This blog item is just one longish “Quote of the Day.”

That’s because former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice made a sensible and realistic statement about race relations in the U.S.—made under intense pressure from an NBC reporter, who was fishing for derogatory comments—that deserves wide circulation. So, we’re doing our bit.

NBC’s Sheinelle Jones informed Rice that “there are people” who feel that race relations and society more divided today. Rice replied with what Townhall describes as “a healthy dose of reality:”

“Look, it sure doesn’t feel worse than when I grew up in Jim Crow Alabama, OK? So, let’s drop this notion that we’re worse race relations today than we were in the past,” she responded. "Really? That means we’ve made no progress, really? And so, I think the hyperbole about how much worse it is isn’t doing us any good. This country is never going to be colorblind. We had the initial original sin of slavery.”

Rice’s words had little effect on Ms. Jones:    

Jones countered, asking what she felt about people who believe the example is being set by President Trump. 

"So for people who say, you know what, it’s top down, it starts with the president, it starts with the words that he speaks,” she said. 

“Oh, come on, alright,” Rice replied. “I would be the first to say we need to watch our language about race — we need to watch we don't use dog whistles. But when we start saying, ‘Oh, you know, it’s worse today,’ no, they’re not.”

Here's an example being set by the Trump administration: black unemployment at an all-time low.

We’re going to be hearing a lot about worsening race relations in the runup to the 2020 campaign.

Democrats are dependent on African American votes to win,

But what if these voters appreciate the current economy?

This send shivers up the spines of Democrats, who may be inclined see grievance politics as a lifeline.