look what happened last year. at the end of that press conference. talk about health care. about health care, you get this question about his friend henry louis gates being arrested. he answers that question and you ve got two or three weeks of them embroiled trying to deal with this. that was two or three weeks that they lost when they were focusing on health care and even yesterday when they were trying to respond to this latest controversy, it s going on for three days, almost four days now. they lost the value what they saw as a valuable photo op of the president signing the financial regulation reform so two years in a row now, a racial flap has thrown them off their game. there s so much it wasn t supposed to happen during this administration of all administrations. right now got to love that post racial america, right? week from today, the arizona thing goes into effect, you know, unless it s stopped in court. then you ve got the new black panther party story tha
all of this after a conservative blocker decided to use her as a example of racism in the naacp. but instead, she is a voice on how to narrow the racial divide, and the black caucus says it is an opportunity for a national conversation. an honest dialogue that is clear, bold and that s without fear. reporter: after taking office, eric holder, the first african-american attorney general called the united states a nation of cowards on matters of race and avoiding the hard questions. president obama waded into the issue of race after a white police officer stopped harvard professor henry gates as he was entering his own home. the cambridge police acted stupidly. reporter: and it ended with the now-famous toast between the three. and abigail thurmstrom says that the civil conversations are rare in the current climate.
president obama has set a dubious record. he has gone longer than george w. bush in avoiding a for mall news conference with reporters. it has been 215 days since the president s last primetime nationally televised press conference. george w. bush s longest was 214 days. i wonder why he does not want to talk to reporters and answer their questions? maybe it is because at the last primetime news conference in july, mr. obama stepped it in big time, and he said that the cambridge police acted stupidly in the arrest of henry gates, but that turned into a virtual media storm. so since then, it is about staying on message. earlier this month, the president took questions from reporters in a mini presser after showing up unannounced on a snow day in the press room. he took questions for 30 minutes, but not the same thing as a full-fledged announced ahead of time press conference carried on all of the networks.
confesses her fear of black men who passes her by on the speech. reporter: and after that, controversy after he criticized the police officer who a arre arrested henry gates in harvard. the police officer acted stupidly, and there is a long history of african-americans and latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that is a fact. reporter: police union officials in cambridge called for the apology, and the president backed away from the criticism, and defused the controversy with a photo-op a beer summit. and now, some criticized how some viewed his presidency. there is a dark veined intolerance. colin powell incited the party last year. and hesitant to criticize, the
anything, and a woman who confesses her fear of black men who passes her by on the speech. reporter: and after that, controversy after he criticized the police officer who a arre arrested henry gates in harvard. the police officer acted stupidly, and there is a long history of african-americans and latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that is a fact. reporter: police union officials in cambridge called for the apology, and the president backed away from the criticism, and defused the controversy with a photo-op a beer summit. and now, some criticized how some viewed his presidency. there is a dark veined intolerance. colin powell incited the party last year. and hesitant to criticize, the