IMO the police question depends greatly on your location. The response in Chicago compared to Tuscon should be much different.
At The last tea party rally I attended here in Michigan lots of people were openly carrying and the handful of police around were unconcerned about it.
I think you are right in that. However, I would prefer not to have to deal with the police at all, if possible. I have been stopped by Tucson police while carrying a .22 rifle openly, but never while carrying a revolver concealed. The police were perfectly courteous and professional, by the way, but they did stop me for that reason.