If you assume that Pat Buchanan's frequent inappropriate comments about race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and a variety of other personal characteristics are, from MSNBC's standpoint, a bug rather than a feature, it raises the question of what exactly Buchanan brings to the table that is valuable enough to justify putting up with his baggage.

Well, MSBNC viewers just got a taste of Buchanan's deep insights:

BUCHANAN: I think what he [Obama] did on health care, I saw that more as a response to problems he's got. You notice in that carefully-crafted open[ing] statement, Andrea, he said in effect, 'Look, we're not going to increase the deficits with this.' This is talking to the point about the growing concern apparently among the majority of Americans about spending and deficits.

So, when Obama said health care would not increase deficits, that was a response to concern about deficits. Gee, you don't say. Good thing Pat Buchanan was around to help sort that out. You just can't get cutting-edge political analysis like that anywhere else. No wonder MSNBC puts up with him.