Harry Reid’s “teaching moment.”

It is said that President Barack Obama is fond of using problematic events as “teachable moments.” Well here’s a teachable moment for Republicans in the wake of Harry Reid’s pre-2008 election comments that Obama was “light skinned… with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one”: In matters of racial politics Republicans should consider fighting back and sticking up for themselves instead of apologizing, genuflecting, and committing self-flagellation.

The utter hypocrisy shown in the reaction from the vast majority of liberals to Reid’s nonsensical and bigoted comments proves that they care nothing about race or stereotypes except as how they can wield it as a bludgeoning weapon against Republicans. Were a Republican to have said these things the 24-hour cable media, activist groups and Democratic politicians would be demanding their resignation and painting every Republican as an ignorant Klansman.

Instead we have the race-baiter in chief, Al Sharpton, deflecting criticism of Reid by saying he was far more offended (and if there’s ever someone who’s made a living by being offended it’s Al Sharpton) by the comments of Bill Clinton. In the same new book by Mark Halprin quoting Reid, Clinton is quoted as saying of Obama, “A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.”

Really, Al? He’s more offended by what was clearly a reference to inexperience (i.e., interns get you coffee or more if you’re Clinton, I suppose) than he was to “light-skinned, negro dialect”?

It’s preposterous. How does one expect to find any reasonable debate or common ground on race when the liberal masses champion idiocracy? Answer: Don’t bother.

Unless the remark is beyond the pale, and most of us have the common sense to judge that, do not apologize and pander to this foolishness. The next time a Republican is caught with their foot in their mouth, I’d hope they fight back just a little bit.