Mike, bottom line, Obama's statements were completely idiotic.

It's OK to use emotion in a debate, but it's not OK to eschew a debate in favor of emotions.

Gates made a classic mistake - he argued and wouldn't cooperate with the cops. Once as a teen and twice in my adult life I was stopped by cops because they thought I was involved in an incident. I wasn't, but I cooperated fully....and calmly. And all three times I was on my merry way in about 15 minutes, without incident.

If you cooperate with police, if you do as they say and if you stay calm, it allows them to more effectively do their job to determine if you're involved or merely a bystander.

I don't like everything that police do....but by cooperating you make it better for everyone involved.