By now most of you politically active students have heard about Sen. Joe Biden’s horrendous racial slip-up, which came out the day he announced his candidacy for president. Maybe Biden should have thought before he spoke, because the following statement, published last Wednesday in The New York Observer, may have his fans wondering, “Do I really want this kind of man in the White House?” Biden’s controversial remark: “Senator Barack Obama is the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy.”
According to an article in the Jan. 31 edition of The New York Times, upon hearing the statement, Obama remained gracious, saying only that, “I didn’t take it personally and I don’t think he intended to offend.” But later in the day, Obama released another, more critical statement, saying, “I didn’t take Senator Biden’s comments personally, but obviously they were historically inaccurate.
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, and no one would call them inarticulate.” Well put, Barack, well put.
After Biden’s ridiculous statement had circulated around the country, it was time for him to come clean and explain exactly what he meant. And where’s the best place to do that? Why, on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” of course! Stewart began the interview by reciting several critical remarks Biden had made about his competitors, including Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. But he saved the best for last. Upon hearing his now infamous remark about Obama, Biden said, “What got me in trouble was using the word clean. I should have said fresh. What I meant was he’s got new ideas.” Sure, Biden, whatever you say.
Biden’s remarks have caused an uproar in the African-American community, causing both Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to feel at least a little bit offended by the remarks. Jackson says,
“I am not sure what he means – ask him to explain what he means. I don’t know whether it was an attempt to diminish what I had done in ’88, or to say Barack is all style and no substance.” Sharpton told The New York Times that Biden called him to apologize, and when he did, Sharpton began the conversation by assuring Biden of his good hygiene. “I told him I take a bath every day.” Oh, what a lovely conversation that must have been.
Clearly Biden has stuck his foot in his mouth, and is surely regretting his sloppy word choice. But, unsurprisingly, this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Last year, Biden was quoted as saying “You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”
Clearly, the man needs to be educated, but most importantly, he needs to watch his mouth. You’re not sitting around with your buddies, Senator. You’re running for president. Get it together. You’re making yourself sound like a regular red neck. Biden sounds like an ignorant bigot who thinks black people are especially unhygienic and Indians only work at minimum wage jobs. Although the man may be none of those things, in this case his words, unfortunately, speak louder than his actions.
In the end, this entire controversy just goes to show that when you’re in the public eye, every single word you say counts. So choose them wisely and realize that it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Aneya Fernando is a sophomore journalism major and the assistant opinion editor of the Daily-Forty Niner.
