{"id":52068,"date":"2009-07-30T09:50:40","date_gmt":"2009-07-30T14:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2009\/07\/30\/section-2-henry-louis-gates-jrs-arrest\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:48:46","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:48:46","slug":"section-2-henry-louis-gates-jrs-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2009\/07\/30\/section-2-henry-louis-gates-jrs-arrest\/","title":{"rendered":"Section 2: Henry Louis Gates Jr\u2019s Arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

The developing story about the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Barack Obama\u2019s comments on the incident occurred while the latest Pew Research Center survey was being conducted. On the first night of interviewing, Wednesday, July 22, Barack Obama commented that the police had \u201cacted stupidly\u201d in his prime-time press conference. By Friday, both Henry Louis Gates and James Crowley \u2013 the police officer involved \u2013 publicly commented on the issue, and on Friday afternoon Obama followed up on his original remarks by saying he had spoken with Crowley by phone, and had used an unfortunate \u201cchoice of words\u201d in his press conference.<\/p>\n\n

An analysis<\/a> of the press coverage by the Project for Excellence in Journalism finds that media attention to the story built substantially over the week, to a peak of 31% of the overall newshole on Friday.\nF<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

urther analysis of the content of the stories found that the news stories through Thursday focused primarily on the facts surrounding Gates\u2019 arrest itself, but by Friday had turned to a focus on Obama\u2019s statements and the appropriateness of his involvement in the issue.<\/p>\n\n

An analysis of public responses over the course of the survey period suggests that Obama\u2019s job approval and personal image may have slipped somewhat \u2013 among whites \u2013 over the five days the survey was conducted. In interviews conducted Wednesday and Thursday night \u2013 largely before the analysis of Obama\u2019s comments became the main part of the story \u2013 53% of white non-Hispanics approved of Obama\u2019s overall job performance, compared with 46% of those interviewed Friday through Sunday. Disapproval among whites edged up from 36% on the first two nights to 42% Friday through Sunday. And the share of whites who say they like the kind of person Obama is slipped from 75% to 69% over the same period.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

Whether these changes in Obama\u2019s ratings over the interviewing period are a response to his handling of the Gates affair can only be inferred, not explicitly proven. But a small follow-up study confirms that the vast majority of Americans were aware of Obama\u2019s statements and the general reaction \u2013 particularly among whites \u2013 was relatively negative. A small re-contact survey conducted Monday night found 46% saying they have heard a lot about Obama\u2019s comments regarding the Gates incident and another 33% have heard a little \u2013 just 19% had heard nothing at all about the issue. And substantially more say they disapprove (41%) than approve (29%) of how Obama has handled the situation.<\/p>\n\n

Whites disapprove by a two-to-one margin (45% disapprove, 22% approve). The negative reaction among whites to Obama\u2019s involvement in this incident reaches across party lines. Republicans, not surprisingly, disapprove of Obama\u2019s handling of the situation by a 67% to 15% margin. But 40% of white independents also disapprove compared with just 18% who approve. And even among white Democrats, 83% of whom approve of Obama\u2019s performance overall, nearly as many disapprove (30%) as approve (37%) of how he\u2019s handled this issue.<\/p>\n\n

There is an overwhelmingly negative reaction to Obama\u2019s handling of the Gates issue among whites who heard a lot about Obama\u2019s comments. Seven-in-ten (70%) whites who heard a lot disapprove of how Obama handled the situation, while just 23% approve. In part, this reflects the fact that Republicans were more likely to have\nh<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

eard a lot about Obama\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n\n

There is no public consensus with regard to who is to blame for the original incident. When asked who, if anyone, was more at fault in the conflict between Henry Louis Gates and Officer James Crowley, 27% say Gates and 25% say Crowley. Nearly half say they don\u2019t know (36%), or blame both (10%) or neither (3%) parties. The balance tilts slightly toward faulting Gates among whites (29% vs. 22% who blame Crowley) though 10% blame both and another 39% do not assign blame to either.<\/p>\n\n

Reactions to Gates\u2019 arrest are closely linked to partisanship among whites. Half of white Republicans (50%) say Gates was at fault, compared with just 15% of white Democrats. Roughly a third (32%) of white Democrats fault Crowley, compared with just 13% of Republicans.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The developing story about the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Barack Obama\u2019s comments on the incident occurred while the latest Pew Research Center survey was being conducted. On the first night of interviewing, Wednesday, July 22, Barack Obama commented that the police had \u201cacted stupidly\u201d in his prime-time press conference. By Friday, both 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