"He is so well-spoken!" - Chris Rock

Time to put in my pennies on Joe Biden's comments about Barack Obama. Joe Biden (D-Del.) announced he is running for president in 2008. He then gave an interview and said the following about Obama:

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."

Now the media is all over it. I think the political correctness police need to sit down. Allow me to dissect the comment.

Is Barack Obama:
mainstream African-American? Yes
articulate? Yes
bright? Yes
clean? Yes (By this, I know that Biden meant 'fresh and clean' in the Outkast way. A better word could have been 'sharp'.)
nice-looking? Yes

We are kidding ourselves if we believe these aren't huge reasons that people are all over Barack Obama. We have never come close to nominating a black man for President. Now, like a tidal wave, the country is ready for change! Bullshit. Fact of the matter is, mainstream white people feel 'safe' and unthreatened by Obama's blackness. "A black candidate that I would trust with my daughter!," they think. At the same time, they get to gloat about their "open-mindedness" while getting their morning espresso at Starbucks.

Shirley Chisolm, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Rev. Al Sharpton are all articulate, bright and clean. All amazing. I especially love the Rev. Al Sharpton. However, they never got close because they lacked the mainstream and the looks. The previous black candidates come from the civil rights movement. With that comes a certain amount of threat felt by mainstream white America. Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, is light-skinned, new, and has an impeccable smile. Let us not forget our shallow, shallow culture.

I don't make it a secret that I lean left, and I like Barack Obama for the right reasons (No pun intended, and I am not saying he is my #1). This includes having him as our first black President. Storybook indeed. He has a lot of great things to say, and I am sure many people like him for the same reasons. But, the people don't need to freak out if Joe Biden throws some truth back in their suburban Anglo faces.