*** Updates already! Keep scrolling ***
Ohhhh…White liberal Joe Biden’s gonna catch it for calling Barack “He speaks so well!” Obama “clean.”
It’s not that big a deal really (he probably meant clean as in scandal-free), but unfortunately, people (bloggers?) will jump all over it. Some blacks will be offended because Biden’s statement implies that “articulate” and “clean” (hygienically speaking) blacks are unusual.
Obama has been all over the press. Mainstream media have got him running for the presidency in 2008, and he’s the great black hope of white liberals everywhere. Last year — and in 2004 when he ran for the U.S. Senate — I speculated that white folks were fawning over Obama because he was one of those articulate Negroes. His publicist is also responsible for the hype, I’m sure. Obama recently wrote a second book about his life. If I had the money, I’d hire his publicist. 
You may have noticed that I haven’t been covering the Obama hype because, well, it’s hyped. There is nothing special about Obama, as far as I can see. He’s just another infanticide-supporting liberal. But white liberals are convinced he’s the next best thing to the Messiah. And I don’t want to be accused of “player hatin.’”
(Coincidence: I found this link on Memeorandum after I’d written the part about B.O. being the Messiah for white liberals.)
Can’t wait to hear Biden’s groveling, “Well, what had happened was…” apology. More later…
Unrelated addendum: My site meter reads 3,005,720 unique visitors at LBC, plus 8,000 visitors before joining Site Meter on May 16, 2004. Thanks, readers! 
Update: Commenter Nicole writes:
Biden’s comments are highly offensive to me. It’s not just that he called him bright, articulate, or clean, because any of these words in an appropriate context would be acceptable. However, his statement was:
“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.”
So, it begs the questions:
1. who were the other mainstream African-Americans who inarticulate, dump, dirty, and ugly? (MLK, Malcolm X, Farrakhan, Sharpton, etc.)? I find the first three to be very attractive. I find all four to be articulate. I don’t know much about their hygeine though…I find that the greater problem is that you don’t find whites being categorized in this manner.
Update II: Biden clarifies: “Biden said he ‘really’ regretted the word ‘clean’ was taken out of context. Biden: ‘My mother has an expression clean as a whistle sharp as a tack, that was the context.’”
(Hat tip: Marathon Pundit)
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I took “clean” as referring to his relative lack of scandal.
Is “bright” a nasty thing to say about someone now?
I believe this comment could have came from the other camp as well and liberals aren’t the only ones would would fawn over a black candidate. It just so happen that Obama is running as a Dem. Colin Powell had the same appeal from the other camp because he is a “clean”, “articulate”, and “bright” Negro. And this does apply to Condelezza Rice as well, because I have heard that there are Republicans/Conservatives who want her to run. I know from personal experiences that both liberal white folks and conservative white folks love black people who are “clean”, “articulate”, and “bright.”
Roye is on point. Praise of Condolezza is generally along the same lines.
Bright might not be a nasty thing to say about people in general. But are you saying “..the first mainstream African-American who is.. bright” is a compliment?
So, TVD, on the other thread you claimed “Biden was using the interview to attack other potential nominees, not support them.”
Does that mean it was an attack except for the part where it was a compliment (”Is “bright†a nasty thing to say about someone now?”) ?
Biden’s comments are highly offensive to me. It’s not just that he called him bright, articulate, or clean, because any of these words in an appropriate context would be acceptable. However, his statement was:
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.â€
So, it begs the questions:
1. who were the other mainstream African-Americans who inarticulate, dump, dirty, and ugly? (MLK, Malcolm X, Farrakhan, Sharpton, etc.)? I find the first three to be very attractive. I find all four to be articulate. I don’t know much about their hygeine though.
I find that the greater problem is that you don’t find whites being categorized in this manner. Whites never have to justify their intelligence no matter how stupid they may sound or appear on any given day. We have a president who always makes missteps in articulation, and it is never connected to his race. He is generally an intelligent guy and when he is chronicled in the media for something that may be misinterpreted, it is never connected to his race.
I find it absurd that Black people always have to justify their intelligence. I don’t think this offensive comment is representative of whites who are jumping on the Obama bandwagon. I think that he is a very likable guy and the more you find out about him the more you like him. He approaches people as Americans and the things he says make sense to most people, whether you agree with him or not. He is not a big partisan and I can’t wait to find out more about him.
I just wish the press would stop looking to Blacks to get a soundbite about how we feel about Obama. It’s a “damned if you do damned if you don’t situation”. They want to catch us saying we support Obama, so they can say we are voting just on race. However, when someone says he or she is waiting to see what each candidate will bring, they make it seem like Blacks don’t support him. And, if he loses, they will have some statistic to say how many black people voted for him and if the majority didn’t, that will sadly be the end of any Black person ever being endorsed so widely for a presidential bid. The attitude will be, “even the Blacks didn’t vote for the last guy so we just aren’t ready for a Black president”. By the way, what the heck does that mean??? How are you going to be ready for someone’s race, or sex for that matter?
Last time I checked, no one won based on their race. Why all of a sudden is it a race issue when the candidate is Black? Yes, liberals are just as racist as the rest of them. It’s just back-handed.
I’m no Biden fan, but from the context of the rest of the article, I think he was commenting on the media’s adulation of Obama as “bright, clean, articulate.” And by clean I think he meant his background is clean, unlike certain other politicians, black or otherwise.
Is he racist? I have no idea, but I don’t think these comments automatically make him one.
I’d appreciate some links to quotes of anyone of consequence talking about Powell or Rice this way. It’s hard to imagine Bush talking of Rice or Powell in this kind of way. He clearly had way too much respect for both.
Biden has no defense here.
“‘Tis the sport to have the enginer
Hoist with his own petard.”
We’ve always known the patronizing nature of white liberals, but it’s still revealing to see it put into action.
Well, speaking only for myself, I don’t think Biden is a “racist” for making those comments, but certain people will accuse him of being one. His remarks might imply that it’s unusual for “African Americans” to be articulate and clean. Some folks blow such remarks out of proportion. I don’t agree, I’m just reporting…
As an older white southerner, who grew up under the “separate but equal” concept of life, but whose parents nevertheless taught me early on not to think in a racist way nor to utter racist, mean, bullying comments, and whose existence is constantly belittled in movies and the press because I am a southerner and therefore I must be stupid and racist . . . well, tee-hee-hee-hee! The true colors of the liberal elites are showing and it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch! I will be anxiously awaiting Mainstream Media reports on this.
I don’t think there’ll be any flack with the Biden comments. Sadly, Liberal Dems can say what they want about blacks . . . without repercussions.
Nicole said, “We have a president who always makes missteps in articulation, and it is never connected to his race. He is generally an intelligent guy and when he is chronicled in the media for something that may be misinterpreted, it is never connected to his race.”
Oh, Bush’s missteps are always connected to his race. The Left sees Bush as being an entirely different race altogether: Evil Personified. Or is it Stupidity Personified? I keep losing track.
Anyone who supports infanticide should not be the President of the United States of America. I wouldn’t care if had a record of accomplishments 25 years long. Think about it. He has no value for human life. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are the most fundamental of our rights. What next, euthanasia of the worthless elderly? Reproductive human cloning?
He downright scares me.
Maybe I went too far in calling him a racist. Maybe he’s just plain old ignorant or a little bit of both. I think the main part of being a politician is being able to relate to other groups of people. Did he think about what he was saying before he said it? Clearly, no.
Dianne-
Your comments are kind of cryptic and I don’t know who you are speaking about. I have no evidence of his record on abortion rights if you are speaking about Obama. I think Abortion is more of a state issue anyway as the president really has no power other than to appoint Supreme Court justices that may overturn Roe v. Wade. I think that’s a slim chance and states really need to find a way around that court case.
This is why there’s no real debate about race, except for in forums like this. Here the yelling is harmless. In the real world, Sen. Biden just lost any chance he had running for president. The reason why comparisons like bright and articulate get made is the vast majority of black people we see in the media don’t come across as bright articulate. It’s false and totally untrue characterization but the sterotype still exists.
Hey, he could have called him a “halfrican-American…”
We can all chase our tails or bite each others while arguing and speculating about what was said vs. what was meant by Biden’s comments, but we will never know even after he a makes clarification of his remarks.
My quarter of a cents (sense) worth:
1. Biden put foot in mouth while “parroting” what has been discussed openly amongst others in his presence.
2. On the surface, Obama is the “politically correct” package for the current times/political climate.
3. People are always looking for a “Savior” or an “adversary” when there are only two of significance in history
Does anybody really think that Biden meant that BO was the first clean black politico to come along? Obviously if he knew how those words looked on print he would never have said them especially in this age of PC sensitivity where all violators are skewered by the media for any such slips.
I think what he meant was this is the first MAINSTREAM black leader to come along (He’s never heard of Colin Powell) who happens to be a clean, articulate, nice looking guy. It seems to me the perceived offense lies in “first” and “clean”. He is the first declared black, (really half black) pres. nominee to have a legitimate chance at winning the white house. As for clean, hygiene was probably not in mind but lack of scandal and an overall purity he seems to project (I believe I’ve heard that Satan casts himself as an angel of light).
Regardless, it’s Bidens side that deals in this currency and if he’s flayed because of these comments, I’ll shed no tears.
Why am I not surprised at Biden’s “compliment” of the Senator from Illinois? Because I’m a lifelong Delawarean who has listened to this bum for 30 plus years. You should have heard the “compliment” he gave the male graduates when he spoke at my high school graduation in 1979. It had to do with low statistics of higher education for the agrarian community I am from. The funny thing is: the ones who stayed on the farm are worth millions now because of stratospheric land prices.
If Mr. Biden isn’t racist he certainly is in the ballpark. For him to believe that Obama is “storybook” because he is an articulate, bright and clean African-American is absurd and where has he been for him to believe that Obama is the “first” [African-American] to be involved in public office with those qualities.
Unfortunately, I think it was more than a “slip of the tongue” – I believe his statement revealed his heart.
I think his comments also bring to light that in order to be a Black person with any viable chance at being President, you must be squeaky clean! He could have just as well said that Obama was “non-threatening”, “cross-over”, and “great that he wasn’t raised by his Black father”!
It’s sad that Whites are held to the same standards, we might have a better legacy of presidents…
Me thinks Joe Biden has a slight problem. Remember the 7/11 blooper. It’s here in case you forgot.
Joe Biden on 7/11 store owners
The only people he’s gonna “catch it” from are us, meaning conservatives. If anyone thinks dems are gonna get all upset about this, they’re nuts.
@ 21: Well, damn..so Obama is the devil now too, along with all the other ‘things’ he is. Geez!
Ya know, I don’t care WHAT Biden said, or how he said it, or how it was taken, they’re BOTH Dems and they’re both libbers, therefore, in MY opinion, rendering them BOTH to be irrelavent…
And personally, I don’t care if Obama was the ONLY candidate in the race, I would not vote for him, I can’t, in good conscience, vote for anyone named Barack Hussein Obama, I don’t care WHAT color his skin is…
To kinda sorta use an old Southern reference, “There’s a Muslim in the wood pile…”
I can’t believe I am defending Biden, but here goes:
By saying “clean” I don’t think Biden was saying “most blacks are ‘dirty’”, I think he was referring to the fact that Obama is new so he doesn’t have much “baggage” – hence he is “clean”.
I know on the surface the comment sounds racist but i don’t think he meant it that way.
Of the five qualities mentioned – African-American, bright, articulate, clean, and good-looking – I have to wonder which ones are not shared by Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm, Al Sharpton, etc.? Perhaps the real point of the statement is actually the “storybook” reference. That is, perhaps Mr. Biden is suggesting that the five qualities comprise a manufactured presence more akin to something from Grimm rather than fact.
Are these Biden’s words, or did he “borrow them without attribution” from a British politician?
I took “clean” to be scandal-free, too (aside from Obama’s admitted coke-snorting.) but I still thought it was a bigoted thing to say. My paraphrase for Uncle Joe is this: so are you saying that Obama is the “first electable black guy?”
Yuck. All native-born Americans are eligible for the Presidency. End of story. No one should gloat over the race of ones colleagues. It just is weird.
Biden and Kerry combined seem like they are TRYING to be a living parody of Thurston Howell III.
Obama should have retorted, regarding Biden: “the first mainstream, moneyed WASP who is compassionate and common and generous and a patriotic guy…” alluding that all others of Biden’s ilk are craven bourgoise elitsts treading on the backs of the underclass.
Generally speaking, it is a wise thing for politicians to avoid delivering racially motivated backhanded compliments. I’d never count on Uncle Joe to excercise wisdom.
Bill #29 said, “I know on the surface the comment sounds racist but i don’t think he meant it that way.”
Trent Lott didn’t mean for his comments about Strom Thurmond to sound racist, but they ran him out of his leadership post in no time anyway.
Biden could stand to take some advice in the future: Engage brain BEFORE opening mouth.
I googled “articulate white” and got 1,190 hits; the first article was “Stupid Human Tricks”. Then I googled “articulate black” and got 9,650 hits and the first article was “‘articulate’ a racial slur?”
Articulate with name, then hits:
Condi 30
Colin Powell 21
Jesse Jackson 53
Martin Luther King 3
Malcolm X 16
Farrakhan 0
Sharpton 2
Obama 219
Rangel 0
Bush 490
Clinton 93
Kennedy 14
Kerry 164
O’Reilly 2
As soon as I read it, I thought, Thank goodness he’s not one of ours (Republican)! Can you hear the fallout if a Republican said that?!?
You guys seem to be overlooking the fact that Biden is an EXTREMELY unintelligent man–I mean in the literal sense of having a low-average i.q. He has proven over and over again that he either talks without thinking or is so dumb he doesn’t realize he shouldn’t always articulate what he is thinking. And before you libs start jumping on me re Bush’s relative intellect, I have no dog in that fight (don’t care for Bush) so save your “breath.”
“African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy”
Did anyone take note that Biden did not have a single nice thing to say about the half of Obama that is white?
Where is the outrage?
#35 has me gasping in amazement. Obama actually said that “arguments of liberals are more often grounded in reason and fact?” Oh, mercy. Please. My sides are aching with laughter over that bit of claptrap.
To my great discredit, I was once a liberal. I know the mindset. It does not in any way involve reason or facts. It’s a world of shifting realities, relativity, and delirium. As soon as I grew up a bit and began thinking and reasoning and appreciating hard facts, I found my way out of that liberal fever swamp.
Good grief, if Obama really believes that nonsense, then whatever credit I might have given him for intelligence is in shreds.
#17 Nicole – Please read LaShawn’s reference and follow the links as well.
I agree that by ‘clean’ he probably meant politically clean. But I also agree with those commenters who have pointed out that main problem with Biden’s statement is that he said that Obama was the *first* black candidate with these attributes and that it was storybook.
What, exactly, is storybookish about a black man being articulate, bright, clean, and nice-looking?
It’s also obvious that by mainstream he means only ‘not a Republican.”
>>Whites never have to justify their intelligence no matter how stupid they may sound or appear on any given day.>>
You mean…like Biden???
I have to justify my intelligence to my wife every day. I usually fail at this task.
Nicole’s comments are interesting. I would say that there are a couple reasons why blacks have to prove their intelligence. The first is affirmative action. Whites do not get the benefit of it in education and employment, blacks do. This creates a suspicion among EVERYONE that what has been received has not been earned.
The second reason is black culture as it is sold to America, by black entertainers themselves. Just watch BET, or listen to a rap CD. Then compare that to someone like Norah Jones.
Nicole’s comments are interesting. I would say that there are a couple reasons why blacks have to prove their intelligence. The first is affirmative action. Whites do not get the benefit of it in education and employment, blacks do.
I love how liberals have got us all associating affirmative action beneficiaries with black people when white women have gotten just as much mileage out of the program as any minority group. Do people think all of those white women in upper and middle management in corporations were put there solely on their merits??? Heck, no! Companies were hiring and promoting white women in droves because as women they qualified as minorities.
Yet everytime someone is needed to prop up affirmative action, a black person or another non-white person gets trotted out to talk about how they benefitted from AA.
Wake up people!
Kim-
1. White women are the biggest beneficiaries of AA, so whites DO get the benefit. Also, last time I checked, whites were veterans.
Also, it’s not like the majority of Black people benefit from AA. Also, as I have stated before, intelligence should not even be a part of the AA discussion unless you have the underlying premise of your argument that Blacks are less qualified. I find those arguments to be an unfounded way for whites (and some Blacks who’ve “made it”) to discredit the purpose of AA.
2. Yes. some aspects of mainstream rap are deplorable. But, last time I checked, BET was owned by a WHITE corporation. Also, these, so-called rappers are packaged and sold like “meat” to American society. They are bought up by big corporations, that I do not believe are owned by Blacks.
Also, comparing rap to Norah Jones doesn’t make sense. It’s like comparing Kid Rock to Tiger Woods. I would more likely compare Norah to Jill Scott or India Arie. Have you heard of them? Do they pass your standards as a white women of what Black culture should reflect? I would, however, compare todays mainstream rap to the likes of Paris Hilton, Kid Rock, Marilyn Manson or Courtney Love..Are they reflective of white culture? Or, is the focus always going to be on Black people’s problems????
As far as rappers, I don’t want to give a history of hip-hop. But, the fact remains is that what is represented today is commercialized, packaged, crap. It has nothing to do with real hip-hop and much less Black culture. The fact remains that so many have been so lacking for so long that when they finally get an opportunity to have their 15 minutes, they take it, no matter what negative stereotypes they foster or who they offend. It’s sad. It’s much sadder how the mainstream media parades these young men around as if they were heroes, while behind closed doors they wouldn’t spit on a Black person, much less invite them to their homes.
And third, as far as Black culture. Rap music representives the total spectrum of Black culture as much as Mosh Pitting represents the total spectrum of white culture.
Black people are as varied, differentiated, and unique as White people or any other culture. Challenge yourself, you’ll learn a lot just from surfing the internet.
>>The reason why comparisons like bright and articulate get made is the vast majority of black people we see in the media don’t come across as bright articulate.>>
The Black race should sue the network channels for some of the shows that they have shown as “black” television – especially some of the supposed comedy shows. They were (are there still any out there?) incredibly stereotypical. “Bright” and “articulate” are _not_ the descriptors that come to mind. I confess to watching mainly Fox news(although with their new lineup, that’s changing) but the blacks that appear – and they are _not_ uncommon – are all “bright” and “articulate”. Seeing more of these examples as “the usual” instead of the uncomplimentary comics and blacks as mainly weathermen or sportscasters might help change people’s perspective.
Coupled along with Biden’s other racial remarks this shows a pattern to his thinking so this can not be blown off as being taken out of context.
Does anybody really think that Biden meant that BO was the first clean black politico to come along?
Anyone else laugh at this unintentional pun??
Don’t black comedians like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle always make fun of instances when whites refer to [certain] blacks as “articulate”?
I know a few black folks who absolutely hate it when whites say that about a black person. Hell, as an NFL addict myself, I don’t think a Sunday goes by where a [white] commentator doesn’t refer to a [black] player as “articulate”; however, I can’t recall an instance where a white player was dubbed such.
“Seeing more of these examples as “the usual†instead of the uncomplimentary comics and blacks as mainly weathermen or sportscasters might help change people’s perspective. ”
-suek
First we were judging ALL Black people by mainstream rappers, now by the handful of comedy shows that are on TV? Wow, I feel more and more pressure to please the white race the more I read these posts, I must go attend to my beautifully individual “black” daughter….
But first,…
I find comments like these are just an excuse to be or remain racist. I find it puts Blacks in the position to apologize for the fact that they are funny. When Black dramas were featured on Television, they were not supported by the majority (White) households, so they were cancelled. Thus, leaving mainly comedies.
Also, I don’t find that these comedies are “stereotypical” as much as they are aimed at what television production company heads feel is the Black viewing public. I like a laugh as much as the next person, and I don’t find any problem with the “black” comedies that are out now (”everybody hates Chris, etc) . I just wish that TV companies would realize we like dramas also…
What I do have a problem is that some whites expect us to whitewash ourselves for their comfort. It’s okay that we are different. Don’t think I’m dumb, uneducated, etc., just because I happen to not be the mirror image of you. And, don’t think ALL Blacks are the same just because there happen to be a whopping 4 primetime shows that showcase us.
I don’t think all white men are dumb just because the majority of white comedies potray them as idiots (King of Queens, Yes Dear, Til Death, etc.) I don’t think all white women are whores just because the mainstream TV shows portray them as such (Grey’s Anatomy, Weeds, Sex in the City, L Word, Desperate Housewives)
I’m willing to bet my paycheck that whites wouldn’t have a problem with these shows if the characters were white…meaning, I don’t find that the characters “act black” as much as they “are black” and whites just can’t relate to Black characters on TV unless they are down-and-out, like the characters on the Wire, because that’s “raw” and “real” and far removed from their neighborhoods….
I would like to tell Nicole that I can appreciate her responses but as a long time commenter, would share that you are beating a dead horse.
Some (not all) of the commenters here judge all black folk by what they see on TV, think we are led like sheep by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, think we are all thugs or wanna be gangsters and believe we are all base idiots because they treat the Bell Curve as the Gospel as evidenced by comments like the one made by Kim.
Be bothered to learn something about black folks that would require one to stop believing everything the MSM pumps out??? My dear, Nicole, now THAT would be too much like right.
Thanks for the heads up Tiffany. I’ve been beating this horse my whole life, unfortunately…Maybe that will change one day…One can only hope.
But, I guess it’s not totally their fault. We HAVE to learn about their culture, history, by the way our educational system is set up. All they have to do is ignore us during February and they are home free…
nicole – LOL!!! You are cracking me up!!
But don’t stop coming around LBC. Without folks like us, this place would turn into an echo chamber and man is that boring!!!
Admit it LB, you like a little ruckus around here!
I do.
– Admin
Food for thought:
Good night, kiddoes!
link
I don’t know what the initial context was for Biden to weigh in on Obama, but who the h@!! does he think he is? The man insulted me by even saying that Obama is articulate and clean. As if to imply we are all screwed up and it shocks him that Obama can be “like himself”.
I do believe when he said clean he meant free of scandal, but once again why is he discussing Obama? Was he as shocked about Clinton or Gary Hart or even as far back as Kennedy? What about the unreported Senatorial and Congressional scandals? Is this man suprised or is it just business as usual when they do it?
Doesn’t he have enough on his plate trying to get himself elected. Why didn’t he choose other adjectives or none at all. I am insulted. This shows what many Dems think of African Americans. They think of us as the opposite of Joe Biden’s off handed positive attributes.
Oh No! I won’t stop coming or commenting..I find it very funny how some people are so hypocritical in their views…
I also find it funny how everything centers on Black folks…instead of focusing on how we ALL can make a better America which will lead to various groups, including Blacks, being better Americans…
Can’t wait for tomorrow’s topic!!!
-g’night!
As a new reader and commenter, Nicole, you need to understand why I focus on race-centered topics (and off-blog columns like this one), and why I cover them the way I do. I’ve written several posts about this, so I don’t need to reinvent the microchip. As I say to other readers who complain about topics at LBC, there are plenty of bloggers out there covering issues the way you think they should be covered. No offense, but if commenters and topics on this blog raise your blood pressure, but all means take a break and peruse a few of the millions of other blogs out there. – Admin
Biden will get a pass because he is a Democrat.
But Sen George Allen was mercilessly attacked because of his Macaca comment.
And no doubt Brent Bozell will do a hit count – and Macaca will greatly outnumber hits about “clean articulate African Americans”.
But the real irony here is that the same Black Democrat activists who will give Biden a pass will shamlessly throw openly racist attacks at “Jews who steal our money in banks”, “Mexicans who steal our jobs”, “Arabs, Mexicans, Pakistanis, and Indians who steal our inner city businesses” will suddenly develop acute uncontrollable urges of brotherly love for an Indian brother that Sen Allen calls a “Macaca”.
“Macaca” is a racial slur.
To the extent “articulate, bright and clean” is a slur, it’s so only by negative implication or via subtext.
In naming predecessors who have the characteristics Biden listed off, Obama says: “African-American presidential candidates like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton gave a voice to many important issues through their campaigns.”
I guess he just forgot to include Alan Keyes, his former competitor for the Illinois Senate seat. Or did no one really take Keyes’ candidacies seriously?
Dear La Shawn: I think Biden was comparing him to Republicans like Rice, Powell, Prof. Sowell, etc. As you know Republican Blacks aren’t authentic blacks and certainly not “bright: and “clean”. (Justice Thomas would be one of those “unclean” blacks and of course not “bright”). You see, only liberal blacks are bright and clean and articulate. Biden’s not a racist but a typical arrogant narcissistic liberal who is contemptuous of all conservatives, but particularly black conservatives.
Nicole,
While I do not like the character “Grey” on Grey’s Anatomy, I do like the show. Several of the characters are black, including the current Chief of Surgery and two of his five potential replacements (all doctors). While you may consider this a “white” drama, I’ve always just thought of it as a medical drama.
“Biden said he ‘really’ regretted the word ‘clean’ was taken out of context. Biden: ‘My mother has an expression clean as a whistle sharp as a tack, that was the context.’â€
So, this is the fault of:
(1) Biden’s mother.
(2) Someone who took it out of context. Can “vast right-wing conspiracy” be far behind?
Hey Tiffany! Do you think I judge black folks by their portrayal on TV in shows? Yeah, I think all blacks are just like Cliff and Claire Huxtable, wealthy doctors and lawyers, living in great big homes. Well, it’s on TV, so…..
Amazing.
RedBeard said:
Good grief, if Obama really believes that nonsense, then whatever credit I might have given him for intelligence is in shreds.
Do you give him credit for pandering? What he said is called “appealing to his base.”
It is interesting how Nicole only saw fit, in the vast vast majority of instances, to capitalize “Blacks” and not capitalize “whites”. Why is that? Why not give equal respect and importance for each “race” the sake of the post, rather than pointedly do not?
Re #64-
Sarah-
My comment was not about the show but about the characters sleeping around, such as Grey, and Dr. Shepard. And, I never called it a white drama. That being said…
I happen to LOVE that show. I followed it way before it even debuted because I was intrigued by the fact that a Black woman in Hollywood (Shanda Rhymes – I feel it important to name her because so too often Black people are titled by their race as if it is unimportant to take the proper steps to learn a Black person’s name) got the opportunity to create and Executive Produce a one hour drama, and was able to be a part of the casting which resulting in the cast being diverse, and not just one token Black doctor.
And I’m glad you don’t look at it as a “white” show. I don’t look at it as a “Black” show… but as a show…
I wish more people would follow this lead in viewing that and many other shows that have more than 1 or 2 Black cast members.
Yes, I know I said goodnight, but had to show my Black husband, Christian, hard-working (although Liberal) father of my legitimate daughter, this post
Oh..Missed Jayaye’s comment-
I choose to capitalize Black because I see Black as a racial identity, whereas I see white as a description. If I were to refer to you as Caucasian, I would capitolize…
I think a more important question is why does this offend you? Does the fact that Black people are often referred to “Black girl” or “that Black guy” rather than their proper name offend you?
Well, I guess I’m flattered that you’re following my comments…
Biden sounds like he ain’t too wise.
Without folks like us, this place would turn into an echo chamber and man is that boring!!!-Tiffany
Question to all you “boring sheeples” out there-
Tiffany’s perception of the posters is interesting…in its way. Do you guys find the commentary on LaShawn to be diverse? Do you find it to be monochromatic? Do you find conservative posters to have less originality and a higher degree of conformity than liberal posters? Do you think it would be boring if not for the cutting edge commentary provided by Tiffany and Nicole? Are any of the posters on this site enjoyably “articulate”?
I believe that he meant “clean cut.”
Biden’s my nominee for the “Politics” category of the Darwin Awards.
Wow, I cannot believe how many people here are putting Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton up as examples of “articulate” and “clean.” Never were there two dirtier politicians (Tawana Brawley, anyone?), and while it may be debatable whether Jackson is articulate, I can’t see how Sharpton could EVER fit that description.
LaShawn, I appreciate that you are willing to give the benefit of the doubt and the fact that you never cry racism disingenuously, but seriously, do you really think that Biden’s comment has been blown out of proportion? I think it is horrendous that he referred to Barak Obama as “the first mainstream African-American” who is bla bla bla (insert positive adjectives). What the hell??? I mean, yeah, if the only other black politician in the world was pitiful Al Sharpton, then this comment might be sensible and fair, but we know that is not the case. Commenters have already named other public personalities and politicians who are black and definitely bright, articulate, bla bla bla, insert positive adjectives. There’s a wee problem though . . . I think most of them are Conservative. Maybe that’s why Biden didn’t mention them.
OK, for the sake of everyone who forgot, here is where Senator Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. proved beyond all reasonable doubt, that he is the purest form of racist.
Now do you really need him to stand at a podium and say he feels the White race is superior before we can all agree on this?
Well, here goes! It’s pretty clear that Biden was referring to Obama’s track record when he used the word “clean”. As far as the use of “articulate”, that does drive me crazy. But, this is what happens when any issue that touches on race is discussed in this country.
We must accept the fact that we have a complex history in America. We have grappled with race for a long time and we always will. It won’t go away if we do everything conservatives want or everything liberals want.
What we need to do is realize that some people want to participate as citizens in the greatest country in the world. And others want to create a false reality in which the right jeans, sneakers and car gives you social standing, but no upward mobility.
It saddens me that while we fight over whether or not we should capitalize racial categories, some kid or kids are sitting in homes with no structure, no books and no role models to help him or her aspire to be a decent person.
Until we get past the game of racial brinksmanship, we will continue to lose these kids.
P.S. I don’t think “Halfrican-American” is funny. If Halle Berry wants to consider herself black, so be it. I have a mixed background as does my daughter, but I’m black as far as I’m concerned.
‘White’ people think ’so and so’, ‘black’ people think s’o and so’? Please.
All the more proof that mixing skin-colour with political commentary is not just malicious but dumb to boot.
I find ‘macaca’ just as insulting as ‘white people are manipulative’.
And just as dumb. Sorry.
Can we quit calling Obama black? Or we will have to start calling him white half the time as well. He’s BIRACIAL.
I couldn’t care less about Obama’s racial makeup. He’s an empty suit with all the wrong ideas.
The ones who seem to “care” so much are the white lefties who need to prove their phony-baloney credentials somehow. It’s always the white lefties who trot out race. Screamin’ Howard Dean talking about black hotel staff, Hillary winking and nudging about “a plantation, and you know what I’m talkin’ about,” Barney Frank saying that Bush planned the Katrina aftermath in order to ethnically cleanse New Orleans, the list is endless.
CJ
A lot of experts view race as a social construct. Our American society has constructed a definition of “black” as meaning having any degree of “black” ancestry. This is why Obama is called “black”.
Geneticists generally conclude that around 90% of “black Americans” have white ancestry, yet we continue to call that 90% “black”.
Geez, people can’t even speak nice about anyone anymore. Once again will the Leftys please stop it. I’m a proud black conservative female, geez stop already. Where is our voice? How come mainstrain media never comments about the blacks who dont sit around and look for excuses and insults in everything. Mr Biden was being nice, I do think clean when I look at Obama too. Geez:(
If he had said “first Democratic Presidential candidate it would be true.
If he that’s what he meant it’s a backhanded slap at Jackson and Sharpton. (Not that there’s anyting wrong with that.)
But now that this kerfuffle has happened he can’t get away with being backhanded anymore, and be totally explicit.
If he want’s to get out of this all he as to say is “I meant he’s not a sleazebag like Jackson and Sharpton.” Talk about a “Sistah Soulja” moment! If he has the guts to do this, he’ll alienate some unknown number of blacks who show up at their rallies, please an unknown number of blacks who are embarrassed by their rallies. And he’ll get the votes of a heck of a lot of white folks!
But judging from his Daily SHow appearance, he doesn’t have the guts.
“It’s always the white lefties who trot out race”
Quote of the century, LOL
Joe Biden’s untrammeled loquaciousness will be his undoing. Do we really want a President who has rampant diarhhea of the mouth? Seriously folks!
“Geez, people can’t even speak nice about anyone anymore. Once again will the Leftys please stop it.”
Ain’t the leftys who started it.
If he had the guts he could easily be our next President. All he has to do is issue the following clarification:
“What I meant to convey is that Obama isn’t a sleazebag joke like Sharpton or Jackson.”
He’d piss off a lot of people, but he’d delight even more.
Biden could be our next President, if only he had the guts to issue the following clarification:
“I meant to say that Obama isn’t a sleazebag joke like Sharpton or Jackson”.
How Biden could win:
All I meant was Obama isn’t a sleazebag joke like Sharpton or Jackson.
testtest
They mocked Dan Quayle for comments that were not as stupid as this. Biden is unelectable.
Colin Powell and Condi Rice are called “articulate” quite often. Even Chris Rock made a joke about it. And even Eugene Robinson commented on the insult of the statement.
Now some want to make an issue of it? And doesn’t it seem to be an issue more from “the right”?
DarkStar, if those comments about Gen. Powell and Dr. Rice were in the context of saying that those two are exceptions, then I’m equally critical of those comments as being backhanded insults to those not included. I see nothing different there than I do abour Biden’s foot-in-mouth incident.
Ralph, please don’t submit multiple times. For some reason your comments are getting caught in the spam filter. Be patient while I approve them. – Admin
What I meant to get across is that Obama isn’t a crooked joke like Sharpton or Jackson.
Sorry about the above, but I couldn’t post normally. It looks like anything containing the names starting Ob, Shar or Jac get filter out somehow.
Sorry – just kill most of them and keep the last single-chunk version.
Is your spam filter triggering on Obama, Jackson and or Sharpton?
Darkstar, I must have missed where Condi Rice and/or Colin Powell were lauded as the *first* articulate, clean, etc. black figures in politics.
Bella #84.
You do realize that it is conservatives who are attacking the liberal Biden for the comments?
Actually, to be more specific, I’m attacking the ignoramus Biden, not the liberal Biden.
The Biden incident reflects an unintended consequence of the the “Obama Factor” in ‘08 – a timid, oversensitivity that restrains discourse.
This is exactly what his detractors want; to burden an otherwise “clean” candidate with PC baggage.
Reached for comment, Joe Biden said:
“I did not want to be accused of being niggardly with my praises”.
There was a brief pause while the mess from the reporters’ heads exploding was cleaned up…
Nicole,
I’m impressed that you think you know my race based on my name! Wow! And I didn’t know there was such a thing as a “white” corporation. I was under the mistaken impression that corporation are legal constructs owned by people of many races. Last time I checked, Johnson, who created BET (and later sold it), is black. But it could be a disguise.
Seriously, though, you raised some legitimate points in your initial post. I simply gave two examples of why things may be the way they are. It does not mean that I think that the way things are is right.
Reading your subsequent posts, one thing stood out: It’s the MAN’s fault. Yup. Multi-millionaires like P. Diddy are just victims of evil whites. Packaged like meat, drinking Kristal, and eating caviar.
They used to introduce Joe Lewis as “A credit to his race.”
I believe he meant “clean” as corruption/controversy free, as opposed to the likes of Sharpton and Jackson, the way he left it hanging out there open to interpretation just proves that despite being an experienced plagiarist, Biden can be remarkably poor at manipulating words.
No great loss on the Dem side. He had very little chance in the current field anyway.
This is America: you cant even compliment a person any more. If the same statement would have been made without the word “African-American” in the text, would people be throwing such a fit? Should that be the case, is it wrong for a person of a particular race to acknowledge that the object of a statement was directed to a member of another race? i think our nation needs a reality check. Maybe America needs a political-wack job (like B.O) to win the 2008 race. Many people like him because he has not been forced to show his positions on MANY major issues. He is a very camera-friendly person who deals well with the public and if nothing else knows how to make certain people in this country happy (all of which is a compliment to Barrack because it speaks at least to the part of his character that we see). Maybe then after the hype has faded and we begin to realize that maybe B.O., though he is socially a very decent man, we will see that there are more important issues to worry about within our boarders than how a member of one races recognizes a member of another race.
Joe Biden’s comments are “benign racist” because he votes with the Congressional Black Caucus. How long has Biden wanted to be the President? He has been a senator since first being elected in 1972.
Did Condi Rice or Colin Powell ever put their hats in the race? Can a conservative black be elected now?
The MSM knew that Alan Keys had no chance at being elected. Do articles by Thomas Sowell or
John McWhorter or LBC get quoted by Joseph Biden?
James Barber
The only thing missing to complete Biden’s completely offensive statement is the word ‘boy’.
If this was a Republican, the Democrats and the press would be howling.
“The only thing missing to complete Biden’s completely offensive statement is the word ‘boy’.
If this was a Republican, the Democrats and the press would be howling.”
This is all over the press. Please control the knee-jerk conservative victimization response.
Tvd, for an explanation of the very valid point made by J House, see: Lott, Trent.
Clarification: That was in no way a defense of Lott, but a condemnation of both Lott and Biden.
Obama did not take it so personally, why is everyone else?
Have African-Americans became so sensitive or weak that every comment a person makes has to be argued and discussed to death. Cannot this energy be used instead to write our congress representatives, improve voting records for African-Americans, do something about education, and improve the home environment for African-Americans? Let’s tackle some issues with substance and let Obama deal with Biden!
This whole thread is just awesome. Now I can see how America isn’t strung out over ‘race’ anymore! :-/
Damn my brain, I still can’t get past what constitutes ‘black’?
Two questions?
1. Is it about racial purity? Why is someone like this man Obama considered ‘black’ when he has a so-called ‘white’ mother? Is it important? Are the right wing as quiet about their own racist-obsessed activists as the left wing about theirs? I think yes.
2. Why is ‘race’ such an evidently important/hot-potato issue to *both* Conservative and Liberal political pundits in America?
Surely it’s mostly (all) insane race-baiting to get one over on THEM, (political opponents) because one thing is historically and always for sure:
“THEY are worse than US”!
Play nice now!
“Tvd, for an explanation of the very valid point made by J House, see: Lott, Trent.”
The Republicans (and the Democrats) and the press are howling now.
The difference between Biden and Lott’s remarks was one of intent.
tvd- you must be clairvoyant to be able to determine ‘intent’…..you seem to give one a pass and the other not…both made idiotic remarks…..i doubt anyone can guess intent unless you can read people’s minds…both could either have been innocent or not. I don’t think you can judge that. But their comments on their own merit were in poor taste. But the difference is, one faced consequences while the other most likely will not.
Typical moral equivalence.
Always beware of libera; demacrats to get their mugs on the front cover of TIME is such bold pictures
“And third, as far as Black culture. Rap music representives the total spectrum of Black culture as much as Mosh Pitting represents the total spectrum of white culture.”
True though that may be, it does not serve political propaganda or general prejudice at all. Far too ‘nuanced’ so probably a liberal worldview – i.e. LIES.
“Always beware of libera; demacrats to get their mugs on the front cover of TIME is such bold pictures”
The voice of reason.
dd;
I have often wondered at the increasing tendency of folks to “gift themselves with clairvoyance.” Often, such folks indulge in the idiocy of becoming more incensed by their own imaginative rendering of “motives” than they are by the facts which may be relatively benign.
Perhaps their presumption of clairvoyance stems from having an inordinately high opinion of themselves coupled with a need to assert racism that is not visible, though this cannot be verified without the ability to read minds.
about being labeled articulate…
Most people that I know evaluate people’s spoken expression, particularly if they speak publicly. I use the word articuate (or more often, not articulate) all the time and am amazed to find that many think that “articulate” is a word employed in a demeaning fashion about black speakers.
I think that there are many white folks who are not labeled as articulate simply because they aren’t articulate. I have often been impressed with Al Sharpton (much as he appalls me) because of his tremendous gift of gab which stands out when compared to the average speaker. He never hems and haws or pauses or searches for the right word. It just seems to flow. One cannot say the same for Ted Kennedy, George Bush, or even Hillary Clinton.
In my mind, being articulate is a great quality and a true compliment.
“In my mind, being articulate is a great quality and a true compliment”
Just don’t say it about anyone who’s ‘not white’ now, otherwise the clairvoyants will skin you alive
Thanks Jan. I hear you. Oops maybe I am clairavoyant….. But I definately am tired of the excuse that there are underlying motives no matter what people may think. There are alot of people in this world that are more worried about compentency than they are about color. I think many people have moved beyond the racist thing and are using eachother for ideas, friendship and guidance and I tire of the people who constantly want to make things more than what they may seem to be on the surface. I do however want to be a part of the solution and not the problem, but white guilt….that’s not me. My family was dirt poor which is their entire background, and I am a first generation college graduate who is tired of hearing how people need an extra anything. This is America…my parents do not have a high school education yet myself and my two siblings have college educations. I had no idea I was at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder until I took Sociology 101. I believe everyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. I lived it….. But the big difference in my life, my parents would have died rather than accept any kind of hand out.
dd;
Your childhood mirrors mine so I suppose that makes us kindred souls.
Jan…probably my friend….
At least we can relate……………Thank God for this wonderful country that allows everyone opportunities they would not otherwise be afforded….
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