I come here to praise white guilt.

White guilt -- over the sins of slavery and Jim Crow in this country -- does not have the best reputation. Among conservatives, the phrase is used sneeringly; among liberals, it's often used with self-knowing irony. Which is too bad, because I believe that white guilt is actually quite useful.

I've made this argument before, but in the wake of Barack Obama's big speech, it's worth bringing up again.