Obama surprises press corps

President Obama made an unannounced appearance at today's WH presser to defuse the idiotic mania over his remarks on the Gates arrest in Cambridge. No matter how you feel about him and the job he's doing, you have to admit the man knows how to handle the media.

He told them he had spoken to the cop who made the arrest and then later to Gates. He also admitted that "stupidly" probably wasn't the best modifier he could have used in describing the arrest but rightly noted that the ensuing kerfluffle was a pretty clear indicator that our society is far from colorblind when it comes to racial issues. He also notes that the mania has been a distraction from the much more important issue of health insurance reform.

You can read the whole statement at the link but my favorite bit was the quip at the end.

So at the end of the conversation there was a discussion about -- my conversation with Sergeant Crowley, there was discussion about he and I and Professor Gates having a beer here in the White House. We don't know if that's scheduled yet -- (laughter) -- but we may put that together.

He also did say he wanted to find out if there was a way of getting the press off his lawn. (Laughter.) I informed him that I can't get the press off my lawn. (Laughter.) He pointed out that my lawn is bigger than his lawn. (Laughter.) But if anybody has any connections to the Boston press, as well as national press, Sergeant Crowley would be happy for you to stop trampling his grass.

Meanwhile, best tweet on the appearance goes to Chris Hayes: "REPORT: Obama fans from across nation flock to Gates' house, attempting citizens' arrests in hopes of being invited to WH for beer."

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