President Obama comments on "Beer Summit"
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is hailing his meeting with professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and policeman James Crowley as a "friendly, thoughtful conversation." In a statement after the three men and Vice President Joe Biden chatted over beers, Obama said he learned that Gates and Crowley had already spent some time talking with each other. He called that "a testament to them."
Said Obama: "I have always believed that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart. I am confident that has happened here tonight, and I am hopeful that all of us are able to draw this positive lesson from this episode." Obama, Gates and Crowley were at the center of a national uproar over racial profiling.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APNP-07-30-09 1932EDT
