I'm really not surprised that Robert Gibbs is cleaning up President Obama's statement last night about Henry Louis Gates being arrested by the Cambridge Police Department or that the GOP is attacking President Obama in a way that twists his words. That's what happens when you weigh into a situation like this.

I'm not saying that President Obama shouldn't have been allowed to say that or that what he said was untrue, I'm saying that if he's going to say that the Cambridge Police Department acted "stupidly" he should expect a less than positive reaction.

Again let me stress that I'm not saying what Obama said was factually wrong but I do think it was strategically wrong because it leaves Obama's opposition open to criticizing him, especially when he says he doesn't know all the facts which I assume is meant as a precaution if something else comes out of the case.

I'm happy to have a discussion on race --more than happy in fact, especially one which involves President Obama who I think, like me, as a biracial American, has a deep and rare view on race and racial relations (which he expressed in the press conference last night but nobody is focusing on that. Surprise.). But that's not what calling the Cambridge Police Department stupid does. It just encourages talking points and a smear campaign.

On the otherhand, this may turn out advantageous and perhaps even tactically astute. As Greg Sargent points out in the post I linked to above, Obama is siding with the black guy who was arrested, and the GOP is siding with the white guy who arrested him. It's not a helpful split for the right but I'm pessimistic that anyone will pick up on that.