Tag Archives: Obama

The Henry Louis Gates Jr. Arrest: When Race Matters

One of the most telling, and overlooked, aspects of the brouhaha over the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the particular cast of Gates’ defenders. There was Deval Patrick, the fresh-faced black governor of Massachusetts, who called the arrest “every black man’s nightmare.” There was Vernon Jordan, noting that the event “tells us that the election of Barack Obama did not automatically erase racism.” There was former Congressman Harold Ford, moderate to a fault, passionately insisting that once Sergeant James Crowley realized Gates had not broken into his own home, the officer should have said, “I’m sorry you’re upset, sir

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Obama’s former doctor critical of White House health care plan

President Obama often talks about all of the forces lining up against his health care plan. But there’s one critic who has remained relatively mum in the debate. David Scheiner, a Chicago, Illinois-based doctor, has taken a hard look at the president’s prescription for health care reform and sees bad medicine

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Obama, prof, cop to sit down over brews

President Obama will sit down for a beer at the White House Thursday night with a top African-American professor and the policeman who arrested him earlier this month. The arrest, in response to reports of a possible break-in at the home of Harvard academic Henry Louis Gates Jr., sparked a national debate about race, class and police attitudes towards minorities. Obama himself quickly got involved, saying at a news conference that police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, acted “stupidly.” His comment itself drew criticism and later he softened his stance, saying, “I could’ve calibrated those words differently.” But Obama’s spokesman said the sight of Gates and Sgt.

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What Kind of Beer is Served at the White House?

“Let’s grab a beer.” That was the invitation extended by President Obama, who is seeking to dial down the racial tension surrounding black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s July 16 arrest by a white police officer. On July 30, Gates and the arresting officer, Sgt

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House Democrat holdouts agree to move forward on health care

An agreement announced Wednesday between four fiscally conservative House Democrats and the chamber’s Democratic leadership allowed committee debate to resume on a bill to overhaul the nation’s health care system. However, the deal put off a vote by the full House on President Obama’s top domestic priority until after the August recess. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and the House majority leader, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, announced that the Energy and Commerce Committee would begin debate later Wednesday on the health care bill and pass it by the end of the week.

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