I have been following the Gates story online to see how all this will play out.  After reading the news, it seems the events play out as follows:

• Gates locked himself out,
• police were called as he was forcing his way into his own home,
• during the conversation tensions mounted,
• the police arrested Gates for disorderly conduct,
• the charges were dropped later,
• a reporter asks Obama his thoughts on the matter…
• and he said the police ‘acted stupidly’.

From there the police and their union become upset with Obama for making the comment, request an apology, and the media coverage/spin ensues.

Now, I watched this Obama video and it is fair to say that he tied his comments very closely to the information he had recieved at the time of the reporter’s question.  In several of the articles I have read the feel is that Obama outright comdemned the actions of the officers.  However, there were many conditional comments Obama made prior to answering the reporter’s question.

After you watch the video, I would like to hear what you think.

1. Do you feel Obama was out of line?
2. As a public figure, do you think it appropriate for Obama to comment on a topic he does not seem to have many of the key details on?
3. Should he issue an apology?
4. Do you think this is a media-hyped story, or appropriately covered?
5. Do you even care?