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As a news event, it was a nonentity. The White House set up a photo-op for three beer drinkers and a non-alcoholic fourth. The host was President Barack Obama; one guest was Henry Louis Gates, an old friend and Harvard professor; the second was James Crowley, the Cambridge policeman who had arrested Gates as disorderly at his own home--only to have the charges dropped and to be criticized by the President for acting "stupidly." The teetotal fourth was Vice President Joe Biden. All three networks led with the after-work drink, making it the Story of the Day even though there was zero content to cover. ABC used Elizabeth Vargas as its substitute anchor.

CBS' Chip Reid pushed White House aides about whether they would leverage the drinks into substance. Is there going to be any follow-up? Is there going to be any effort to make this a teachable moment? "The answer has basically been No." Reid showed us the photo-op: "The cameras were kept at a great distance to make sure this conversation remained private. Also the President is not expected to comment after the meeting. It is all part of the White House strategy to just try to get this issue to go away." Reporters were so far away that their coverage amounted to ill-informed guesswork. "I am told the interaction between these two men"--Gates and Crowley--"was actually quite warm," offered NBC's Savannah Guthrie. "It did not look like a particularly friendly meeting," countered ABC's Jake Tapper.

ABC's Tapper quoted the President as confessing that he was "fascinated by the fascination about his drinks." Obama accords the news media too much credit for its heedless hype.

Andrew Tyndall 8/1/09 5:38:28 pm

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