Joe Biden's just a barrel of gaffes

In Biden's defense, the quote was widely misunderstood. Having listened to it, it's obvious that Biden was not saying Obama is the first mainstream African American candidate who is also articulate and so on. He was saying he's the first mainstream candidate -- meaning ideologically mainstream, unlike Carol Moseley Braun, Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson -- \o7and\f7 that he's articulate and so on. He wasn't calling Jackson or the others inarticulate. To be sure, this is still a pretty cringe-inducing way for white people to talk about African Americans. There's a famous Chris Rock routine in which he complains about how people describe Colin Powell as "articulate," as if it were a surprise that a secretary of State can speak well.

And, of course, last summer Biden attempted to endear himself to an Indian American supporter by telling him that in Delaware, "you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent." Not only was this an offensive line, it didn't even make any sense: The observation, familiar to anybody who watched a comedian on cable television 15 years ago, is that Indian Americans are the only ones who work in convenience stores, not that they're the only ones who shop there. The man can't even keep his condescending cliches straight.

Biden looks as if he's the product of a laboratory experiment designed to create the world's worst presidential candidate. If the Obama gaffe doesn't knock him out of the race, something else will. I doubt he makes it to Iowa.

Yes, Biden's very knowledgeable and dedicated. But to win the presidency, you actually have to be good at mass politics. Why is Biden not smart enough to recognize that?