On Biden, mainstream blacks, and Obama

[tgnyc]

Well, if old Joe didn't drop a bomb on us today! In an interview with the New York Observer, Biden describes Barack Obama thusly:

“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.”

I've gone back-and-forth on this one. As an African-American, my first impulse was to vomit at the thought of yet another white American citing an African-American leader's articulateness as being something noteworthy.

Then I moved on to Biden's description of Obama as "clean," and nearly punched my computer.

'WTF is up with Biden?' I shouted to myself.

Then I took a step back and reviewed his words again in context.

I'm no fan of Biden, but I think this is one of those cases where a) the brain and the mouth are not well coordinated, and b) one's oral statements don't come across as intended in print.

Like I said, I'm not a Biden supporter, but in the context of the interview, I think it's fair to assume that what Biden was thinking was something more like this:

"I mean, you got the first African-American presidential candidate that combines widespread appeal with being articulate and bright and clean(-cut) and a nice-looking guy."

That, on it's face, is fairly accurate, and it is probably what Biden was trying to say.

MLK never ran for president.
Ditto Colin Powell, John Conyers, etc.
Shirley Chisolm, Al Sharpton, and arguably Jesse Jackson did not have widespread appeal. Doesn't mean they weren't appealing, just that not a large number of Americans from a variety of backgrounds were excited about them, the way we see with Obama.

As a black activist, I'm no white politician's racial apologist. Yet I have a hard time shaking the notion that Biden simply got tripped-up in his own words, and that he doesn't truly believe that America has never seen a black leader who was articulate, clean, bright and nice-looking.

Then again, this is the guy who not too long ago said:

"In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking."

Ummmm......


On second thought, Senator Biden, you need to stop talking about people's ethnicity, you racist fuck! Just shut up and go away. Don't you have some credit card executive's ass to lick, or something?

[gasperc]

1. shortest ...presidential run...ever

it's already over, and he's been spot on with Iraq, domestically an idiot

[AlCzervik]

2. Looks like everybody else running doesn't need to waste any $$$ doing

opposition research on Biden.

"Hey i just saved $124,670 on opposition research!"

[panader0]

3. Biden's bright and clean too.....

for a white guy.

[Rose Siding]

4. I'm tired of having presidents who trip over their brains on the way to the mic

I don't know what he meant to say but I know what he said. "First mainstream African American who is...clean" should never be in the same sentence, let alone in the record of an American presidennt

[npincus]

5. here's what he was really saying:

Obama's so "articulate" and "clean"-- he could even be white! THAT'S what that IDIOT was really saying.

And he's supposed to be on OUR side.

I also have a BIG problem with the way he tore into the other candidates... giving lots of ammo to our real enemies. Talk about eating your own. The race is really quite far off, and he's ripping his comrades to shreds NOW? Stupid, arrogant f*cker.

I'm GLAD he put his foot in it-- no amount of damage control can save his sorry ass now.

[Jeanette in FL]

6. As Maya Angelou says:

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them."

[Raffi Ella]

7. lol,well damn.

I was reading through your post and mentally thanking you for saying this,ready to agree and K&R, and then I read the last part and... I have no idea how to respond now.

Everytime I see posts at D.U. picking apart a Democratic candidate though all I can think is "Who needs Rove to swiftboat when ya got your own party doin' it for ya' ".

Anyway,Im'a stay out of this one cuz I don't think it helps anything or anyone.And,in general,I DO think he meant it the way you interpreted it above,it just didn't come out the right way,so.yeah.That's all I'm going to say.

[Morgana LaFey]

20. NO! That's just flat out bullshit.

Everytime I see posts at D.U. picking apart a Democratic candidate though all I can think is "Who needs Rove to swiftboat when ya got your own party doin' it for ya' ".

First off, we are Democrats. We ALLOW criticism of our own; it helps us grow. It also helps us not fall for charlatans because we engage our brains, observe, and then, we TELL THE TRUTH about what we have observed, what we know and the experience of doing that and observing others do that helps our own B.S. Detectors fine tune themselves. That's a big thing and something this country needs in abundance.

And we DON'T think we should just take what the Washingtonians want do dish out -- we want to pick our candidates, and we want to KNOW about them before we do. Get it?

Secondly, there is NO SWIFTBOATING GOING ON HERE. Swiftboating is fabricating LIES which can't be fact-checked or debunked, or at least not easily. This is nothing of the sort, not even close.

[NYCGirl]

8. I believe when he said "clean", he wasn't referring to physically clean, but

background clean.

[davsand]

19. Yeah, I wondered that too.

Even IF that is how he intended it, however, that remark is still WAY outside of acceptable.

I don't care what your intention IS, you just NEVER make a comment that discusses someone's ethnicity and then comment on how "articulate" or "clean" they are--ESPECIALLY if you want to be viewed as anything other than a bigot!

He just stepped on his crank, IMO.




Laura

[smoogatz]

9. Biden: Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, ugly, dumb, dirty and inarticulate.

Woops.

[Ron Green]

10. Barack Obama sounds white, actually.

And I think that's part of what went on in Biden's addled mind at that moment. Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, even Carol Moseley-Braun - they all have the timbre and cadence of African-American speech, and Obama just doesn't. He passin', and that's what made Biden say what he did.

[tgnyc]

13. While I'm uncomfortable with descriptions like "sounds white," I agree

that the heart of Biden's point is that Obama doesn't remind most whites of a typical black elected official. Is nothing to do with the fact that he's "clean" or even "articulate," but more what he says -- specifically, he has pointedly refused to speak before a sizable mostly-white audience about race and racism in America. That alone makes him "a storybook" in their minds.

[mcscajun]

11. Expect this to be the first item Jon Stewart tackles tonight.

:)

[AspenRose]

15. Biden's supposed to be on TDS tonight!

bwahahahahahaha :D

[tgnyc]

21. Well, that should be interesting!

[mcscajun]

24. OMG

:spray:

[TygrBright]

12. Yes. But remember, he ALSO says things like...

"Mr. Gates, it's not the American people or Congress who are emboldening the enemy, its the FAILED POLICY of THIS PRESIDENT."

And for that, ya gotta love him... even if he IS a wholly-owned subsidiary of the banking/finance industry and even if ya DON'T want him to run for President.

He gets a gold star on the forehead for that one, anyway. There's something to be said for a Democrat who just says what he thinks when people HAVE to listen.

And no, I don't want him to run for President and yes, I know all the cruddy corporate shilling he's done.

But that one still gets him some credit with me.

appreciatively,
Bright

[AspenRose]

14. Ha ha ha...

:yourock:

[BuyingThyme]

16. Trent Lott is calling for Joe Biden to step down.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

17. Biden has perfected the art of foot-to-mouth insertion.

Of course, his mouth being always open enhances the likelihood of accomplishing the feat.

[Connie_Corleone]

18. Well, he did brag about being from a slave state.

Trying to get that southern confederate vote.

[Czolgosz]

22. I believe John Conyers came before Obama and is also a mainstream African-American

who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. And Conyers wasn't the first, either.

[paulk]

23. listen to the actual recording of the interview

then put a comma between "African-American" and "who".