While President Obama was at ease, Sgt. James Crowley appeared defensive and Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. looked diplomatic, according to a body-language expert who watched yesterday’s White House drinking session.
“Who looked the most comfortable is definitely Obama,” said Mary Dawne Arden, who at The Post’s request examined footage of the meeting over the Cambridge, Mass., race flap.
“He had had his arms over the back of his chair like he was entertaining friends.”
Arden noted that at one point, Obama even casually picked up a beer nut and munched on it — then wiped his hands on his pants.
“It means he’s very relaxed. He behaved just like he’s at home,” she said. “This is where he is a master, how to deal with people.”
Arden said the sergeant looked the most ill at ease.
“His body language was very defensive,” she said, noting how he made wide gestures with his hands as he spoke. “I think he still wanted to say he did the right thing. I didn’t see any apologetic body language from the cop.”
In contrast, she said, Gates made smaller, more conciliatory gestures.
“I found he was using his hands to explain his position . . . in a more diplomatic and sober way,” she said.
Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, looked like the odd man out, Arden said — like he “was trying hard to participate.”