Last week in Cambridge, Mass., cops responded to Harvard Professor Henry Gates's house after neighbor Lucia Whalen reported spotting "two black males with backpacks" trying to forcibly gain entry to the home.  It turns out the Gates and his driver needed to force open the front door, which had become stuck while he was out of the country, and the commotion associated with this action is what attracted Ms. Whalen's attention.  When the responding officer, Sgt. James Crowley, asked Gates, who had gained entry to his house by the time police arrived, to provide identification to prove he was in fact the owner of the house, Gates retreated to the kitchen to retrieve it.  At this point Crowley apparently followed Gates into the house, at which time Gates began to object to police questioning.  The incident ended with Gates under arrest, shouting to a gathering crowd in the street, "This is what happens to black men in America!," an act which has resulted in a national outcry, mostly in favor of the police.

Let's think logically about this incident for a minute.  I'm not black, but if one of my neighbors had had enough on the ball to report suspicious activity at my house, and the police showed up after a time to find me in there, I'd expect to have to show them identification.  In fact, I'd probably volunteer to show ID to help expedite clearing up the situation.  Furthermore, if I had to retreat back into the house to find it, I'd expect the officers to accompany me to make sure that if I actually was a clever thief, I didn't bolt out the back door to escape apprehension.  Not only would I show them my ID, I'd thank them for taking the time to check on me and apologize that they had to use their valuable time, and police officers' time is valuable, to follow up a false lead.  This course of action seems to be the only logical one to me.

Why is it that educated men like Henry Gates can't figure this out?  I believe he's a logical man, but as an Ivy League professor, he's also likely to be extremely arrogant.  Add to the mix that he's also apparently adopted the mentality of the black victim, and the stage was set for this incident to occur, including Gates playing the "race card" by implying that he was being questioned only because he is black.  Let's be clear on this:  it's quite logical for police, having received a report of a possible break in at a house, and then finding an individual in that house matching the description provided by the witness, to ask that individual to prove he (or she) in fact belongs in that house and is not breaking in.  This perfectly reasonable assessment belies Gates' claim of "racial profiling" that he has leveled at the Cambridge Police Department.

And why is it that educated men like Barack Obama can't figure this out?  Obama, asked about the incident a couple of days ago at a press conference, admitted he had no idea of the facts of the case but nevertheless characterized the Cambridge Police response as "stupid," a characterization not apparently shared by the large majority of the American people.  Subsequently given several chances to retract this statement or even apologize for it, Obama declined, although he did qualify the statement by saying, among other things, that he could have "calibrated those words differently."  He also said by way of backtracking that he has "extraordinary respect" for the challenges law enforcement officers face every day. Then, finally, he invited Crowley and Gates to the White House for a beer to discuss their differences!  What a joke.

Obama won't retract this statement because, as a left-wing activist, he finds the police a useful tool in his battle to remake America in the socialist mode; people who feel that they're oppressed will respond more favorably to remaking the social order.  Furthermore, as an advocate of and true believer in victimhood, he can't retract it, because he really does believe that police officers, as representatives of the repressive social order in this country, have it "in" for everyone but rich white men.  And as an activist, he has become adept at implementing what his role model, noted socialist agitator Saul Alinsky, termed "making the personal political." That's why he said what he said.  It was a knee jerk reaction from a radical activist, and it is probably the best indicator we've had since he's been our President of his true mindset.

But Professor Henry Gates and President Barack Obama should keep something in mind as they use the police as a foil to advance their own political agendas.  Everyone's house has the potential for a break in - although I admit Obama winning the Presidency has made that a lot less likely for him - even those of leftist radicals.  When that happens, whether it's your house or one belonging to a friend, neighbor, or even family member, you'd like the police to respond aggressively to apprehend the offender(s).  Entering a residence under unknown circumstances is a very dangerous situation for a police officer, and if they're going to be second-guessed every time they do it, they're going to be less eager to respond aggressively to such calls.  And that wouldn't be a good thing, even for a socialist.