Powerlineblog -- Who's The Coward?

Attorney General Holder has called America "a nation of cowards" when it comes to "things racial." According to Holder, "average Americans" are afraid to "talk enough with each other about race."

By using the word "cowards," Holder has gotten himself some attention, at least for today. That's ironic because his long-winded speech is 99 percent content free.

To add to the irony, in the one place where Holder introduces a little content, he demonstrates that he has no interest in genuine dialogue, and reveals himself to be a "coward" on "things racial."

Here is Holder on the crucial issue of "affirmative action" (a coward's name for race-based preferences):

There can, for instance, be very legitimate debate about the question of affirmative action. This debate can, and should, be nuanced, principled and spirited. But the conversation that we now engage in as a nation on this and other racial subjects is too often simplistic and left to those on the extremes who are not hesitant to use these issues to advance nothing more than their own, narrow self interest.

So in one breath, Holder calls for a frank discussion of race, rather than the normal polite talk that evades tough issues; in the next breath, he attempts to rule out of the debate positions that he finds "extreme" while demonizing those who hold them. In the one instance where Holder is willing to be specific, we learn that his real complaint is not the absence of candid discussion, but rather the articulation of positions he doesn't like.

We have plenty of problems as a nation. I doubt that insufficient discussion of race is one of them. But if it is, Holder's mindset is part of the problem, not part of the solution.