Talk about bad luck! In announcing his 2008 candidacy, Joe Biden managed to pick the slowest news day of 2007 to say something about Barack Obama that was bound to offend the news media's scandal-mongering "Gotcha!" squad. Here's what the senior Senator from Delaware actually said: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." Now, we all know what Biden meant to say ' that Obama is the first black presidential candidate to come along who combines all of these traits in one uniquely appealing package. (Note to Joe: In your groveling apologia over the next few days, do not under any circumstances say that Obama has got all of these qualities 'in spades'.) Biden has never been one of my favorites, and his role as an instigator of the electronic lynching of Clarence Thomas still ranks as one of the most egregious spectacles of hypocrisy in the sordid annals of the Senate. But in this instance, you could practically feel sorry for the guy. Who could have predicted that the TV networks would be so starved for legitimate news Wednesday evening that Biden's 'gaffe' would wind up as their lead story? With all the trumped-up hullaballoo, no one seems to have noticed that even if Obama's reply did not excuse Biden, neither will it have helped solidify the freshman Senator's position in the firmament of dream candidates. 'I didn't take Senator Biden's comments personally,' said Obama, '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.' Al Sharpton!?? Does anyone recall this race-baiting weasel's history, starting
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