( CNN ) -- Every American can make their own judgment about whether justice was served by the verdict in the George Zimmerman murder trial but one thing we should all recognize : President Obama 's interference in a local law enforcement matter was unprecedented and inappropriate , and he comes away from the case looking badly tarnished by his poor judgment . `` If I had a son , he 'd look like Trayvon , '' the president said when asked about the case in the Rose Garden on March 23 , 2012 , after many had called for Zimmerman 's arrest but several weeks before he was charged . `` When I think about this boy , I think about my own kids . '' In fact , if the president had a son , he would have been born to extraordinary privilege and raised with all the advantages of two very affluent and highly educated parents . He would have gone to tony private schools . His path in life would have been almost as dissimilar from Trayvon 's as one could imagine . Yes , Obama 's hypothetical son and Trayvon would have shared the same brown skin color . Would that have made them interchangeable ? Not unless all brown-skinned boys are the same . Does the president really believe that ? The president 's remarks created a clear impression that he was motivated by one of two factors , and we can only guess as to which , or what combination of the two , was at work here . One possibility is that this is merely another manifestation of the president 's well-known narcissism : No matter what the situation may be , it 's all about him . The other , more troubling possibility is that the president surrendered to his political instincts . He wants disadvantaged Americans to believe that he and his family are one of them -- despite their life of unparalleled privilege -- and he wanted the prosecutors , judge and jury to believe that this was a case about race where justice demanded a guilty verdict . If that was his motivation -- and we can not know , but reasonable people certainly may suspect -- then Obama should be ashamed of his effort to stir America 's turbulent , dangerous racial waters . The president 's role is not to be a racial agitator , and the mark of a great civil rights leader has been a determination to reject the temptations of that approach . And not that long ago -- in 2008 , in Philadelphia -- candidate Obama distanced himself from such agitators . People such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson see white racism as endemic and elevate what 's wrong with America over all that is remarkably right . In his 2008 Philadelphia speech , Obama separated himself from activists of their ilk : the very people who today still hope to punish George Zimmerman . On the campaign trail , Obama understood the sensibilities of the American people on these questions ; in office , Obama seems to have lost that touch . On Sunday , the president did once again separate himself from the voices of anger . `` We are a nation of laws and the jury has spoken , '' he said . But if his Justice Department brings civil rights charges against Zimmerman , as the NAACP has urged and which it is reportedly still considering , the ugly racial politics of this prosecution will be undeniable . Let us hope it never comes to that , for at that point a double tragedy will have occurred . Trayvon Martin will be dead , and our hopes for a president whose judgment is unaffected by his race will have been thoroughly and irreparably dashed . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Abigail Thernstrom .
Abigail Thernstrom : President Obama 's 2012 statement on case was a mistake . She says Obama wrongly emphasized role of race in the case . Presidents should be above the stance of those who seek to stir racial tension , she says . Thernstrom : Federal charges vs. Zimmerman would exacerbate the race issue .