Despite President Obama's beer summit with Harvard professor Henry Gates and Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley being off-limits to the press, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the meeting is still a "teachable moment."
(HARAZ N. GHANBARI/AP)Photos (1 of 1)
Media barred from Obama beer summit - reporters sad
By Jimmy Orr | 07.30.09
The upcoming “beer summit” between President Obama, professor Henry Louis Gates, and Sgt. James Crowley is only a few hours away and is getting huge media attention.
And it’s being met with some media disappointment as well. That’s because the press isn’t invited to the conversation and the president doesn’t have plans to talk to the press after the event. This despite the fact that Obama has called the incident and the upcoming conversation as a “teachable moment.”
ABC’s Jake Tapper brought this up today at the White House press briefing. How can it be a teachable moment if the public can’t sit in on it?
“Well, I think that many people would have hardly imagined something like this happening this time last week,” Gibbs explained. “Having them get together to talk … about what’s going on in this country is a positive thing even if you’re not able to hear each and every word.”
“I think that that kind of dialogue has to happen in every level of society … if we’re going to make progress on issues that we’ve been dealing with for quite some time.”
Gibbs did say that Crowley and Gates could meet with the press following the meeting if they choose.
Protest
Some organizations are against the summit altogether because beer will be served. A group called “Pray at the pump” is staging a protest outside the White House because beer sends the “wrong message to our nation’s youth who are becoming alcoholics at young ages,” said the founder of the group.
While we all await the much-discussed summit, it’s fun to look at the Twitter traffic out there and see what people are saying about it.
The conspiracy-theorists want a part of the action too:
billhobbs: Birthers should invite Obama over for a beer - then ask to see his birth certificate to prove he’s old enough to drink!
The up and coming comedians (or criminals) are taking advantage of the situation:
badbanana With professor Gates off to have a beer with Obama, now would be the perfect time to break into his house. (hahahahah)
What’s the veep’s involvement going to be?
cooleddie74: Joe Biden making beer runs? Obama REALLY needs to find something this guy can do before he steps in a bear trap or something
Some Tweeters don’t like the president’s choice of beverage (which Gibbs said would be “Bud Light”). Another doesn’t approve of the media’s interest in the whole thing:
hc_horserace: Forget healthcare! CNN reports THE dilemma facing U.S.: which beer will Obama, Gates & Crowley drink?
Speaking of the wacky press, what “meaningless” issue will they cover next?
whitehousestaff: press making deal out of beer brands for tonight’s make nice meet. next up: does Obama use american soap? trust me, fnc (Fox News Channel) is not above that.
Another Tweeter thinks that the summit will turn the White House into the Animal House:
chaboard: Word on the street, Obie’s breakin’ out the purple toga again!!! @jelenawoehr Obama hosting “Great Beer Summit. http://www.animalhouse.com/
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If Obama’s summit does turn into a toga party, we’ll let you know about it on Twitter! So follow us.
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2. Valerie Smith | 07.30.09
I’m really amazed at how this whole incident has been blown totally out of proportion.
4. mpeters2 | 07.30.09
“a teachable moment.” What a bore! I read in the Guardian.UK that Gates is married to a white woman and is proud of his Irish roots. He also lives in a wealthy predominately white neighborhood. So how come the person who called in the break-in didn’t recognize him? What is this Harvard prima donna’s beef? Or rather, what is his motive? More federal funding and grants? Maybe both he and Crowley, now that they are celebrities, can each write a book on whatever they think they are expert on and sell it to Hollywood. Why can’t the media devote this much energy to discussing Congress’ inability to pass workable legislation for the country?
5. Jim Downs | 07.30.09
Obama, I am sorry to say, is a hypocrit. He shot off his mouth on the Gates arrest, and events now are going from bad to worse. America, the poll numbers show, disapproves of Obama’s handling of the matter.
6. Jessy Shyt | 07.30.09
Teachable moment.
I think our President need to have a learnable moment.
Maybe he can then turn off the racial spickot.
7. Thai H | 07.30.09
Is costs tax payers money while the economy is not pretty.
And why it has to be beer meeting ? Let’s have a beer together to solve the biggest issue of american history … It’s a bad joke.
8. Tripleplay | 07.30.09
Hey, let these guys site down and have a beer and talk things over… by the way, it’s knowbody’s buseness what they talk about, as long as everyone come out smiling.
10. Carolyn King | 07.30.09
Crowley, needs to answer why all the lies in his police report, will the police association, & everybody else that is enabling crowley, ask crowley to apoligize to the 911 caller. Crowley, straight up lied, thats why there is a problem, he lied & nobody is taking him, surely he will get it for falsying a document police report!!!!!!!!!!
WAKE UP AMERICA, THE SYSTEM WON’T HELP ANY OF US IF WE DON’T CHANGE THE MINDSET.
11. Carla Murphy | 07.30.09
“ABC’s Jake Tapper brought this up today at the White House press briefing. How can it be a teachable moment if the public can’t sit in on it?”
I don’t think the public considers the press to be, or, represent the public.
12. TrishG | 07.30.09
The media will now have to invent the complete story instead of being there to hear what is said, then rushing to put their liberal spin on it. LOL.
13. james | 07.30.09
You know–it really would be easy for the birth certificate issue to go away–all the Prez needs to do is to produce the birth certificate and not what has been posted. We ALL know what a birth certificate looks like-it tells where you were born, when you were born, how big you were, who the doctor was, who the parents were. Well, let’s see one for the Prez. Or, what about the passport he used to travel on when he was a teenager. This will show whether he is an American citizen or not. Or what about his school records at Harvard. They tell whether he was an American citizen or not.
WHY, WHY, WHY is the President hiding all of this? If someone asked me, I would eagerly produce all of the above. And yet the President continues to pay lawyers lots of money to prevent his having to produce any of these documents.
FACT: his African stepmother said he was born in Africa
FACT: The Prez and his sister cannot get together on which hospital he was born in
FACT: Mother and less than 1 month old son appear in Seattle, which is the regular route home from Africa to Honolulu at that time
FACT: Obama in his book says he had his original birth certificate
If there is a problem, it is because of the lack of transparency in the White House. And please do not refer to that joke of a document that was posted on the internet as a birth certificate. I can create one just like it.
15. Josette | 07.30.09
Funny, why do we have to have our big, fat noses in Obama’s little beer event? It would be completely blown out of proportion, used by both sides of the aisle for some purpose…leave the guy alone.
Heavens, I harken back to a prior administration that did so much stuff in secret, we are now in the hole trillions of dollars, with thousands of dead or maimed soldiers…
As for those of you that think the President made a mistake speaking on the Gates issue…why can’t you find it refreshing to have president that is HUMAN and not controlled by his VP, SofDefense, SofState and Attorney General. This man is not a puppet, he speaks from the heart - oh, I forgot, most Republicans don’t have a heart or a brain…hum, Oz all over again.
Give it a rest.
16. Dixon Haynes | 07.31.09
“FACT: his African stepmother said he was born in Africa
FACT: The Prez and his sister cannot get together on which hospital he was born in
FACT: Mother and less than 1 month old son appear in Seattle, which is the regular route home from Africa to Honolulu at that time
FACT: Obama in his book says he had his original birth certificate(.)”
==========================
James:
I don’t give a damn where Barack Obama was born. He is a very good president.
This nation needed one for a change.
Get a life.
Dixon G. Haynes
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. Will Hinton | 07.30.09
Here are my recommendations for the “Beer Summit”, all American microbrews:
http://www.goodwillhinton.com/beer_recommendations_for_obamas_beer_summit_with_gates_and_crowley