He said what?
Did Joe Biden trip over his own dick, or what? Here’s what he said about Barack Obama:
Mr. Biden is equally skeptical — albeit in a slightly more backhanded way — about Mr. Obama. “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”
What the hell? It’s going to be interesting to see how Biden and his spokespeople try and explain this.
=== UPDATE 2007/01/31 16:24 ===
Not surprisingly, Sen. Biden claims his statement was “taken out of context.” Apparently, when he said “clean,” he meant “clean” as in “no criminal record,” or “no skeletons in the closet.”
All told, Biden got four questions on the subject. After the first, he told reporters that “I regret that some may have taken out of context my use of the word ‘clean.’” After the second, he started to get testy, mentioned his long support of the African-American community in his home state of Delaware and finally likened his comment to his mother’s use of the phrase “clean as a whistle.” After the third, he said, “I have spoken to Sen. Obama and I recommend that you call him. He understood exactly what I meant and I have no doubt that Jesse Jackson and every other black leader (Al Sharpton and the rest) will know what I meant. I have a long, long relationship with these folks. And we have been allies — and no one is going to misunderstand it. They know what I was saying. What you all know and everybody else knows: This is a very special guy. This is like catching lightning in a jar. This is a guy who has come along in a way that has captured the imagination of the country in the way that no one else has. That was exactly the point of everything I was saying.”
I don’t know whether Biden explained what he meant by “articulate” and “bright” as well.
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January 31st, 2007 @ 15:49
Obambi is the ‘first’? Nah, there’s been a few more haven’t there?
Let’s see, Jesse, Reverend Al, uh…Bill Cosby, no he’s an actor….
Mr. Filius, do you think maybe Biden was talking about those who have run for president? If so, he’s dead on.
January 31st, 2007 @ 18:45
I’ll let Barack Obama himself answer that question, Stram:
January 31st, 2007 @ 23:59
Hey, Biden got 3 out of 4 right, didn’t he? I mean, Shirley Chisholm was a fine lady but he was dead on with the other three…. Even if it was subliminal.
February 1st, 2007 @ 14:37
It doesn’t get much more patronizing than a white man praising an African-American man for being “clean,” “bright,” and “articulate.” And that’s the case no matter what you think of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, et al. This was a big-time, major-league gaffe, even for someone like Biden who’s predisposed to talking without thinking first.
February 2nd, 2007 @ 15:05
Oh, I agree it’s a big gaffe, especially if you’re tracking at less than 1% already. Of course if you’re only at 1% you don’t have far to fall.
Biden was done before this happened.
February 2nd, 2007 @ 15:11
Yes, and I really enjoyed your comment at the other blog that “Biden was ‘toast’ before he was bread.”