If It's Biden For VP, Get Ready For More Talk About Race

It's almost hard to believe there's a single stone of veep-related speculation yet to be unturned and over-examined, but here's one: If Delaware Sen. Joe Biden becomes Barack Obama's running mate, we can expect another cycle of news analysis regarding the impact of race on the presidential campaign.

Of course, on Tuesday afternoon Biden told reporters "I'm not the guy." (LATE UPDATE: A source close to Biden tells the Huffington Post that this has been Biden's stock answer for weeks, and as such is not terribly significant.) But if you believe our own well-connected Steve Clemons, the Delaware Senator may have the cover of plausible deniability, since he's been radio silent with the Obama campaign in recent days.

So, with all the usual caveats, here's how Biden's potential selection could affect the sometimes dormant, sometimes live-wire issue of race in the campaign.

In part, this reality stems from the fact that Biden hasn't always struck the most sensitive tone when it comes to talking about race. Referencing the Indian-Americans he'd met in his home state of Delaware, Biden once said "you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent." While the Senator clearly meant to praise the hard work and entrepreneurship of his state's fastest growing minority group -- and was even speaking to an Indian-American supporter at the time -- his comments were nevertheless fodder for embarrassment.

More famously, and even more damaging, Biden kicked off his presidential campaign in early 2007 by describing Barack Obama in highly inelegant, loaded racial terms. "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden told the New York Observer. "I mean, that's a storybook, man."

Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama both endeavored to let Biden off the hook, but the damage to Biden's campaign was still palpable.

Given this history, there are several possible ways that Biden-as-VP nominee could reignite the debate between the campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain over race. First, McCain could declare any further parsing of racial subtext in the campaign to be null and void, given Biden's own checkered linguistic past. If Obama were to tread at all close to his talking points warning of racially-charged remarks from Republicans, McCain could attempt to label the Democratic ticket as hypocritical on the subject.

Notre Dame Professor of Political Science Darren Davis believes that Biden's selection as a running mate would bring an unneccessary amount of scrutiny to a topic Obama should actively be trying to avoid. "Obama needs to stay away from issues of race as much as he can, and although he brushed off Biden's comments early in the primaries, he cannot be seen as embracing a VP whom many thought was racist and insensitive toward Obama himself. ... Imagine how much fun the Republicans would have with that," Davis said.

However, it's easy to imagine a somewhat counter-intuitive angle on the Biden-race angle. With many white voters potentially uncomfortable with the strictures of politically correct verbiage, Biden could stand out as a sympathetic figure. As Obama's running mate, he could say, "I know how tough this is to navigate sometimes, and I'm living proof that folks with the best intentions trip wires they don't mean to trip from time to time." Having consolidated his standing as someone who has earned a few scars in the PC-wars, Biden could speak out against any GOP gambits that explicitly attempt to capitalize on vague feelings of "foreign-ness" regarding Obama -- such as McCain's "an American president for America" tag. Speaking as someone who knows the difference between innocent slips and the real deal, he could conceivably have some standing on the issue.

Davis disagreed with that hypothesis, saying that Biden's checkered PC past "would not endear whites to Obama, but it would raise questions about Obama's decision making."

But either way, if Steve Clemons is right about Biden being the pick, it's not hard to see how that could spark some new lines of debate on the race question.

Comments

[pupbayer]

If it's Biden, O can drop the talk about change and a new politics. Biden is a Washington insider and the epitome of "old politics."

[BlueBoomer]

Actually, Biden has never lived in DC...he commutes by train back to his home in Delaware...

And his experience in foreign affairs, wherein he knows and has the respect of most of the international leaders makes him a formidable choice for VP or Secy of State.

[pupbayer]

Biden has been in the Senate for 36 years. Trust me, he is considered an old time Washington insider. A train ride doesn't change that.

I love Biden and I agree he would be a great asset. But O is going to have to change his message...or not...no one buys it anyway. (Washington politics or Chicago politics...politics is politics.)

[YankeeCanuck]

Define "insider",doggo.
It's not Biden. He has never had a conversation with a lobbyist, has a very close family, commutes by train every night he can to be with them in Delaware.
He keeps a grueling schedule unlike some of the old guard and has encylopedic knowledge of history and world events.
He's no slouch, backs up his arguments with facts.
And, unlike many of the people who comment here--he's eloquent.

[AntonBursch]

What? The Republicans are going to complain about Biden being racist after Obama picks him for VP? Please.

[ladyv]

Seriously.

Republican talking heads will go out of their way to *avoid* talking about how Obama picked someone who has made questionable racially charged statements in the past, statements about Obama himself. It doesn't follow their narrative. It's an opportunity for the Dems and the Republicans will ignore it entirely.

[HatingTheGame]

Uh... what about the bankruptcy bill that Biden (at the behest of MBMNA - or whatever that acronym is, a Delaware corporation) pushed through? Making it harder to declare bankruptcy.

With the coming credit card bubble ready to burst, more and more people are going to want to seek bankruptcy protection (not just the protected corporation seeking out socialized welfare), but hard working (and non working) Americans.

And the Veep will be the man who said "let them eat cake"?

Sorry, Biden may be a good guy otherwise, but this bankruptcy bill, another nail in the coffin of the middle class, has irked me for a long time.

[BlueBoomer]

If Biden was in the pocket of big business, his campaign for POTUS would have been flush with money...but it wasn't.

In fact, Sen. Biden has made it a point to ensure that many pieces of legislation were amended to ensure that innocent victims would not be further victimized.

I confess I don't know the details of the bankruptcy bill, but I'd bet that those complaining about it feel that overextending and chronically living beyond ones means should be "forgiven" without responsibility, and therefore subsidized by those of us who ARE financially responsible...and I'd also bet that Senator Biden would not have voted for a bill that would have brought un-due hardship to those who could not avoid their financial crisis.

[alienufo]

Deleware's #1 business is banking, which is why he voted for the bill. I didnt like the bill either but understand why he voted for it.

[YankeeCanuck]

He did not push that bill through. Get it straight.
He did not like that bill, and he made it less onerous.
But, it was going through. He came from a middle class background and he is true to it.

[YankeeCanuck]

Go see Swing Vote anf get yourself better informed.

[ladyv]

Every Republican in the Senate voted for that bill. McCain can't bring it up without bringing up his own vote for it.

[Mojane]

Enuf aleady!

[calpoet]

This piece is PC taken to its absurdities. Biden is an experienced, intelligent, and highly admired legislator by individuals in both parties. In fact, his major drawback is not that he said these things that some deem politically incorrect, but that he's been around for a long time and that runs contrary to Obama's message of change. But, that drawback is more than offset by his foreign policy credentials and his fulfillment of the primary criterion that any candidate needs to have high on the list: is he qualified to be president? Centrists in both parties would answer that question resoundingly in the affirmative. Biden would be a good choice, and an Obama/Biden ticket will be a daunting team for McCain/Lieberman to confront.

[genseric13]

Better keep that guy out of the sun.

[mudfiles]

The only reason people would talk about race if Biden gets the nod, is because you're writing articles like this.

Stop harping on insignificant comments that occured over a year ago, and start writing articles with actual substance.

[AxelDC]

What else would they be talking about? It's not like inflation hit 9.8%, oil prices are well over $100, the dollar is at historic lows and unemployment is rising. The Economist predicts that 3Q GDP is running -1% and 4Q will be even lower, so we are now in a recession that will be confirmed after Inauguration Day.

Or we could talk about the $10 billion that Bush wasted on Musharref, or McCain's Dr. Strangelove attacks on Russia, or more mundane issues like how Americans can't afford college anymore.

Nah, instead, let's obsess over some silly comments some Sen. who might, perhaps, but we don't know, be the next VP, made many years ago.

[december30]

Very well said.

[PAposter]

Thank you, aren't there enough substantial stories out there, to leave this stupid sh*t alone.

[EarthToZoey]

I wonder if there is ANYONE on this planet who, if we had the ability to recount everything they've ever said, would not have even one "shockingly" politically incorrect statement. I would be willing to bet there isn't.

[Cynth]

There will be more talk about race only if the pundits & bloggers want make this an issue. Most of us have Biden's comments in perspective and it's now a non-issue.

[2cntswrth]

I agree. The only discussion we hear about race if on the new talk shows. The media is the one who is making a much bigger issue than it really is.

[AxelDC]

Biden must be a real racist if he's willing to be Obama's lieutenant. After all, most racists happily work for black people.

[truegreen]

My bet has to be on Joe Biden. He's a native a Scranton's working class, foreign policy expert, a son in the reserve and he's not afraid to get his hands dirty, he's a fighter. But i could be wrong, Obama could with HRC. Those are two choices Biden and HRC.

[Cos1]

The only race issue seems to be the one the media created and will drag up again if he's VP. If the people he is suppose to have offended aren't offended why is it a issue. Here we go. If he's picked, expect him to get the same negative daily bashing that Obama gets. Every word he says will be picked apart and spun for ratings purposes. The MSM is already slobbering over themselves at the thought.

[TroubleNYC]

Joe Biden is the victim of being an older man in a PC world.

[YouDisgustMe]

correct

[missviv]

I agree except I think it's an utterly BS PC world full of hypocrites.

[Charmed]

I think it's going to be Tim Kaine because you don't hear anything about him....I would Love for it to be Biden.

[BlueBoomer]

I live virtually "across the street" from Virginia, and for the life of me I can't figure out why Tim Kaine is on the short list.

[clevomon]

I have yet to meet anyone who thinks that Biden was malicious in his statements about Obama.

[init]

Let's not take this oil thing lightly. Let's not take this SuperPower thing lightly either. America has always been a "wannabe." Wanta be's do not like to lose.

[butterflymcqueen]

I like Joe Biden....I am African American and I did not take offense to his remarks....he was a good sport about them too.......He can kick a** and I like that.