In reading the past few weeks about the Gates/Crowley/Obama controversy, I am left with the impression that despite how much Obama is heralded as a great orator, he actually doesn't have a very good grasp of English.
For example, he said that the Cambridge police acted "stupidly," yet he insists he didn't intend to malign them. I don't know about you, but if somebody said I acted stupidly, I wouldn't think he's being complimentary.
Then, in trying to extricate himself, he said that the arrest was an "overreaction," but that "Professor Gates probably overreacted as well." If Gates "overreacted," then the arrest was legitimate and not an "overreaction."
"I obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up," the president said. Besides being redundant, the words here are all wrong. He didn't "help" anything. He obviously stirred the pot is what he meant, but "help" and "contribute" sound so much more positive, don't they?
"I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department . . . and I could have calibrated those words differently." What sort of impression were we supposed to get from "they acted stupidly"? Does "I could have calibrated those words differently" mean "I stuck my foot in my mouth, but you'll never hear me admit I was wrong"?
Incidentally, he wasn't going to retract his statement (if you can call this a retraction), but after he talked to Michelle, he had changed his mind. Or, rather, she changed his mind.
"Obama clarifies his comment on arrest." The Dallas Morning News; July 25, 2009; p. 1A.
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