=="Police acted stupidly"==
[[File:800px-Beer summit cheers.jpg|thumb|right|350px|center|President Obama attempted to mitigate the fiasco his comments created about the integrity of law enforcement in the performance of their duties, by inviting his personal friend and the arresting officer to a White House Beer Summit.]]
In the opening months of his presidency, Obama's close personal friend , [[Harvard]] Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. , was arrested on [[misdemeanor]] disturbance charges.<ref>http://gretawire.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/07/23/police-and-president-obama/comment-page-2/?action=late-new</ref>
Asked about the incident at an evening prime time press conference televised to the nation, Obama attacked the police and proclaimed the arresting officer "acted stupidly."