Being Obama Means Never Having to Say 'I'm Sorry'

President Obama's motive for inserting himself into the debate over whether racism was involved in the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis (Skip) Gates remains a mystery. He chose to answer a question about it at the end of his Wednesday night press conference on health care. In doing so, he first said he didn't know all the facts. Then he declared that the Cambridge, Mass., police acted "stupidly."

What was disappearing from the news suddenly took on new life as the President of the United States through the full faith and credibility of his office on the side of the aggrieved professor.

What was Obama hoping to gain here?

Today he makes an impromptu appearance before the White House press and "regrets" the media "obsession" over his Wednesday comments. He is unapologetic about those remarks which, he claims, are part of a "teachable moment" for America.

So what have we learned?

That Obama's thin skin extends beyond his own person to any issue or individual that he cares to protect.

That he will throw anyone "under the bus" to save himself. Professor Gates, he said today, obviously "overreacted."

That President Obama is an ideologue. He believes that racism is so thoroughly ingrained in American society that you can't question anyone who raises the race card, even improperly, because combatting racism is a cause too big to fail.

And that Obama won't apologize. His pride simply won't allow it.

He was wrong, as president, to weigh in on something local, and especially as he did not have all the facts. A modern president simply cannot project that kind of presence. It is not his role, and it sends a chilling message to state and local officials: make sure you don't lock horns with any of the president's friends.

This is not healthy. It doesn't advance the cause of racial unity. I'm not sure it advances the cause of anything except the president's already inflated ego. Forget, too, the idea of a Post-Racial America: with his inflexible views of race relations, we can never get beyond it.

Speaking of health care, Obama is not winning friends and influencing people with his attack on police officers who were just doing their jobs; in fact, they were protecting Gates' property, whether he chose to see it that way or not. There are many who, watching this weird story, are beginning to realize that Barack Hussein Obama doesn't like to be challenged on anything. Do you want to trust your health care plan to this man and his like-minded minions?

Thin-skinned and paranoid men have never done well as president. Not over the long haul.