As the coverage continues after Barack Obama’s speech on race, Pat Buchanan, the cantankerous conservative, writes in his syndicated column, "A Brief for Whitey," that "White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to." He continues,

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known. Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American. Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ’60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

I wonder if Pat Buchanan knows Obama’s grandmother.