When the 33 invited participants to Wednesday’s “White House Convening on Building Community Trust” filed into the conference room in the cavernous and ornate Eisenhower Executive Office Building, they discovered they would be placed next to improbable seatmates.

Rashad Robinson, a black political activist, had Pittsburgh's police chief, Cameron McLay, on one side of him and Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait on the other. Fraternal Order of Police executive director James O. Pasco was placed between NAACP President Cornell Brooks and Harvard economics professor Roland Fryer, who just published an analysis on racial disparities in aspects of law enforcement.

It was diversity “by design,” as Obama later told reporters, an unorthodox, four-hour experiment in policy-making through the kind of emotional exchanges that are more often associated with therapeutic encounter sessions than bureaucratic seminars. And according to interviews with about a third of those who participated, it worked.

“There’s not a lot of places and spaces for this kind of conversations,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, one of the participants, who added “the right people were there” to begin to tackle the challenge of reexamining how policing is done and how protesters should engage with law enforcement. “I hope it kind strengthened their guts for the task that lies ahead.”

Initially, the gathering — which White House officials had scrambled to assemble in the wake of incidents that claimed the lives of two African American men at the hands of police as well as five Dallas police officers who were safeguarding a protest in response to those shootings — was fairly formal. Obama presided over the meeting and encouraged the men and women in the room to share their ideas.

“After about an hour,” recalled J.B. Jennings, a Republican who serves as minority leader of the Maryland state senate, “people got comfortable, and people began to speak their mind and say what they really felt.”

The president took of his suit jacket, and encouraged others to do the same. There were some tense exchanges, as well as overtures from one side to the other.

Participants described a wide-ranging, free-flowing conversation facilitated by Obama himself, who began by taking off his suit jacket and rolling up his shirt sleeves.

“The president lived up to his reputation as a former law professor,” NAACP's Brooks noted after the meeting. “He spent quite a bit of time listening, probing, and guiding the discussion, occasionally deploying Socratic method to get some of the day’s best responses.”

Attendees, even some who had been skeptical of the utility of such a meeting, described an unsparingly frank discussion in which police, protesters, academics and the president hashed out many of the disagreement currently playing out across the nation.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, whose city has experienced some contentious rallies since a police officer shot and killed motorist Philando Castile earlier this month, called the actions of some protesters “disgraceful.” Mica Grimm, an activist with Black Lives Matter Minnesota who was also in the room, took issue with the phrase; Coleman countered that some protesters had dropped concrete blocks on his city’s officers.

“I responded by telling him that the protests aren’t going to stop until we see actual change,” Grimm recalled later. “And that begins with seeing an officer held accountable for killing somebody.”

As Coleman and Grimm went back and forth, one of the other police chiefs in the room slip a note of support to Grimm, and then the Rev. Al Sharpton interjected.

“We really need to be talking about why are people are protesting instead of being upset with protesters,” said Sharpton, the long time, and at-times controversial, civil rights activist, redirecting the conversation.

Bryan Stevenson, who co-founded the Equal Justice Initiative and sits on the president’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, made a point of speaking to law enforcement representatives about the mass shooting that had rattled officers across the country.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Stevenson told them, Garcetti recalled. “I’m sorry for what happened.”

Advancement Project co-director, Judith Brown Dianis, who is African American and whose husband is bi-racial, recounted how as she watched the nights of unrest and protest in Baton Rouge on television in her home with her extended family, including 86-year-old mother in law, who is white. As they watched the news coverage, her white mother-in-law suddenly became aware of the possible dangers that for years had faced her own son, Dianis’s husband.

“For the first time she was concerned whether or not her black son would make it home, she had never considered before that the police could harass or kill him,” Dianis recalled after the meeting. “All, week, she’s been asking me over and over about where my husband is and if he’s made it home safely each night.”

Several others in the meeting recounted the anecdote as among the most moving.

“That kind of thing is foreign to me, if you will,” said Pasco of the Fraternal Order of Police, adding that the accounts he heard of racial profiling he heard Wednesday took him aback.

Pasco wasn’t ready to cede ground on every front: when ColorOfChange executive director Rashad Robinson challenged him to call out “bad cops” to protect the reputation of “good cops,” he countered that the union wasn’t the one who made hiring decisions, and was obligated to defend its members to ensure they weren’t wrongfully fired or convicted.

And when Brooks went on the offensive, telling his seatmate, “And I’m going to call out the unions, Jim,” Pasco jokingly replied as an aside: “I was a heartbeat away from turning off the mike on you.”

When it was his turn to speak, International Association of Police Chiefs president Terry Cunningham, the chief in Wellesley, Mass., agreed with the activists that departments and police leaders need to be more willing to call out bad cops and speak out after bad shootings.

“There are law enforcement officers who are biased, but law enforcement clearly has a hard time saying that,” Cunningham recalled himself saying. “It’s no different than any other profession. And it’s a nonstarter for everyone else in the room if we don’t acknowledge the fact that we have people who are biased.”

His words, and similar ones from several other police chiefs in the room struck several activists in the room as a major breakthrough.

“It was important to hear chiefs of police say they understand why communities of color are not only distrustful but rightfully frustrated and angry when we witnenss a lack of accountability,” said Brittany Packnett, a St. Louis-based activists and educator who served on Obama’s 21st Century Policing Task Force.

The group delved into policy details at times: Fryer spoke of how incomplete many departments’ records are when it comes to clashes between police and civilians, and the fact that it took him and his students 45 minutes to convert each record they examined into one that could be properly coded and categorized in a database.

Activists pressed for federal officials to withhold money from departments under investigation for misconduct, and several people suggested a more standard accreditation process for police departments and a national code of conduct when it came to the use of force could avert tragic incidents from taking place.

And while Obama is known for his tendency to lecture at time, the other people in the room did much of the talking.

Campaign Zero co-founder DeRay McKesson had a long list of pointers and demands for the president. While the activist praised the fact that Obama’s language on protesters had “come a long way,” he told him to stop chastising them for not voting in elections, using the term “thugs” to describe people after nights when protests turn violent, and that he should instruct the FBI to stop visiting activists’ homes.

Activists in Cleveland, San Francisco, New York, Minneapolis, and St. Louis have all told The Washington Post that they’ve been visited by FBI agents in recent days, which the activists consider an intimidation tactic. The activist noted that while the president was quick to go to Dallas after five police officers were killed, Obama did not visit either Baton Rouge or Falcon Heights, Minn., where black men were killed in controversial shootings last week and, two years after Michael Brown’s death, has still never been to Ferguson, Mo.

“Well, I’m glad you have a long list for me,” the president replied with a slight edge, according to one participant. Obama pointed out he couldn’t “be everywhere,” especially in places where the Justice Department had an ongoing probe of police misconduct.

And Obama, according to two attendees, went on to note that the Justice Department can’t investigate every police shooting or allegation of misconduct.

“We have to come up with another way,” Obama said of accountability, according to two attendees.

At that point, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka interjected to call for federal legislation that would require an independent investigation into any police shooting or killing, a proposal that prompted nods across much of the room.

Speaking to reporters later, Obama made the point that while the problems the group grapples with is not “going to be solved overnight … But what we can do is to set up the kinds of respectful conversations that we've had here — not just in Washington, but around the country — so that we institutionalize a process of continually getting better, and holding ourselves accountable, and holding ourselves responsible for getting better.”

Attendees said that Obama ended the meeting by challenging them to focus their efforts on five specific areas: ensuring fair and impartial investigation into police use of force and misconduct; identifying best practices at the local level; providing federal financial incentives for the the broad implementation of those best practices; identifying, collecting, and analyzing vital criminal justice data; and ensuring that these efforts are sustainable longterm – even beyond the Obama presidency.

Multiple attendees said they believe it is likely Obama will re-convene his White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing and launch a townhall series, perhaps spearheaded by the Department of Justice, in cities that have seen unrest over police killings as well as cities where police have identified best practices and implemented reforms.

Garcetti, who has already been holding separate meetings with rappers and law enforcement in LA, said he was going to figure out how to bring activists and police officers into the same room. Robinson said his political advocacy now has “got to get people raising their voices on this” so federal officials will use their levers of power to pressure departments to reform. And Pasco his group will push for requiring law enforcement to gather data on assaults of civilians, as long as “there’s mandatory data collection of assaults on officers.”

As the meeting came to a conclusion, Obama turned to the Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) and Louisiana State Police Superintendent Mike Edmondson, to make a request on the behalf of Mckesson – who, according to attendees of the two meetings between the president and the young activist, have a warm if pointed rapport.

Earlier in the session, Mckesson had recounted his arrest this weekend while demonstrating in Baton Rouge, noting that he had been held in custody for more than 18 hours and that police officials still hadn’t given him back all of his belongings, specifically his backpack.

“We should get DeRay his backpack back,” the president said to the Louisiana officials, prompting a round of laughter around the room.

“I mean, I can get you a new book bag,” Obama said, turning to Mckesson. “But I have a feeling you want your bookbag back, huh?”

With a smile, Mckesson replied: “Yes, I would like that.”

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At an ABC town hall on race relations in America titled "The President and the People: A National Conversation," a person in the audience — in light of the national debate over whether law enforcement officers unfairly target black people — asked Obama if he was ever pulled over by police.

Obama said he has been pulled over, though he was careful not to say it was due to racism.

"I will say that the overwhelming majority of the time, I deserved to be pulled over 'cause I was going too fast, and the police officers were courteous, and I, and I got a ticket, which I deserved," he said. "There have been a couple of times in my life where that was not the case."

But the president made clear that at times in his life he did feel treated differently simply because he is black.

"What is true for me is true for a lot of African-American men — is there's a greater presumption of dangerousness that arises from the social and cultural perceptions that have been fed to folks for a long time," he said. "And I think it is not as bad as it used to be, but it's still there, and there's a history to that."

He recalled being a boy growing up in Hawaii with his white grandparents and encountering a neighbor at the elevator.

"I still remember when I was 10 years old walking into the elevator, and there was a woman who I thought knew me, and as soon as I walked on — and she lived on my grandparent's floor — when I walked on, she got off," Obama said. "And I was puzzled. I said, 'Do you want to come up?' And she said no. And then I went up, and then I saw the elevator go back down, and I just kind of peeked out the peephole, and I could see she came right back up but was just worried about riding the elevator with me."

He said sometimes he encountered that sense of dangerousness just going about daily life.

"And then over time you start learning as you're crossing the street, suddenly the locks start going on doors," he said.

The comments from Obama, the nation's first black president, come as the country is reeling from a string of shootings that have raised racial tensions.

Last week two black men were shot dead by white police officers — one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and another outside St. Paul, Minnesota — in cases that sparked outrage over concerns that the officers greatly overreacted to the threats posed in each case.

Then during a protest in Dallas, five police officers were shot and killed by a man who authorities say was upset about the recent police shootings.

At the town hall, Obama appealed for a greater sense of understanding and for people to not make assumptions about one another based on race or ethnicity.

"So the question, I think, for all of us is, 'How do we try to lessen those barriers and those misunderstandings?" And some of it involves us being very conscious of our assumptions, because white folks and Latino folks also carry some assumptions," he said. "You may see a police officer who's doing everything right, and you automatically assume the worst rather than the best in him. And we have to guard against that as well. And that has to be reflected in how we talk about these issues going forward."

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Acknowledging the scars of a secret war, President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the United States has a "moral obligation" to help this isolated Southeast Asian nation heal its war wounds and vowed to reinvigorate relations with a country with rising strategic importance to the U.S.

Making a first visit for a sitting U.S. president, Obama said too few Americans know of the United States' covert bombing of Laos during the Vietnam War and that the campaign and its aftermath are reminders that "whatever the cause, whatever our intentions, war inflicts a terrible toll."

For nine years, the U.S. conducted a punishing, covert bombing campaign on landlocked Laos in an effort to cut off communist forces in neighboring Vietnam. The bombardment left behind deep scars, millions of unexploded cluster bombs across the countryside and decades-worth of cleanup.

Obama is one of several world leaders arriving for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Taking its turn as the chair of the regional forum, the Laos' communist government is seizing a rare moment in the spotlight.

For Obama, the visit is a capstone to his years-long effort to bolster relations with Southeast Asian countries long overlooked by the United States. The outreach is a core element of Obama's attempt to focus U.S. policy on Asia in order to counter China's dominance in the region and ensure a foothold in growing markets.

As a first sign of a new relationship with Laos, the Obama said his administration would address the legacy of war. Obama announced he would double spending for unexploded ordnance, committing $90 million over the three years. The U.S. has contributed $100 million to the effort in the last 20 years, as annual deaths have fallen from more than 300 to fewer than 50, the White House said.

The Lao government said it would increase efforts to recover remains and account for Americans missing since the Vietnam War.

As he opened a day of ceremony and diplomacy, Obama was greeted by a military band, traditional dancers and a warm, tropical rain. He met with Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit, was feted at a welcome banqueted, where he toasted to a relationship he said would "mean greater progress and opportunity for the people of Laos."

Obama's outreach to those regional powers hit a snag just as he arrived in the region from China. The White House called off a planned meeting Tuesday with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, after the brash new leader referred to Obama as a "son of a *****."

Duterte, who had been expecting Obama to criticize his deadly, extrajudicial crackdown on drug dealers, later said he regretted the personal attack on the president.

In a statement read out Tuesday by his spokesman, Duterte said his "strong comments" to certain questions by a reporter "elicited concern and distress."

"We look forward to ironing out differences arising out of national priorities and perceptions, and working in mutually responsible ways for both countries," the statement said.

Obama stopped at the Cook County government office building shortly after attending a fundraiser for House Democrats.

"You guys are doing a wonderful job, appreciate ya," Obama told poll workers as he filled out his paperwork.

The president, who has aged noticeably while in office, cracked a joke about his birth date.

"What's my date of birth? 8/4/81?" he asked.

"Nice try," One of the workers said.

Obama responded that he was just "shaving just a couple of decades off."

The president is headlining fundraisers in his hometown for Clinton and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He is also attending an event on Sunday for Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who is running for Senate in Illinois.

The Clinton campaign is seeking to use early voting to its advantage, and Obama's decision to cast his ballot now promotes those efforts.

Illinois's early voting period began on Sept. 29 and runs until Nov. 7, the day before Election Day.

WASHINGTON — President Obama bestowed the nation's highest civilian honor on Vice President Biden Thursday, calling his running mate and presidential understudy "the best vice president America has ever had."

The surprise State Room ceremony was alternately humorous and poignant, with Biden turning his face from the audience to wipe away his tears.

"I had no inkling," Biden said, saying he thought the event was supposed to be for first lady Michelle Obama. He jokingly fired his chief of staff for not telling him. "I don't deserve this, but I know this came from the president's heart."

Only two other vice presidents have received the honor. President Gerald Ford awarded it to his vice president, Nelson Rockefeller, in 1977, and President Jimmy Carter awarded it to Lyndon Johnson's vice president, Hubert Humphrey, in 1980.

But Biden's medal also came with an additional rare honor: The Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction. That additional designation has been bestowed to only three others: Pope John Paul II, President Ronald Reagan and former secretary of State Colin Powell.

"It is, as Joe once said, a big ... deal," a straight-faced Obama joked, referring to Biden's expletive-laden remark on the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

"He has made me a better president, and a better commander in chief," Obama said. "When everyone else has cleared out of the room, he's been unafraid to give it to me straight, even when we disagree. Especially when we disagreed."

Obama recited a list of Biden's accomplishments as vice president, leading the Middle Class Task Force, serving as the stimulus "sheriff," and manning "mission control" for the Cancer Moonshot. But he said those items do not capture the fullness of Biden's often-parodied persona.

"I have not mentioned Amtrak yet. Or aviators. Literally," Obama said.

In his farewell address in Chicago on Tuesday, Obama called Biden a "great vice president" and a "brother." On Thursday, joking about the close friendship they've had, Obama joked that one last joint event "also gives the Internet one last chance to talk about our bromance," he said.

Biden accepted the award with an off-the-cuff speech in characteristic fashion, reciting Irish poems, Talmudic sayings and inside stories. He told of the time, six months into his presidency, when Obama told him, "You know what surprised me is how we’ve become such good friends."

"I said, 'surprised you?'" Biden said, incredulously. "That is candid Obama."

"There is no power in the vice presidency," Biden said. "There is no inherent power, nor should there be. But Mr. President, you have more than kept your commitment to me by saying to me you wanted me to help govern."