'We may put that together,' Obama said. 'We don't know if that's scheduled yet.'

Obama conceded that he helped to ratchet up nationwide furore with his remarks, but insisted that in his role as president, he had a duty to weigh in.

'Race is still a troubling aspect of this society, whether I were black or white,' Obama said. 'Interactions between police officers and the African-American community can sometimes be fraught with misunderstanding.'

After talking to Crowley, he said he concluded that 'two good people' had gotten involved in an incident that didn't turn out the way either of them wanted it to.

'I continue to believe ... that there was an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home to the station. I also continue to believe ... that Professor Gates probably overreacted as

well.'

In the arrest, police were responding to a call from a neighbour who reported that a black man was trying to break into Gates' Cambridge home. In fact, it was Gates himself, arriving home late at night from China, where he had been filming a public television documentary.

His front door was stuck shut, and Gates enlisted help from his taxi driver to assist in prying it open. When police arrived, they demanded that Gates identify himself and an altercation ensued.

Crowley arrested Gates for disorderly conduct and took him to the police station to book him. The charges were later dropped amidst the outcry over the arrest of such a prestigious black university professor.