"Sudsy Summit"

It’s 9 o’clock and all is well—especially, I presume, at the White House, where It’s been almost 3 hours since President Barack Obama was scheduled to have a little happy hour with two Massachusetts, residents: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Joseph Crowly. Just three guys, sharing some beers.

It’s been almost 2 weeks since what has become an infamous incident occurred in Cambridge, Mass. between Harvard professor Gates and Cambridge police Sgt. Crowly. The confrontation arose as a result of what can only be described as an unfortunate misunderstanding, but has quickly escalated into a wildly out-of-proportion (yet nevertheless amusing) fiasco.

Cambridge police responded to Gates’ home late July 13^th after neighbor Lucia Whalen reported “two black males with backpacks” attempting to break into the residence. Guess who the “two black males” were—Gates, returning home from an overseas trip and his driver, who were grappling with a stubborn front door. According to police reports filed by responding Sergeant Crowly, an incensed Gates yelled, “This is what happens to black men in America!” in response to the officer’s appearance. As a result of subsequent and similar exclamations and indignant (with right) responses to the law, a disorderly conduct rap was filed against Gates, but eventually dropped by prosecutors. The police contend they were “just doing their jobs.” But nevertheless, last week President Obama condemned Cambridge cops for acting “stupidly” in this situation.

But now, Obama is attempting to bring the two parties together to make nice over a few brewskies at the White House. As absurd as this all seems—whether the misguided arrest of Gates was actually a racial vendetta, or that the President publicly called the police’s subsequent actions stupid, or that settling matters over a Bud Light in Washington can mend what the damage the arrest has already caused for all three parties, I’m not sure.

But I applaud Obama for trying. I very much appreciate the president’s attempts and successes to be layman or be “just one of the guys” or even endeavor to right wrongs. I think what happened to Gates is embarrassing on behalf of Cambridge police and Gates—the former because they made a mistake, wrongly arrested a man based on a vaguely worded statute, not to mention the arrest was made on the property of the arrested (everyone knows that a man’s home is a well-established American tradition). And the latter because the incident occurred at all. It’s set in motion discussions for a lot of race issues among the talking heads of news media.

Hopefully Obama’s effort to smooth waters between Gates, Crowly, and himself with the long-standing American tradition of alcohol will succeed. Otherwise, I still think he’s done a good job of acknowledging that there was a problem at all.