Resign over the remark? The poster is a perfect Red Queen: sentence first, trial later--if at all. And he's been such a strong Obama supporter for so long.   I'm truly shocked.

But I'd certainly say Holder's remark is over the top, and I'm surprised to hear Mudcatters defend it. (Or maybe not so surprised).

Those who do defend it seem to be a type often seen here--far more comfortable in the ivory tower of ideological purity than in the grit of actually getting something done--in real politics. Politically it was a classic faux pas. Politics is the art of the possible. So you want as many supporters as you can get. Holder's statement does not help the cause, to put it mildly.

As a black friend of mine at work noted, even if Holder believed this, he should not have said it. It doesn't even matter if it's true or not.   It's pointlessly inflammatory--and being Attorney General is not exactly like being a Mudcat poster.   My own view would be that some Americans are "cowards", some aren't. Some probably feel that discretion is the better part of valor in this sort of topic. It also depends on how comfortable you are in general with your conversation partner.

But I don't buy this "we are all Martin Gibsons", "we are all racists", "we are all...(fill in the blank)" tripe. Even though some people here seem to like to wallow in that stuff.   Sorry, hairshirts have never seemed to fit me. And I''m not alone.

Holder should have thought twice. I would think that all Cabinet Secretaries--and that's what Holder is--should know they are constantly under the microscope. People are just dying to pounce on them--so don't give them the chance.   It goes with the territory. My sympathy for Mr. Holder is limited.

But I hope--and expect--that he has learned from this. Biden was considered to be the loose cannon--not Holder.

Obama might be starting to wonder if he's captaining a ship of fools. Which of course would not reflect well on the man who appointed them.

But it's still early. Better to make your mistakes early and learn from them.

In fact the Holder remark is actually trivial in the grand scheme of things--despite the seemingly endless fascination of such small potatoes for some Mudcatters. Obama has actually had some good success. He's managed to get the huge stimulus bill passed in an amazingly short time.   He's rolling back some of the most despicable Bush ideas.

And now it looks like he will be able to get voting rights for DC--quite soon even. The vote in the Senate, I understand is scheduled for next Tuesday.    Voting rights for DC would be a big feather in Obama's cap. Maybe then people will stop the endless nitpicking--for at least 30 seconds.