If Henry Gates had just shown the police his license w/ his Address couldn't this whole mess have been avoided?

Or might it have been much more advantageous for a black professor (who is good friends w/ the President) to make a scene to get the whole incident in the national news knowing his friend, Obama, would have his back & bring up the whole issue of racial profiling into the national spotlight? You would think a smart guy like Gates would know that his license has his address on it?