"Call me Barack"

[BeyondGeography]

Hello, Sgt. Crowley, it's the President calling

Sgt. James Crowley was having a burger and a Blue Moon beer in Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub when his cell phone rang.

The Cambridge cop spoke for a moment and hung up looking altogether amazed.

“His jaw dropped,” recalled Peter Woodman, a co-owner of the Kendall Square pub and two others of the same name. “He said, ‘Jesus Christ, you'll never guess who’s going to ring me.’”

Word quickly spread through Friday’s lunchtime crowd that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs had just telephoned Crowley to say President Obama would be calling him.

“‘No way!’...‘No way!’...‘No way!’” patrons exclaimed.

A hush swept across the whole place. The TVs and music went off. The clanging in the kitchen ceased.

Crowley remained at a table by the front window, the cell phone set before him.

“He got a bit nervous for a minute or two then he got his head, Woodman said. “Cool as a cucumber, just sat there sipping his beer.”

The pub stayed absolutely silent.

“You could hear a pin drop,” Woodman said. “Literally 80 to 100 people standing around him. It was surreal.”

A couple came in from the street and asked for a table.

“The whole bar ‘Shhh! Shhh! Shut up and sit down!’” Woodman said.

After five or maybe six minutes, the phone rang again.

“He braced himself, took a deep breath,” Woodman recalled.

After two, perhaps three rings, Crowley answered.

“Hello, Mr. President.”

Obama addressed him as Sgt. Crowley.

“Call me Jimmy,” Crowley said.

Obama said to call him Barack. They spoke for five minutes or more as the crowd stood transfixed...

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/07/26/2009-07-26_hello_sgt_crowley_its_the_president.html#ixzz0MN9iRnVi

[Jennicut]

1. Our President is clearly the better man and an adult

[cleveramerican]

2. I bet he still called him Mr. President

I could never ever call him Barack.

[Jennicut]

3. Crowley sounded really nervous....he can spout off stuff in the media

But when it came to talk to the actual President he was a deer caught in headlights.

I honestly hopes this heals some things for both Gates and Crowley. I hope the President can help in that regard.

[cleveramerican]

4. brave men quake when in the presence of the president

even on the phone
this president or any other one
its unavoidable

[JohnnyLib2]

5. I think maybe this Cambridge incident will be in the history books.

Under "leadership style," if Obama continues to turn bad into good. Hope so.

[uponit7771]

13. Yeap, I've said it before...somehow negative situations work out to be positive ones for Obama

[TomClash]

6. That's my President

. . . and I am very proud to say that. :fistbump: :thumbsup: :beer:

[EffieBlack]

7. This is great - it's too bad the comments to the Daily News story are so frighteningly nasty

[Aristus]

8. Yeah, the Freepers really slithered out of their holes for this one, didn't they?

:eyes:

[The Doctor.]

28. They wouldn't know class if it called them up and offerred them a beer.

Yeah... like a freeper would turn down a beer.

[goclark]

9. You go Barack! That is too cool!

Now we hear the full story.

All I heard on the media was, " The President invited the officer to come have a beer with him."

I never heard that the police officer was "having a beer" when the President called.

They made it sound as if the President wasn't being dignified.

[Wednesdays]

10. K&R

:kick:

[Cha]

11. Yep, and the sooner this

happens the better to communicate and heal with.

[uponit7771]

12. WOW! This leads me to believe Obama is really a rare generational leader!!!!

[AspenRose]

22. Yes he is.

At the risk of sounding like a fangirl....and totally realizing that he is only human and makes mistakes, and will make more mistakes....and will piss me off from time to time....

....he is truly rare.

[grantcart]

14. k and r

[question everything]

15. That's my president! (nt)

[FrenchieCat]

16. That's OUR President!

:hi:

[question everything]

18. OOps. You are correct

except at work, where the owner still has that W on his car...

:thumbsdown:

[polmaven]

27. He may still have the W

on his car, but, THIS president, OUR president, I think, considers himself to be the president of every American.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. How did he get his cell phone number?

Could the president get MY cell phone number?

Hey Barack, I am not busy right now. You can call ME anytime. :)

[question everything]

19. Ever seen the movie "the American President"

where the widowed President (Michael Douglas) is calling the lobbyist (Annette Bening) at her sister's home? She is new in town so how did he know where to find her?

I am the President, he says, I have the resources..

:)

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. LOL

So now I know for sure Barack can call me. :)

[PatSeg]

24. I remember that

Great line from a really good movie.

We finally have a REAL president who can speak like my favorite movie/TV presidents - Michael Douglas, Jeff Bridges, Martin Sheen. Real life is starting to resemble an Aaron Sorkin script.

[DrToast]

23. I can do anything

I can even hack a user account on DU.

Sincerely,
Barack

[ellie]

21. Even I am impressed by that

President Obama is a pretty great guy!

[quiet.american]

25. Envisioning the entire restaurant concentrated on that call just warms my heart!

What a great antidote to all the "birther" insanity that's been going on lately.

"A man restored."

GOBAMA.

[Mother Of Four]

26. I love our President

[HopeOverFear]

29. nice

[BlooInBloo]

30. Heh. My response would be "Whatever you say, Mr. President"...

:rofl: