First reactions are always telling. When a person is caught unprepared and speaks off the cuff, you can see their true beliefs. By calling the actions of Cambridge police Sgt. James Crowley "stupid," Obama showed his true feelings. He moved from being the post-racial president and revealed that counter to his election campaign protests to the contrary, he was listening to the sermons of hate-mongering Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But even more troubling, Obama demonstrated his arrogance, a very dangerous character flaw for a president to possess.
Near the end of his primetime news conference, Obama cavalierly answered a question on the arrest of his friend, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Admitting first, "not having been there and not seeing all the facts," Obama then asserted that "the Cambridge police acted stupidly."
A prudent president would have said he couldn't comment on this situation -- not having been there and not knowing all the facts -- and let it rest. But Obama recklessly let his tongue wag on, inflaming racial distrust of America's police. If he had examined the facts in the case, Obama would have realized that the arresting officer, James Crowley, was an exemplary police officer, who not only taught classes on racial profiling but also administered CPR to basketball star Reggie Lewis as he was dying. This tremendous public servant was doing his job in responding to the 911 call. It was Obama's Harvard friend Gates who let loose with yelling, name calling, profanity, threats and disorderly conduct for which he was arrested.
Without research, Obama reached into his memory bank, relied on his spiritual mentor Rev. Wright's ideas, and quickly assumed the police officer was a bigot. By Obama and Wright's calculation, if a black professor gets arrested, it must be because of a racist policeman. Obama showed he still has a chip on his shoulder regarding race relations.
After being taken to task by police unions for his slandering of Sgt. Crowley, Team Obama launched spin control. While backing away from his comments, Obama never apologized. Instead he argued he "regretted the media frenzy over his comments." Obama maintains that Sgt. Crowley made a mistake in arresting his friend, and barely admits that his buddy might possibly have acted inappropriately.
We heard warnings during the campaign about Obama's dangerous associations with radical leftists. This incident only confirms our deepest fears. He must agree with his wife, Michelle Obama, who said she was not "proud of her country" until Obama was nominated. Even now he is not proud of the brave men and women in blue who defend our nation's streets.
Police are not the only Americas he has offended after six months in office. Obama arrogantly has insulted doctors, inferring that they are greedy profiteers who perform unnecessary operations if they can make a buck or two. "Right now, doctors a lot of times are forced to make decisions based on the fee payment schedule that's out there. The doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, 'You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid's tonsils out.'" Obama doesn't hesitate to denigrate hard-working physicians, while he forgets to mention his wife and other politically connected hospital administrators that cause the cost of healthcare to go up with their $300,000-plus annual salaries.
Corporate executives have also taken it in the chops. Team Obama has no problem capping salaries for people who work hard in business. This may be because business is a foreign concept to him, having worked his entire life in the public sector. Yet he believes he can radically remake our economy with his "brilliant" social-engineering schemes. As he sees it, government, his friends and he are the only ones who are capable, intelligent and selfless enough to run our lives.
The question must be asked. What if Obama speaks imprudently about other world leaders, offending entire nations with off-the-cuff comments? Their response may be quite different than Sgt. Crowley's agreement to sit down at the White House and have a beer to resolve any differences. Obama's careless remarks could quickly lead the United States into a volatile and dangerous situation, putting her citizens at risk.
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