Yesterday, amid all the release of the 911 tape, the radio chatter, and the arrest report (which appeared to show that the arrest report may not have been 100% accurate) came the big news : The profiler, the profiled and the President will be having a beer and a chat at the White House on Thursday night. I think this is an excellent thing and maybe some greater good will come out of it, if not for the country as a whole, but for the City of Cambridge. Perhaps Mayor Simmons can get Crowley and Gates to lead the public forum she is planning.
And according to Robert Gibbs’ discussion with a reporter at his briefing yesterday, he and the reporter will be doing the beer run. This exchange reported in Politico.com
The planned reunion was the subject of light-hearted banter at Gibbs’ briefing on Monday:
Q: Okay. And another subject, Officer Crowley is drinking Blue Moon, we hear Professor Gates is drinking Red Stripe or Becks — what’s the President drinking?
MR. GIBBS: The President had a Budweiser at the All-Star Game, so — why are you looking at me like that? That’s what he drank.
Q: We’re talking Blue Moon, Red Stripe, Becks —
MR. GIBBS: What’s wrong with Budweiser? Why do you hate Budweiser? (Laughter.)
Q: Well, he could get —
MR. GIBBS: Why do you hate Budweiser, Wendell? (Laughter.) Wendell, how about this — how about you and I, we’ll go pick out the beer, we’ll do the beer run. Uh-oh, hold, please. (Laughter.)
Q: I’m happy to do that.
All joking aside, I think this is an important meeting and, as someone, maybe the President himself, said a teachable moment.
I’ll be having either a Harp or a Red Stripe.