Your Spot For What's Haute!

Gates, Crowley To Meet With Obama Over Beer This Week

In an update to our previous post about President Obama, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., and his arresting officer — James Crowley — making amends over beer, there’s word the meeting could happen early this week.

Here’s more from Fox News:

President Obama’s highly anticipated sit-down with Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. over some brews is expected to take place early this week, administration officials said Sunday.

Obama extended the invitation Friday in phone calls to the two men as he tried to calm a furor over racial profiling and his comments this week that the police “acted stupidly” in arresting Gates. He invited both to share a beer.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told FOX News on Sunday that he isn’t sure whether the meeting has been scheduled but added that the White House is hopeful it will occur “in the next several days.”

“And it’s our hope that, as the president said, this can be part of a teachable moment, that we can create a better communication and a dialogue between communities and police and help everyone do their job a little bit better,” he said. “And it’s our hope that soon Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley can sit at the White House and talk about some of these issues and have a beer with the president.”

David Axelrod, Obama’s top political adviser, told CBS News that he expects the meeting to happen.

“I think the president sees this as an opportunity to get dialogue going on an issue that has been historically troubling and one he has worked on and they both seem very eager to move forward, so I expect that it will,” he said.

Boston Globe reporter Tracy Jan told FOX News Sunday that Gates is looking forward to meeting Crowley at the White House under more pleasant circumstances, according to an e-mail he sent her. Gates said he’s not sure exactly when the meeting will happen but thinks it will be very soon. He added that he is a fan of Red Stripe and Beck’s.

Tweet Tags: beer, Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley, Henry, Henry Louis Gates, Henry Louis Gates arrested, president obama, race, Skip Gates