By now we’ve all heard about Harvard Professor Gates’ erroneous arrest http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard.html, President Obama’s initial response and his regret for how he worded that response http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/obama-expresses-his-regrets-on-gates-incident/?hp. Rationale for why Obama shouldn’t have used the “stupid” reference include prematurely judging law enforcement before having all the facts and that getting involved in the first place was less than "presidential."
I fall on the side of seeing things through Obama’s eyes. I believe that he acted with pure emotion, not political reason. He reacted as an African American President, not just any President. I don’t think his job title should transcend years of feeling, studying and fighting racism. Obama’s dedicated his life to community and the position of minorities far before he became a politician. This sympathy - and anger - toward racism is imbued in his soul.
In many other instances, life experiences come to bear in public life, even in policy making. It would appear downright unpatriotic for us to criticize a pro-war politician - say John McCain - for resting on his or her own military experiences when reacting to current International conflict. John Edwards supports poverty initiatives because he grew up poor. And aside from benefits to business, George Bush saw the immigrant experience more closely than others because he spent most of his life in Texas - and supported immigration accordingly.
In regards to racism, listen to Pat Buchanan on the Rachel Maddow Show talk about Supreme Court nominee Judge Sodomayer. Definitely still a topic that needs faced and addressed.
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