It was the most-anticipated meeting of the Obama presidency -- but it had nothing to do with health care, the economy, or foreign policy.
It was a get-together in the Rose Garden between the President, scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., police Sgt. James Crowley and Vice President Joe Biden.
The purpose?
To cool down with some cold beers the storm of controversy that erupted two weeks ago when Crowley arrested Gates after a 911 call alleging breaking and entering.
But could this beer summit live up to the quote “teachable moment” about race that Obama had hoped for? We’ve researched different American media perspectives on the issue.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow asks Brown University professor Tricia Rose, was this really a teachable moment?
Rose says not quite -- but, it’s a start.
“I’m not sure it was a teachable moment, but it was the beginning of a model for thinking about how interpersonal communication and calm exchange of ideas even when you disagree is an important strategy for moving toward, perhaps, some kind of consensus.”
CNN reporter Dan Lothian, who was there, says he couldn’t tell if it was a teachable moment or not.
“The problem is we’re not really getting a chance to listen in on this conversation to find out what they’re talking about. If they wanted to make it a teachable moment you would have hoped that they would have wanted everybody to hear what they were talking about.”
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly wasn’t convinced anything teachable was going on, but guest Geraldo Rivera disagreed.
“I think this is a very big moment. I believe that the whole issue of race and justice, remember, have not, I believe, been discussed in the White House since the Clinton race initiative back in…”
“Look, they’re sitting at a picnic table, there’s a pool camera…”
“But it’s a nice thing. Symbols mean a lot.”
For NPR news analyst Daniel Schorr, the only person experiencing a teachable moment was Obama himself.
The lesson - not to get involved in every racially charged conflict.
“Remember, Mr. President, that you are the president, and when faced with an emotionally laden encounter, you cannot afford to act on your visceral reactions. Or, to put it briefly, do not do something. Just stand there.”
Do you think anything productive will come out of this meeting? Or, was it just some guys sharing some beers?
