Dr. Laura's N-word Rant, Inexcusable?

Dr. Laura Schlesinger, spewing the N-word and berating a black woman who called to talk about her interracial marriage, joins comedian Michael Richards, broadcasters like Don Imus and the late Jimmy (the Greek) Snyder as nationally known figures who blurted out racially offensive words before a nation - and key corporate sponsors - who proved unwilling to dismiss the epithets as harmless joking.

Schlesinger's plea - that she should be able to use the N-word the way some black comedians do - is both tiresome and badly out of date.

What Schlesinger wasn't aware of was the Constitution, as evidenced by her statement on CNN that she will be ending her radio show in order to reclaim her First Amendment rights. Ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin echoed the sentiment, lamenting Schelsinger's supposed loss of rights.

Both women are dead wrong. The First Amendment bars government restrictions on free speech, but the government came nowhere near the Schlesinger case. It was an outraged public that contacted her sponsors, demanding that they drop her show.

It wasn't pretty, but it was a textbook case of countering offensive speech with more speech, allowing free minds and free markets to settle the dispute.

I predict there will be more Dr. Lauras in the future - people unaware that America, in its own bumpy way, is making progress on public expressions of racial disdain - and expects public figures to keep up with the pace of change.