President Obama, last week, spoke openly when he declared the police in Cambridge, Mass., “acted stupidly,” when they arrested a prominent black scholar in his own home. The President didn’t realize at the time how his comment would infuse mixed sentiments from a nation already concerned about racial tensions. But, he soon concluded, as aides had quoted him, “it was stupid to use the words stupid.”
Comments such as this one last week came as a surprise to many political observers who have been applauding Mr. Obama for his staunch discipline when he speaks extemporaneously, often pausing before he speaks while appearing to collect his thoughts in order to say the right thing.
However, the comments made by the President last week in the case of the arrest of the Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., has advisors saying that he wanted to say what he said, which was not a slip of the tongue. The question is, “Does the President of the United States have that right?”
I would like to hear your comments about this controversy. What do you think?
I’m sure this is not the first time a standing President has made open comments about an ongoing controversy. What I think is vitally important, however, is that if the President does make comments regarding a current event, as in this case, that he not appear to be taking sides or assigning blame. Leaders, like the President, should not offer their opinions about a subject, especially without knowing all the facts beforehand–which Mr. Obama admits he didn’t–as their position elevates the importance of those opinions to “Fact” status. People will assume the President of the United States knows the facts before making any comments. I think you can see the problem this causes here.