The recent contact between Henry Lewis Gates and Sgt. James Crowley probably wasn’t either man’s idea of how he performs at his best. Unfortunately, the media, and now the President of the United States have fanned this into an incident where both men feel that they have something personal invested in it, and cannot back down. Which is too bad, because both are basically good at what they do, if their previous records are any indication.

Professor Gates is a well known historian, with a long and respected career of studying the history of racial relations in the US. Sgt Crowley is a many year member of the police force, apparently liked and respected by members of his community, both Black and White. He has been a training officer for race relations in the department.

The meeting went poorly – and those of us who rely on what has been reported on the record have to look at the few comments from neighbors who observed it, and the reports filed by the police. The record is mixed – both men might have done things differently to remove the tension before the arrest. I can appreciate a fully exhausted professor returning home to find a stuck front door, and, in frustration, trying to force it. A neighbor called the police – apparently not recognizing Professor Gates – and the 911 dispatcher requested action, and Sgt. Crowley was the one to arrive on the scene. Judging strictly from the reports, the two men talked past each other. Not especially surprising if one is exhausted from 20 hours of plane travel, and one is dealing with increased anxiety of stepping into a possibly dangerous situation with an unknown person. The exchange went badly – the professor, quite possibly feeling an affront to his dignity and pride, responded defensively and angrily; the officer responded to the professor’s raised voice by asserting himself more forcefully. When the professor followed the policeman out, and continued shouting, the policeman decided to stop the deteriorating situation in a common manner – arresting the noisy party to forestall further escalation of the shouting match.

With twenty four hour hindsight, neither man looked totally blameless, although it appears that Sgt. Crowley worked strictly from the book, and moved to arrest Professor Gates only after the shouting moved out of the house. Ideally, both men would have looked at this and agreed to just quietly drop the matter, since neither looked totally sympathetic. A joint statement seemed to be heading in that direction.

Enter the media and the blogosphere. With plenty of publicity, and plenty of supporters for both men, a quiet agreement to drop the prosecution and the matter entirely seems unlikely. Especially after the President of the United States weighed in, calling the police department’s action’s “stupid.” Once again the issue has become a front page item, and partisans for each party are demanding complete vindication of their man, and an abject apology from the other.

While Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley each have legitimate reason to feel that they are being mis-characterized by their detractors, the real prize for stupidity goes to the President. At a time when he has a financial meltdown, and restructuring of the auto industry, and efforts to repair and re-order health care on his agenda, he makes an unnecessary and polarizing statement about an issue he admits he has less than perfect knowledge about.

Apologies would be helpful, but forced apologies are worthless. At this point, it is unreasonable to ask either Professor Gates or Sgt. Crowley to apologize. However, since the President claims to be the cool, calm, rational one, perhaps he would be willing to go first, and apologize for his stupid stereotyping of the Cambridge Police Department as “stupid.” Maybe if the Most Powerful Man in the World (TM) can say he is sorry, and move on, the rest of us can too. Even, perhaps, one day, the professor and the policeman.