Dylan Scott at Talking Points Memo says:

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy made the rounds on conservative radio shows Thursday, trying to explain his musings about whether blacks had been "better off as slaves."

In an interview with conspiracy extraordinaire Alex Jones, Bundy said he would appreciate it if The New York Times retracted their story.

"I would appreciate that. I think they should do that," Bundy said. "They're making it a racist-type thing. I'm not racist."

On another show, Bundy said he's not racist because he was just "wondering" if black people were better off as slaves. This would also be the point at which Bundy would say that some of his best friends are black, except Cliven Bundy presumably has no black friends.

(I can't believe I'm even pointing this out, but you can't make your comments not-racist by saying "I'm not racist." This isn't some kind of schoolyard game of tag, in which you can change the rules partway through. If you really believe that what you said wasn't racist, you need to explain why, preferably from a humble place. Just declaring "not racist!" doesn't make everything go away.)