# The silence on Biden is deafening **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 1, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411 "2007-02-01T14:24:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/1 "2007-02-01T14:24:58Z")
This board is remarkably silent on Senator Biden’s comment about Obama “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.” As has been pointed out in other posts, if this were some old white Republican, like McCain for example, Jessie Jackson the rest of the left would have him in a headlock beating him senseless. And there would be about 200 posts here talking about how the bad evil racist Republicans are totally out of touch. The Washington Post surprisingly put the story on front page - only four square inches and below the fold of course… Is this just a case of “as long as he’s my kind of guy I’ll give him a pass” or are the Dems really in love with Biden? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/2 "2007-02-01T14:25:59Z")
link? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/3 "2007-02-01T14:32:18Z")
I wonder if it might be that nobody much gives a rat’s about Mr. Biden, nor much cares about his candidacy? Nah, must be that liberal bias. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/4 "2007-02-01T14:37:57Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] I wonder if it might be that nobody much gives a rat’s about Mr. Biden, nor much cares about his candidacy? Nah, must be that liberal bias. That’s it. [/QUOTE] Considering that “stupid things people say” get brought up on the boards on a regular basis with even random non-famous people, I don’t think that can be the entire reason. If he did say it (not that I believe it’s a lie, just waiting for a cite for context) then it is an incredibly stupid thing to say, and by not calling him on it people will lose the prerogative to do the same for stupid comments by the opposition; it’s not just cowardly, it’s stupid from a pro-party perspective too. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/5 "2007-02-01T14:57:38Z")
If there’s something that isn’t being discussed on the board that you think should be discussed… then discuss it! It’s really as simple as that. He made an asinine comment. I think it will sink his candidacy, and that’s fine by me. At the same time, I think that the transcript that leaves out the point where he pauses after “African American” and the [interviewer](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_01/010657.php) says “Yeah” makes it sound worse than it was. Even so, it still seems like a patronizing observation. Are you happy that it’s now being discussed? Super. All you have to do is bring it up. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/6 "2007-02-01T15:15:04Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] He made an asinine comment. I think it will sink his candidacy, and that’s fine by me. [/QUOTE] He had a candidacy? I think with or without his stupid comment he was going nowhere anyway. This is hardy the Howard Dean, front runner to loser over one phrase situation. This is more a marginal candidate that probably actually improved his name recognition, though not his chances. As far as the liberals not calling him on it. Jesse did and Jon Stewart did last night. I do not know if anyone else did. I do not think many consider him a viable candidate anyway. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/7 "2007-02-01T15:24:06Z")
Two observations. One, I think this was just a slip of the tongue from a man that makes a lot of those. It does not indicate anything about his feelings about race, and I think an apology would be genuine and should be accepted in the spirit in which it was offered. That said, I think it is a valid point that if a Republican said the same thing, some people wouldn’t be inclined to be as forgiving. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/8 "2007-02-01T15:25:46Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] link? [/QUOTE] Just about any Newspaper or website in the world that deals with American politics. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/9 "2007-02-01T15:39:47Z")
Silent? It came up [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8209640&postcount=17) , which was a good 20 hours before the OP. There is discussion in that thread. You understand that a cursory search (for biden) was all it took, right? Or does “remarkably silent” mean “Not silent, but I can’t hear you above the sound of me masturbating?” ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/10 "2007-02-01T15:44:02Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] It does not indicate anything about his feelings about race… [/QUOTE] I would interpret his statement to indicate everything about his feelings about race. -Ms. Meta (who is African-American, articulate, bright, clean, a nice-looking gal, and would vote for Ron Paul if he won the Republican nomination) ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/11 "2007-02-01T15:51:33Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] That said, I think it is a valid point that if a Republican said the same thing, some people wouldn’t be inclined to be as forgiving. [/QUOTE] That’s kind of the way these things work. You’re always willing to give your guy a pass (not that Biden seems to be anybody’s guy). Just look how close George Allen came to winning Virginia after using an outright racial slur. Most Republicans didn’t seem to care that they were voting for a proven racist for Senator. ---
**Author:** ![carterba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@carterba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carterba)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/12 "2007-02-01T15:56:31Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] If he did say it (not that I believe it’s a lie, just waiting for a cite for context) [/QUOTE] You can listen to it here: > **[February 01, 2007 - Language Log: Biden's comma](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004131.html#more)** > > Vying for political buzz with the president's missing -ic has been Senator Joseph Biden's missing comma. Well, really, the issue is Biden's undiplomatic comments about some of his fellow Democrats (Jason Horowitz, "Biden Unbound: Lays Into Clinton,... and read commentary by an actual linguist. To me it sounds like he’s saying Barack Obama is articulate and clean-cut, not that Barack Obama is the first African-American candidate that’s articulate and clean-cut. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/13 "2007-02-01T16:08:05Z")
It’s all over the news, and we’ve been discussing it on this board in the Biden thread I started a few days ago. Would there be a bigger stink if some Republican had said it? Maybe. But there’s a big enough stink about it as it is. I give the guy a pass-- he said something stupid-- and let’s just keep it in mind the next time some Republican does put foot in mouth similarly. Few people on this board could survive having a microphone near every time they spoke and then having a million people parsing every word for a slip up. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/14 "2007-02-01T16:34:18Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] It’s all over the news, and we’ve been discussing it on this board in the Biden thread I started a few days ago. Would there be a bigger stink if some Republican had said it? Maybe. But there’s a big enough stink about it as it is. I give the guy a pass-- he said something stupid-- and let’s just keep it in mind the next time some Republican does put foot in mouth similarly. Few people on this board could survive having a microphone near every time they spoke and then having a million people parsing every word for a slip up. [/QUOTE] That was central to my debate - do the dopers here, by and large, care that a senior Democratic Senator running for President made a fairly blatant raciest comment? “I give the guy as pass” sums up what I thought I hear. Hope that I wouldn’t, but though I would. The closest comparison is the Trent Lott comment, which I’ll give you was much more blatant, drummed up at least a couple threads with a couple hundred comments per. But it’s as has been said here a few different ways. He may be a jerk, but he’s my jerk, so I’ll defend him. And this is a liberal site. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/15 "2007-02-01T16:42:47Z")
We’re waiting to find out who Biden plagarized the comment from, so we can assign the ultimate blame properly. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/16 "2007-02-01T16:43:03Z")
[QUOTE=spifflog] That was central to my debate - do the dopers here, by and large, care that a senior Democratic Senator running for President made a fairly blatant raciest comment? “I give the guy as pass” sums up what I thought I hear. Hope that I wouldn’t, but though I would. The closest comparison is the Trent Lott comment, which I’ll give you was much more blatant, drummed up at least a couple threads with a couple hundred comments per. But it’s as has been said here a few different ways. He may be a jerk, but he’s my jerk, so I’ll defend him. And this is a liberal site. [/QUOTE] Yeah, and a lot of liberals are excoriating him. How does that fit into your worldview? Daniel ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/17 "2007-02-01T16:48:06Z")
[QUOTE=Steve MB] We’re waiting to find out who Biden plagarized the comment from, so we can assign the ultimate blame properly. [/QUOTE] Heh ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/18 "2007-02-01T16:55:47Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Yeah, and a lot of liberals are excoriating him. How does that fit into your worldview? Daniel [/QUOTE] As I’ve stated, I was interested in my little itty bitty The Straight Dope world. How does your comment fit into that? About as I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/19 "2007-02-01T17:03:26Z")
[QUOTE=spifflog] As I’ve stated, I was interested in my little itty bitty The Straight Dope world. How does your comment fit into that? About as I thought. [/QUOTE] A lot of liberals ON THE STRAIGHT DOPE are excoriating them. My comment only fits into your world inasmuch as you’ll fit things into your preconceived notions, it seems. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411/20 "2007-02-01T17:05:59Z")
[QUOTE=spifflog] As I’ve stated, I was interested in my little itty bitty The Straight Dope world. How does your comment fit into that? About as I thought. [/QUOTE] In your OP, you also mentioned Jesse Jackson, the “rest of the left”, the Washington Post and “the Dems”. So it wasn’t all that clear that you were mainly interested in the Straight Dope world. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silence-on-biden-is-deafening/390411.md?page=2)