OK. So here's what I have to say about Biden's foot in mouth.

1. The book on Biden is that he likes to hear himself talk. A LOT. One of the problems with that is that in American politics, if you talk enough (and with a 22-month presidential campaign, you get ample opportunity for talking) you will, invariably, say something stupid that will bite you on the ass. But don't take our word for it, ask John Kerry.

2. Biden referred to Barak Obama as "clean" and "articulate." Ouch. Apparently the implication is that you wouldn't describe, say, Tom Vilsack as clean, because Vilsack is a white guy. And the New York Times ran an article in this past Sunday's Week in Review section about how "articulate" was one of those damning-with-faint-praise words that is, according to D.L. Hughley, more insidious than the "N word," which is now such an important word that we can't say it under any circumstances, not unless we spell it "niggaz" and use it in the context of a hip hop song. (Remember John Lennon's "Woman is the Nigger of the World"? Now "nigger" has become the "cunt" of the 21st century; a word we have imbued with power by making it taboo.)

Sure, Biden messed up. But lost in all of this was the fact that he totally forgot to make another point about Obama, one that speaks to the merits of the charismatic Barak as a presidential candidate, that underscores what a "phenomenon" Obama really is. Biden could have easily mentioned how great it is that Obama can serve in the senate, alongside white women, without incident.

Labels: The politics