Now, some folks took this as a backhanded dig at black people. That, by implication, most of them are not articulate, not bright, dirty as the dishes, and decidedly non-nice-looking -- a position that stands in stark contrast not only with Joe Biden's stated beliefs, and not only with his lengthy pro-civil rights voting record, but also with his deep-seated "I Would Very Much Like To Be President, And By The Way, Please Don't Sick Sharpton On Me"-ness.

Obviously, whatever he meant to say, he done said wrong. For example, I have to assume that by "clean" he meant "clean-cut" and/or "squeaky clean" and/or "not dirty like a Republican with five minutes and a men's room stall".

And not, you know, "washes behind the ears" clean.

But is Obama nice-looking? He is what I would call "Politician Handsome" in the same way that Bill Clinton is a stud so long as you don't stand him next to actually attractive people.

Is Obama bright? I don't think that's in question.

And is he articulate? I know that Chris Rock (not work safe) thinks this sort of thing is code for "I am white and surprised that black people know how to talk at all," but with Obama at least, this is no faint praise.

The man is extraordinarily articulate -- as articulate as anyone in poiltics today, black or white. More articulate than me, certainly. More articulate than Chris Rock, probably, though here we're really comparing apples and Chris Rock.

But think about it? Articulate. Bright. Clean-Cut. Attractive. Who does that sound like? Wait, wait! First, who does it NOT sound like?

It doesn't sound like 95% of the politicians out there of any color. Biden clearly wasn't saying, "Oh, look at this cute little kid who's pretending to be a politician."

Others have drawn the comparison more directly since. Biden was, in his own, inimitable, foot-in-mouth style, calling Barack Obama "Kennedyesque." Far from saying that Barack Obama was acceptable because all other black politicans before him were terrible, Biden was making the point that Barack has qualities that set him apart from most politicans, black or white.

Barack would be a compelling figure if he were a white guy with all the same strengths of intellect, charisma, and character. Pointing out that it's awesome that he's all those things *and black* isn't an insult to black politicians or black folks in general.

If anything, it's a simple recognition that most politicians, Biden included, are (literally) less articulate, less bright, less clean-cut, and less nice-guy-looking (*cough* that hair *cough*) that Barack Obama is.

That's not being a bigot. That's being humble.

Which is a rare thing in a politician.