Wreckless

If the Clintons can have their own dictionary, then so can I;

Wreckless: adj\ marked by lack of proper caution and resulting in harm.

At least I'll make up my own words to go along with my made-up definitions.

Barack Obama caused quite a stir with his "off-the-cuff" remarks about the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. last week. He has drawn a lot of criticism for making the remark before having all of the facts, but in the days since the statement was delivered at the Press conference it has become reasonably clear that Obama had all the facts that he wanted or needed. No revelations in the past days have caused Obama to rethink his position on the issue. The closest that Obama has come to admitting that he may have "acted stupidly" was to say that he might have "calibrated" his words more carefully. Or as James McMurtry put it in Too Long in the Wasteland; "So I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said".

As the media searched for a "Teachable Moment" they seemed to be interested in teaching about anything but Obama. Unfortunately, Obama is the only real mystery that the Cambridge episode has done anything to unravel. The primary thing that we learned about our President is something that doesn't seem to be receiving much attention; he holds a deep contempt for the very office that he holds. Any government official in a position of authority understands that their words have impact. A President's words carry a tremendous amount of weight and potential for great harm or good.

President Obama's, 60s style, anti-establishment world view does not end with the men and women in blue. For the revolutionary community organizer that view extends all the way to the office of the Presidency. As Barack Obama attempts to transcend the traditional restraints and decorum of his office it can only be assumed that he grasped the impact of his words about the Cambridge incident before he uttered them. The anti-establishment radical abhors the constraints of position, even his own. I am not saying that Obama intended to harm anyone with his statement, just that he was not constrained by the consideration that his words might bring harm to those involved;

• Cambridge Police Sgt Jim Crowley was first on the scene and the arresting officer in the incident. As the officer that managed the scene he was immediately thrust into the spot-light following President Obama's statement. Obama's allegations of Police misconduct placed Crowley directly at risk for accusations of racism and abuse of his authority. Crowley's precarious position required him to pursue legal representation to defend himself and his career.
• Cambridge Police Sgt Leon Lashley is the black sergeant that supported officer Crowley's version of the events in which Professor Gates was arrested. In the days following the Press conference statement by President Obama, Lashley has faced a barrage of negative exposure. In a letter to Jim Crowley, Lashley pointed out that "One of the major problems stemming from the events of July 16 is that I, now known as 'the black Sergeant', have had my image plastered all over the Internet, television and newspapers. Subsequently, I have also become known, at least to some, as an 'Uncle Tom.' " Lashely requested that the letter be delivered to Professor Gates at the infamous 'Beer Summit'.
• The Cambridge Police department spent several days meeting with the Press and dealing with the fallout of the President's comments. The distraction siphoned resources and personnel away from their normal operations to deal with a media circus and legal firestorm. The distractions extended to the officers on the job that had to deal with the morale issues surrounding the allegations against their department and their colleagues that had been on the scene at the Gates house.
• Lucia Whalen is the neighbor that made the 911 call when she saw what she thought were two people breaking into a house across the street. She wins the prize in the "no good deed goes unpunished" category as she has been vilified as a racist since making the call to protect her neighbor's home. It was obvious that the affair had taken a toll on Ms. Whalen when she delivered an emotional statement to the press. As the Boston Globe described it; "With her hands shaking and her voice trembling, she said she decided to speak publicly only after the media managed to reach her mother. Whalen, who works for Harvard’s alumni magazine, said she was not raised to “judge people based on race, ethnicity, or any other feature other than their character. When I was called racist and I was a target of scorn and ridicule because of the things I never said, the criticism hurt me as a person,”
• Law Enforcement personnel throughout the nation have had their authority weakened by a single statement from the President of the United States. Their job is more difficult and dangerous today than it was just a few days ago. Some folks are undoubtedly less likely to call the police on behalf of their neighbors if there is a potential that racial sensitivities might be aroused. Some people may now consider a lack of cooperation with police in the normal execution of their duties to just be an assertion of their rights.

A few words from the President of the United States can travel far and touch the lives of a lot of people. The tradition of decorum on the part of US Presidents is there for a reason. President Obama may not have intended to harm the many people that were caught in the wake of his comments, but in his clear contempt for the authority of the police in Cambridge and his contempt for the decorum of his own office he was clearly wreckless.