Yesterday, Pat Buchanan and Michael Eric Dyson clashed over Eric Holder‘s race speech. Somewhat ironically, guest host Mike Barnicle proved Eric Holder’s point when he said to Buchanan, “What do you think happens with white guys like you and me when we talk about race in — honestly, at least from our perspective? What happens?” The question supposes that the talk is different when only white guys are in the room. Which is of course partially what Holder was talking about. Later, Buchanan unloads on Dyson:

BUCHANAN: OK, let me tell some truths. Let me tell some truths. Let me tell some truths.

White folks in America are not responsible for the 70 percent illegitimacy rate in the black community. We are not responsible for the fact that African-Americans commit crimes at seven times the rate of white Americans. We are not responsible for the fact that many more children in the African-American community, 75 percent, are born out of wedlock, as I said.

All of these things are the responsibility of the African-American community. And its leaders should address the problems in their own community and stop blaming folks who are not responsible.

As a general rule, the genre of racial dialogue known as “—- is —- folks fault” is really unproductive.

I’m sure Buchanan felt very satisfied at making this rather hackneyed point. But whether or not out of wedlock births in the black community are white folks fault, they remain America’s problem, whether Buchanan likes it or not. His suggestion that black people alone should be dealing with this is the direct opposite of President Obama‘s approach to race, which is to posit black problems as American problems, problems we need to deal with as a nation. As well he should. If white people were having as many children out of wedlock it wouldn’t be a “white issue,” just as the use of powder cocaine isn’t a white issue but a drug issue.

But as long as people like Buchanan continue to triumphantly list black social problems as reasons for why race isn’t an issue, they’re inadvertently confirming Eric Holder’s argument that we “retreat to our race protected cocoons where much is comfortable and where progress is not really made.” Buchanan’s remarks merely prove he’s less interested in progress than in blame. I would never suggest however, that he isn’t brave enough to say what he really thinks. Just not brave enough to move past it.

— A. Serwer