Sen. Macaca, II

The February 5 edition of the New York Observer includes an obnoxious, patronizing, and bizarre quotation by Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) about his fellow senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

Said Biden:

"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."

Here's the audio.

Clean? Seriously?

This is not the first time that Biden has made a bizarre and patronizing faux-complimentary remark about non-honkys. Last year, Biden was videotaped saying to an Indian-American supporter:

"You cannot go into a 7-11 or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."

The comment will probably not hurt Biden's chance of becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. He never really had a chance.

There's been a bit of speculation, however, that candidates like Obama or John Edwards might consider tapping Biden as a running mate because of his foreign policy experience. This Macaca Moment certainly reduces the likelihood of that.

UPDATE: According to a cracker I know, I spelled honky wrong in the original post. Sorry, cracker.