Buchanan was caught in between a social debate that he never even wanted to be a part of. He was just the wrong president for the wrong time. On a side note, it is important to realize that racism back then was much less "frowned upon" than it is now. I don't think he should be hated for not picking a side on a race debate. Whether you want to admit it or not, if you were born as a white guy in the south during the 1800s, you would have been a racist.