A speech on the anniversary of the Civil Rights Act shows that he is not only standing firm but turning it up a notch or two. If Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas, or Walter Williams had said these things, they would be pilloried as Uncle Toms. Cosby, however, is so powerful and respected by the black leadership mainstream that even Jesse Jackson feels compelled (no doubt biting his tongue in the process) to mouth bland words of support.

Jonathan Rick - 7/5/2004

Hi Dave,

I'm an editorial intern for Time magazine this summer, and one of my responsibilities last week was writing Verbatim (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040712-660955,00.html), a compilation of the week's quotes. You'll be happy to know that my editor suggested the Cosby quote, which we included, in addition to, at my choosing, the quote from Hillary about "tak[ing] things away from you on behalf of the common good."

Jonathan Rick
http://students.hamilton.edu/2005/jrick/