President Obama said today that he’s “fascinated with the fascination” about tonight’s beers with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley.
“This is not a summit, guys,” he told reporters during a press availability after a meeting with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. “It’s just three folks having a drink at the end of the day.”
Discussion on cable news about the meeting has accelerated as we approach 6 p.m. ET, when Obama is scheduled to meet Gates and Crowley at a picnic table near the Oval Office. In the past half hour, CNN and MSNBC have both displayed countdown clocks to the meeting.