Governor Huckabee led off with President Obama's shifting stance on the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates. After initially claiming the Cambridge police acted "stupidly," the president now says his remarks could have been better "calibrated." Mike asked FNC contributor Mike Gallagher to assess the situation. "Let's hope that the teaching moment the president wants," Gallagher said, "is that people stop racing into the charged politics of 'racism, racism, racism' at the drop of a hat. Let's hope people will stop saying that cop must be a racist, and let's give the police the benefit of the doubt. Professor Gates was belligerent and abusive." But political commentator Opio Sokoni praised President Obama's initial reaction. "The president did a great job of dealing with the issue in a straightforward way. If this police officer doesn't understand why Professor Gates is upset, then he has to go back and do some retraining before he teaches anyone else about racial profiling." After listening to both his guests, Mike sided with the police: "If somebody is seen pushing at the door to my home, I'm glad the police are going to show up and perhaps stop a burglary."

What are the legal ramifications of the Cambridge incident heard 'round the world? Mike explored that question with civil rights attorney Jennifer Bonjean. "I absolutely think Professor Gates has a lawsuit against the sergeant," Bonjean declared. "It has to do with the fact that an unlawful arrest was made. Under Massachusetts law, to be guilty of disorderly conduct you have to have a threatening behavior and the intent of creating a public disturbance. That's not what was happening here, so it was an unlawful arrest." Mike reminded the counselor that "other officers on the scene agreed there was disorderly conduct."

According to the Rasmussen daily tracking poll, President Obama's job approval rating has dipped below 50% for the first time. Mike asked Democratic stalwart Lanny Davis how his party can regain its political footing, especially on the issue of health care. "The Democrats need to be careful about making this a partisan issue," Davis replied. "I'm supporting President Obama's program, but I think there are genuine doubts by Blue Dog Democrats and others. There's a wide consensus that the present system is broken and this is too important an issue for this to be a party-line vote. We just haven't found the right mix of solutions yet." Mike urged the president and Congress to slow down and "let some of these ideas be tried in the states rather than do a national program all at once."

Mike introduced a repeat performance of Glenn Beck's July 14th visit to the No Spin Zone, during which he railed against the proposed energy bill. "We have an oligarchy in our country," Beck warned. "We have a takeover by business and special interests, and they are running the government. The question is whether temperatures are actually going up and, even if you buy into 'global warming,' whether this will solve it. This con is going to change America forever." Bill predicted that the energy bill will not make it through Congress: "I'm a global warming believer, but this 'cap-and-trade' con comes from a president who came into office saying he's with the people. But the people will pay more, while General Electric and Al Gore are going to make gazillions and pay no taxes. We're going to stop cap-and-trade by telling the folks what a con it is. It's irrefutable."

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin steps down this weekend, just as a new poll shows her national unfavorable ratings at a very steep 53%. Mike asked conservative Amanda Carpenter and Democrat Mathew Littman about Palin's political future. "She would be great on 'The Real Housewives of Wasila,'" Littman quipped, "but not as a figure who should be taken seriously on the national stage. As a Democrat, I hope she is the Republican nominee next time because the party would be gone. She's perhaps the most dishonest politician on the national stage since Richard Nixon." Carpenter took umbrage at Littman's belittling characterization. "To compare her to a tawdry character on a trashy TV show is insulting to someone who was a vice presidential candidate and a governor. It's that kind of talk, Mathew, that galvanizes her base, and it's part of the reason she has such strong support among Republicans. A lot of people feel they have to defend her because you attack her in such a tasteless manner." Mike added that Palin as "a very gracious person who has been stunned by the level of vitriol pointed her way."

Mike was joined by communications professor Tobe Berkovitz, who assessed President Obama's decision to enter the debate over the arrest of Henry Louis Gates. "It's inexplicable as to why he commented on this case," Berkovitz said, "after having been very skillful at avoiding racial politics. At least today he started to make this go away, but why they allowed this to turn into a huge story is something I can't understand. This is not what he needed at a time when his poll numbers are softening a little; he needs to strengthen his numbers by showing America that he does understand the health care dilemma and has a plan. He got mired down in this story that was very destructive." Berkovitz advised President Obama to cut back on press conferences and speeches. "If you're on television all the time, you can start to wear out your welcome and become a little less special."

Finally, Mike introduced a few of Bill's greatest hits from previous Reality Check segments. The memorable "Checks" included Roseanne Barr calling a woman "dude," a reporter passing out after being put in a choke hold by a woman wrestler, and another reporter punching a man who tried to get into his live shot. And this was Bill's response after some in the media castigated him for boycotting movies with Sean Penn: "I have a responsibility to explain this further, especially to younger Americans. The reason Sean Penn bothers me is that he legitimizes bad people like the Castro brothers and Hugo Chavez. If I think someone is helping an evildoer, I 'just say no' to that someone. Also, I think Mr. Penn doesn't like America very much."