Last night I watched in horror as President Obama slandered police officers as racist and stupid.  He said, “Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof he was in own home[sic],”  in reference to an incident last week regarding the Cambridge Police Department and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates.  Apparently Gates (who happens to be black) didn’t have his house keys, so he decided to break into to his own home.  A neighbor saw him and called the police.  The police showed up, and asked Gates for his ID, presumably to establish residence.

Sounds like a funny story to tell over cocktails, doesn’t it?  Too bad he wasn’t in his bathrobe, that would’ve been even funnier!  How often does someone almost get arrested for breaking into their own house?  Unfortunately, this did not turn into an anecdote for cocktail parties.  According to the police report filed by arresting officer James Crowley, upon being asked for proof that he actually lived there, Gates threw a tantrum saying, “NO I WILL NOT,” and “THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO BLACK MEN IN AMERICA!”

He was then placed under arrest.  But not for breaking and entering.  He was placed under arrest for disorderly conduct, which he clearly displayed.  So no, the Cambridge Police Department did not act stupidly, as President Obama declared, but were acting prudently to protect the public.  Isn’t that a police officer’s job?  Investigate suspicious activities and arrest people when they violate the law?  Let’s see… someone reported a man breaking into a house, and the police investigated the situation.  Ok, so far so good.  The police found the man inside the house, and asked for his identification.  Is that still ok?  The man then refused to cooperate with the uniformed police officers, and threatened them, saying, “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”  The police then arrested the man for disorderly conduct.  What exactly did the Cambirdge Police do that was stupid, Mr. President?

As if the President hadn’t already done enough to damage the moral of law enforcement everywhere by his flippant comment, he continued to malign police officers as not only stupid, but racist as well.  “What I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there’s a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately,” Obama said. “That’s just a fact.” 

Maybe, just maybe, a disproportionate amount of African-Americans and Latinos are stopped by law enforcement because a disproportionate amount of them commit crimes as compared to other ethnicities (like Asians, for example).  As the Prez says, That’s just a fact. 

Apparently I wasn’t the only American upset by Obama’s stupid and racist remarks.  Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said this morning, “Let me be clear, he was not calling the officer stupid…at a certain point the situation got far out of hand.”  Yeah, like maybe when the suspect refused to cooperate with the police, and acted in a belligerent and threatening manner.  Obama not only called Sgt. Crowley stupid, he implied that police officers everywhere are stupid, and racist to boot!

Since Obama likes to make such a big show of apologizing to countries across the globe on America’s behalf, it shouldn’t be too difficult him to personally apologize on his own behalf to Sgt. Crowley, to policemen and women everywhere, and to his constituents for his own stupid decision to make such a stupid remark.