Lessons I Learned from Al Giardello #947835

Recently at Coates's Corner, Mark Kleiman, subbing while TNC gets his Thoreau on, reposted an analysis by Lowry Heussler, of the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, in which Heussler read's Sgt. James Crowley's own account of the arrest. Shockingly, the conclusion is that, realizing that he's committed a serious error, Crowley baits Gates in stepping out of the house, where a small crowd has gathered. Since Gates was still yelling at Crowley for the crime of breaking into his own house, under Massachusetts law, Crowley was then able arrest Gates for disorderly conduct.

The shorter summary: Crowley was embarrassed and decided to give Gates a humble.

Many will remember that Obama subsequently and correctly commented that Crowley had acted stupidly. Which in turn led to the uber-odd Beer Summit. One of the aspects of that strange media event that, I think, many perceived but couldn't articulate, was that Obama quietly converted what was supposed to be his required apology to the public for having the temerity to question local law enforcement into an opportunity to flip the script. To all appearances, Obama was concluding a teachable moment and attempting to heal the country's racial divide. But there sat Crowley with the black President of the United States, a black Harvard professor, and Joe Biden, who had accepted a position of support to the black president. As I saw it on TV, it didn't look like anything to me other than Obama giving Crowley a humble.

I've got a lot of bases on which to criticize Obama since he took office, but I'll always like him for that moment.