Attorney General Eric Holder called Justice Sotomayor's dissent in the Michigan affirmative action case "courageous" and said that America "still has a ways to go before our founding promise of equal justice and equal opportunity is fully realized."

Holder was speaking at a Justice Department diversity event.

The Hill:

“Just yesterday in her courageous and personal dissent,” Holder quoted Sotomayor as saying that people should not “wish away, rather than confront, the racial inequality that exists in our society. ... The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject of race.”

White House press secretary Jay Carney declined to weigh in on the ruling Tuesday but noted President Obama has previously said using race as a factor could be appropriate under certain circumstances.

Holder said confronting existing disparities not only requires a dialogue, but principled action “to address and remediate the lingering impacts of racial discrimination.”

The high court’s decision on Tuesday essentially says states have the right to ban affirmative action. A majority of Michigan voters approved the state's ban in 2006. It was the second affirmative action case the justices ruled on in the last year.

In a 2012 interview at the World Leaders Forum, Holder appeared to express support for the race-conscious policy.

“Affirmative action has been an issue since segregation practices,” Holder said. “The question is not when does it end, but when does it begin. ... When do people of color truly get the benefits to which they are entitled?”

Would someone tell me what's "courageous" about makling a statement the entire liberal establishment and every major media outlet in the country agrees with? Liberals are such adolescents. They think themselves the underdogs - persecuted for their beliefs - when just about anyone of any consequence in America agrees with them. Or are too fearful to say they don't. In truth, it would have been far, far more courageous for Sotomayor to have agreed with Chief Roberts. Then, the disapprobation would have been fierce. Instead, she's praised for being "courageous" when there's no chance she will suffer much criticism for her statement - except from a few, backward conservatives whose words won't be heard anyway.

Roberts and other conservatives are not saying racism has disappeared. They are simply pointing out that the path to a color blind society cannot be followed if you are going to fight racism using racism. You can't get there from here and no "remdial" steps that involve favoring one race over another - regardless of history - will achieve that goal.