HBO’s Bill Maher is a leftist of leftists who holds no punches when it comes to fighting the Right, but he tripped up some fellow travelers on race. First he quoted Paul Ryan on the causes of poverty and led a panel discussion on whether racism was at play in those comments. Predictably, the two leftists on the panel, one of whom was black comedian W. Kamau Bell, thought Ryan’s comments belied racism. So Maher asked them to weigh in on this statement: “When it comes to getting an education, too many of our young people just can’t be bothered. They’re sitting on couches for hours playing video games, watching TV. Instead of dreaming of being a teacher or a lawyer or a business leader, they’re fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper.” When he revealed that it was Michelle Obama, not Paul Ryan, who said that, his guests had to wipe egg off their faces. Bell pathetically explained, “She was talking to black people – we talk to each other differently than how we talk in front of you.” That’s precisely the point.