realized afterwards that the arrest really wasn't necessary...or the best course of action...and removed the cuffs.

And even if you think I'm an asshole...Colin Powell agrees with me on both points.

Because he can't afford to take race lightly, obviously. It's not a normal political situation.

I have to wonder if it wasn't a calculated choice to seem like an average joe. The Obamas seem to be very food conscious...and have pretty good taste. It makes me wonder if he wouldn't much rather have a weissbier, or a belgian ale.

I think he wanted to drink an American beer. But still: Come on! Sam Adams, FFS!

It's only an abnormal political situation because the President turned it INTO one. He didn't have to address it when he did. He didn't have to use the words that he used. Before he knew the situation he said Crowley "acted stupidly" and that it was "every black man's nightmare".

That's really the point I wanted to make....that it's blatantly posturing...and creating a side show when we have legitimate, pressing matters that need attention first.

Hell...even a National Bohemian would have been more believable than Bud Light.

i fully support Obama's decision to go with Bud Light. i mean, you don't do a keg stand with the pricey shit. that's what Bud Light's for.

Right, he did. So did Gates. But a man shouldn't be arrested on his porch for yelling after being lured outside.

Not the point of this thread, but thanks for playing.

So, you're gripe appears to be with the media, not the president. If you think he made a mistake, then you have to understand he's human.

The problem here is clearly with the media giving it so much attention. Our media is a giant pile of shit, so it is what it is. They didn't give this much attention to any of Bush's lies.

Okay, i"ll bow out. If you want to say the president shouldn't have said something and not discuss the actions that lead to him saying it, you have set ridiculous parameters. I wish you luck with that.

No...my gripe is most certainly with the President. It's a situation he exacerbated first with his words...and then moreso with this stupid, Kumbaya beer party.

Stop arguing with what you want my point to be...and read what I have actually been saying.

The president could have said something addressing the situation. He could have done it AFTER having heard the story.

Since he didn't do that...he could have said "oops....my bad, I think I initially overracted" and left it at that.

But he didn't...he had to go set up this blatant, pointless, obvious politically-motivated ploy...to solve....nothing.

It's smoke & mirrors when he should be devoting more time to real issues.

As much as I like disagreeing with Cash, yeah, its hard to disagree with the above.