Democratic Party Convention 2012
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Police Sergeant James Crowley (2nd R) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, speaks with Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. (2nd L), alongside President Obama (R) and Vice President Joe Biden (L) as they share beers on the South Lawn near the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, July 30, 2009.
/ SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty ImagesJuly 30, 2009: White House "Beer Summit"
Seeking a "teachable moment" in the wake up his controversial comments about the arrest of an African-American professor by a white policeman, President Obama on July 30, 2009 sat down over beers with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley. Vice president Joe Biden was also present at the White House gathering, which was held at a white table in the rose garden.
About a week earlier, Mr. Obama was asked during a primetime White House news conference about Gates' arrest. Mr. Obama said the Cambridge police acted "stupidly" for arresting Gates, who is African-American, in his own home. The president spoke about the history of racial discrimination by law enforcement in the U.S.
The president later walked back his comments, but the story of his remarks and the proposed "beer summit" took on a life of its own, receiving overwhelming media coverage. "This is three folks having a drink at the end of the day, and hopefully giving people the opportunity to listen to each other," Mr. Obama told reporters before the beer summit. "And that's really all it is."
For the record, the president drank Bud Light; Biden drank Buckler, a non-alcoholic beer; Gates sipped Sam Adams Light, brewed in his home state of Massachusetts; while Crowley opted for Blue Moon, which he had earlier told the president was among his favorites.
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Bringing our foes to the peace table is a noble thing, and Obama tried to do just that. This article portrays his attempt as collusion, instead of an honest attempt to reduce terrorism. These are the same lies perpetrated by the Koch brothers, and the GOP to discredit Obama who tried to bring peace, over the war rhetoric of Romney and the GOP. The GOP under Bush started two unfunded wars, now they want to do it all over again causing the deaths of thousands of our children to satisfy their greed for power. When do we as a nation understand that peace is far better than war.