Well, well, well … another “racial incident” is upon us. This time, we’re in an uproar over the arrest of Henry Louis Gates (black) by Sgt. James Crowley (white) for disorderly conduct after a heated argument about whether Gates had broken into his own house in Cambridge, Mass. Incidents like this should be an excuse to have a nuanced discussion about race in America. It's an excellent opportunity for people to hear about why black men feel so threatened by police. Hell, it would be a great time for a bit of B-roll─just a taste of the famous incidents that have seared a distrust of the police into African-Americans, for better or for worse. It could start with the use of high-pressure water hoses and dogs on children in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963, and continue through the high-profile murders of black folks, such as Emmett Till, by people who were not convicted but who confessed to the crime in Life magazine. Maybe it could mention that of the 240 postconviction DNA exonerations in the U.S., 142 have been of African-Americans. And though it may be controversial, perhaps throw in the exoneration of four white officers for the beating of Rodney King in 1992. 

Add another GOP senator to the list of Republicans the White House is assailing for stalling health care reform in the name of politics. Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, trashed President Obama’s efforts on two different radio shows this week, implying that the GOP’s attempts to stall health care reform will bring about Obama’s “demise.” “We are plotting the demise on a week by week basis of where Bill Clinton was in 1993 and where Obama is today, and his demise ratio is greater than Clinton’s was in 1993,” Inhofe told the conservative Janet Parshall radio show on Wednesday. That same day, Inhofe went on the Hugh Hewitt show saying essentially the same thing. “I just hope the president keeps talking about it, keeps trying to rush it through,” Inhofe said. “We can stall it. And that’s going to be a huge gain for those of us who want to turn this thing over in the 2010 election.” Both clips surfaced late Thursday on the site Think Progress, a non-profit liberal group founded by John Podesta, who ran Obama’s White House transition committee.

How will the White House use these latest comments? Look for administration officials to suggest Inhofe and Jim DeMint, he of the now infamous “Waterloo” comment, are reflective of the mainstream within the Republican Party--that the GOP is playing politics with the process, while Obama is trying to help the American people. In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel advanced this argument, telling host Steve Inskeep he “actually appreciate(s)” what Inhofe and DeMint said. “I’m different than everybody. I’m not going to criticize them. I complement them. They’re honest,” Emanuel said. “They’re being honest about what they see the stakes. And what I find interesting, I haven’t heard a lot of people in their party criticize them.” Talk about a backhanded compliment.