Biden said of Barack Obama that he was "...the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.
Ok, there was a moment that we thought that Biden might have been misquoted, but he has confirmed that those are the words he said.
However, he has since said that he has been taken out of context, and what he meant was that Obama was something brand new that nobody has seen before. He also called Obama the most exciting candidate that either party has produced since he has been around.
Biden phoned Obama to explain, and we understand that was accepted, and Obama didnt take the comments personally. However, Obama did release a statement late yesterday to say that "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."
Biden has also released a statement saying "I deeply regret any offense my remark in the New York Observer might have caused anyone."
This isn't a great start for Biden. While he should have been riding high after his announcement, he was forced onto the back foot, defending a poor choice of words.
Some critics have called Biden's campaign for the nomination the shortest in history. It isn't over for Biden yet, but he would be wise at this point to go positive in the near future and stay well away from the negative.
