As Steve mentioned in GMN, last night, with regard to the Bush tax cuts, Pat Buchanan told Al Sharpton, “let me tell you, your boy, Barack Obama, caved in on it in 2010 and he’ll cave in on it again.” He then almost immediately apologized for calling Barack Obama anyone’s “boy.” Here’s the offense and the apology in one handy video, via Politico:


Was Pat Buchanan really intent on making an ethnic slur on live television? No, I don’t think so. Jesus Christ, look at him! The man is a shambling mound of rotten meat and Brylcreem. If he ever stopped talking, he would deflate into a puddle. (I saw Buchanan once, in real life; he’s the closest thing to a zombie that I’ve ever seen with my own eyes.) When your job is saying stupid things at cameras all the time and you’re as old as the inexorable march of time itself, you’re going to fuck up every once in a while.

Granted, this was a bad mistake and I’m glad he apologized. But if you were to create a computer program that assembled words at random a million times a minute, I guarantee you some of those words would be offensive, too. This wasn’t a malicious act on Buchanan’s part. If it’s anyone’s fault, I’d blame MSNBC for giving this roving windbag and professional inexpert a platform to blather for what feels like 24 hours a day.

8 replies on “Pat Buchanan Calls Barack Obama “Your Boy” on Al Sharpton’s Show”

  1. So he clearly didn’t mean it that way, immediately noticed the potential misunderstanding and fixed it in a manner of seconds.

    What’s to report?

  3. This is the LEAST racist thing that Pat Buchanan has said this month.

    I still remember when someone tried to throw a shoe at him during the Tom McCall forum. Good times.

  4. I don’t understand why intent plays such a big role. If I unintentionally reveal I’m a racist, isn’t that just as bad as if I intentionally do it?

  6. I have to agree with Dude. Pat Buchanan has been making racist, offensive statements on a regular basis since the Nixon years. He has never learned to control himself because he never suffers any consequences. There’s no point in wondering whether it was “intended” – it’s a mindset, and it doesn’t belong on television.

  7. Actually, I think he did mean it – in a provocative way. He paused and grinned after he said it, seeming to be anticipating an immediate outburst from Sharpton, although he then had to resume speaking because Al stayed silent and staring until Pat finished his thought. It was a passive aggressive, easily-denied move on Buchanan’s part. And I don’t usually look for racist intent. I am a white woman, and just switched my voting registration from Democrat to Independent. I live in Scottsdale, Arizona.

  8. Pat Buchanan is one of the wisest political leaders of our time. He’s honest and very intelligent. Admit it, Paul. You could learn a lot from him.

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