Obama's 'mild rebuke' to Eric Holder

In a Black History Month speech to Justice Department workers last month, Holder said "this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot." But, he added, "in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards."

In an interview with the Times on Friday, Obama took issue with Holder's choice of words, but not necessarily his message. "I think it's fair to say that if I had been advising my attorney general, we would have used different language," Obama told the Times. The paper called it "a mild rebuke from America's first black president to its first black attorney general."

Despite the public criticism, the president seemed to support Holder on the meaning of his speech. "We're oftentimes uncomfortable with talking about race until there's some sort of racial flare-up or conflict," he said.

In his speech last month, Holder spoke of "the need to confront our racial past, and our racial present, and to understand the history of African people in this country." He also warned that "one cannot truly understand America without understanding the historical experience of black people in this nation. Simply put, to get to the heart of this country one must examine its racial soul."

Asked whether he agreed with Holder, Obama reportedly hesitated for five seconds before responding. "I'm not somebody who believes that constantly talking about race somehow solves racial tensions," the president said. "I think what solves racial tensions is fixing the economy, putting people to work, making sure that people have health care, ensuring that every kid is learning out there. I think if we do that, then we'll probably have more fruitful conversations."

Last month, Holder suggested that the nation needed to overcome its sensitivity about discussing race. "Though race related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race," he said.