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Posted: 7/29/2009
Gates Revisited or Why Presidential Arrogance Is The Problem
Unlike Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton who use the word "Racist" to clear their throat before they begin to speak, Professor Gate"s incident is more an example of the pent up anger that the black community has whenever it is challenged on anything. If there ever was a case of "I guess you just needed to be there", this is it. Both Gates and the Police would have done things differently now that it is over and I'm sure will file their respective behaviors under a "Don't do this again like this" file.
The real problem was not Gates or the actions of the Boston Police Officer in this sitution. The real problem is the arrogance of a President who thinks he should intervene in the smallest of matters even if he doesn't have all the facts. It represents a type of smugness that says that common people can't sort out their differences without intervention from the powers on high.
Gates and the police in this matter would've probably calmed down, apologized, and moved on had it not been for Obama's intervention. The fact of the matter is that he had no business even commenting on the situation much less passing judgement on it. It is in his response to the situation that you see the sort of liberal elitism that reserves omnipotence and clairvoyancy capabilities only to the powerful.
For a constitutional scholar, Obama stepped in doody when he used his position as President of the United States to voice his pent up anger over the way blacks are treated. Obama had as much business intervening here as trying to design speeding ticket policy for Peoria, Illinois. His choice of the word "stupidly" in describing the police officer's actions was more than an awkward "calibration" of words. It in fact represented the contempt he has for the common person.
While there is an old adage that circumstances make us, I think it's more accurate to say that they reveal us. What Obama's comment revealed is an arrogant, contemptuous, all knowing academic who is convinced that he and government know what is best for each of us. Racism doesn't show up on a billboard as much as it does float on the air like the smells from a barbecue joint.
The arrogance is there from healthcare to Afhanistan. Instead of having a town meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina today on healthcare, he should fly up to Toronto, Canada, and let the citizens there talk about national healthcare. While Canada doesn't often tell it's citizens "NO" on medical services, it also doesn't tell them "when". Its system works well for runny noses and broken legs but falls short in the MRI, Brain Tumor and long waiting list department.
The biggest challenge with the Obama administration going forward is to help him understand he was elected President and not King. If he could get that through his brain, both the Presidency and the American people would be better off.
Gates
, Obama
, Racism
, Boston Police
, CNN
, Harvard
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