That’s the only explanation I can find for why she got so worked up this morning. Here’s third-place Soledad and her panel discussing the latest Breitbart.com video with the site’s Editor-in-Chief, Joel Pollak:

Wow. Can somebody run to the CNN cafeteria and get Soledad a bag to breathe into?

But she’s not the best part. The best part is at the 6:30 mark, when comedian and radio host Jay Thomas asks Pollak, “What are you frightened of? Are you frightened that black people are gonna do something to you?”

I think Thomas might have nailed it. Here’s Pollak’s wife, Julia. (Hat tip: Hot Air)

I have a funny joke for you, Mr. Thomas. Feel free to use it:

“Take my wife. Please. I’m scared of her because she’s black!”

Update: Oh, or maybe this could be why Soledad was so upset:

Update: I remember Jay Thomas played the deli guy on Mork & Mindy 30 years ago. Now he’s morphed into a left-wing Archie Bunker. Except not quite as smart. Maybe it was all that partying with Robin Williams.

Update: Will Jay Thomas and/or Soledad O’Brien be making an on-air apology to the Pollaks for calling Joel a racist? If not, why not?

Update: Prepare to gaze into the face of hatred:

By the way… Good catch, Joel!

Update: Jay’s Twitter handle is @RealJayThomas. See, because of all those Jay Thomas impersonators. After today, I think he might change it to @DifferentJayThomas. How did Soledad manage to get him on the show, anyway? He always looks super-busy back there when I’m ordering my Egg McMuffin.

Update: On second thought, maybe Soledad really was the best part after all. Rebelpundit asks: Was Soledad O’Brien Bailed Out by Producers on Critical Race Theory Definition? Well, considering she just kept repeating the first sentence of the top Google result for “critical race theory,” it’s a safe assumption that somebody was reading it into her earpiece. Just like in Broadcast News. Except back then they didn’t even have the Web.

I assume they do this all the time. I just wonder if anybody has ever failed at it as hard as Soledad did.

Update: Last week she fell for that hoax about the evil bankster who left a 1% restaurant tip and wrote “Get a real job” on it. Did she ever correct that on the air? How are her ratings even as high as they are?

Update: It turns out Jay Thomas also had somebody talking into his earpiece during that segment:

Update: And now, of course, an edit war has broken out on the Wikipedia page for Critical Race Theory. They’d better settle it quickly, or Soledad won’t know what to say tomorrow.

Update: Riddle time!

Q: Why is Joel Pollak afraid of black people?
A: Because they yell at him for leaving up the toilet seat!

Meanwhile, Jay Thomas is doing damage control by changing his Twitter handle from @RealJayThomas to @BoneheadMcNobody. And over at Pollak’s Wikipedia page, an editor is frantically posting and reposting a picture of a white woman in a wedding gown.

Update: Oh, and Soledad is @Soledad_OBrien on Twitter, if you want to congratulate her on a job well done.

Update: John Hayward: “So, it seems likely that O’Brien’s bizarre performance was a clueless TV talking head growing confused, as terrified behind-the-scenes aides realized she just challenged an informed, determined guest on a topic she does not understand at all. They hastily Googled the term and started reading the Wikipedia entry into her earpiece. Since Joel Pollak does understand what Critical Race Theory means, it didn’t get her very far.” As always with Hayward, you should read the whole thing.

Update: We’re part of the story now, you guys. Or we were, before they revised it again.

Note to the producers at CNN: Feel free to read any of this post into Soledad’s earpiece.

Update: Here’s the Memeorandum roundup. This clip could turn out to be the Zapruder film of 21st Century media analysis.

Update: What happens when a leftist liberal humiliates herself on national TV? Her fellow lefist liberals on national TV come a-runnin’:

People like Chris Hayes are full of compassion and humanity… until you talk back.

Update: In case you’re still confused about Soledad’s view of the world, she thought this supportive missive was worth retweeting.

Please remember this the next time she chirpily welcomes a guest from Breitbart.com, or anyone else who disagrees with her. If she considers you an outsider, you’re so alien to her and so beneath her contempt that she won’t even blink when one of her panelists calls you a racist.

Update: You might think this couldn’t possibly get better. You would be wrong.