Obama speaks

Here, sent by Paul K., is the transcript of Obama’s answer to the Gates question.

Every American should read this statement, in which the nation’s first magistrate, on the basis of a cartoonishly distorted impression of the facts of the case, launches into an Al Sharpton-like indictment of the nation’s police. His tone and vocabulary are, of course, not Sharpton’s, but his substance is. White police are out to get blacks and Hispanics. The reason that more blacks and Hispanics are apprehended by policel is not that they commit vastly more crime than other groups, but that white police target them, out of racial prejudice or animus. And he uses the Gates incident as an example of this.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. Recently, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested at his home in Cambridge. What does that incident say to you and what does it say about race relations in America?

OBAMA: Well, I should say at the outset that Skip Gates is a friend, so I may be a little biased here. I don’t know all the facts. What’s been reported though is that the guy forgot his keys, jimmied his way to get into the house. There was a report called in to the police station that there might be a burglary taking place. So far, so good, right? I mean, if I was trying to jigger into—well, I guess this is my house now, so…

(LAUGHTER)

… it probably wouldn’t happen. But let’s say my old house in Chicago.

(LAUGHTER)

Here, I’d get shot.

(LAUGHTER)

But so far, so good. They’re—they’re reporting. The police are doing what they should. There’s a call. They go investigate what happens.

My understanding is, at that point, Professor Gates is already in his house. The police officer comes in. I’m sure there’s some exchange of words. But my understanding is, is that Professor Gates then shows his I.D. to show that this is his house and, at that point, he gets arrested for disorderly conduct, charges which are later dropped.

Now, I don’t know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, 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. That’s just a fact.

As you know, Lynn, when I was in the state legislature in Illinois, we worked on a racial profiling bill because there was indisputable evidence that blacks and Hispanics were being stopped disproportionately. And that is a sign, an example of how, you know, race remains a factor in the society.

That doesn’t lessen the incredible progress that has been made. I am standing here as testimony to the progress that’s been made. And yet the fact of the matter is, is that, you know, this still haunts us.

And even when there are honest misunderstandings, the fact that blacks and Hispanics are picked up more frequently and often time for no cause casts suspicion even when there is good cause.

And that’s why I think the more that we’re working with local law enforcement to improve policing techniques so that we’re eliminating potential bias, the safer everybody is going to be. All right? Thank you, everybody.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 23, 2009 08:20 AM | Send