Friday, July 07, 2006

Joe Biden's Big Snaffu

Sen. Joe Biden likes to talk a lot. We all know this. Apparently, his mouth has gotten him into some trouble. At a campaign event, while thanking a supporter of Indian-American descent for his support, he pointed out how the Indian-Anerican community supports him, by saying this:

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

Oh, crap. He's stepped in it this time. I needn't explain to you why this was offensive. It clearly plays on the stereotype of Indians working only in convenience stores. Raj Peter Bhakta isn't happy, and has called out Biden. If the name sounds familar, it's Raj from The Apprentice. He's a Republican running for Congress. His blog covers more of the details of this. In case you're wondering, this is true. Biden did say this. There's a video.

Raj was on Hugh Hewitt's show talking about the double-standard, and how some Dems have done this before. In 2004, Kerry compared Sikhs to terrorists, and Hillary made a comment about seeing Gandhi at a gas station.

There's no defending this one. Joe's definitely put his foot in his mouth this time, and may have alienated all the Indian-Americans he claims support him.

3 comments:

PatHMV said...

Ah, Rafique, I think the whole blogosphere is making a mountain out of a molehill with this. Senator Biden (and I'm no fan of his) made a stupid, inappropriate joke when he obviously wasn't fully aware that he was being filmed, talking to some guy who pulled him aside on the way out of a meeting. It's not like he thought this an appropriate joke to make while speaking at a dinner banquet.

The country has far bigger things to worry about than a stupid, inappropriate joke by a Senator. Let's move on. Over at Stubborn Facts (we miss you, by the way, come on back more often, and did you get the e-mail I sent you?), I explained why I don't think that much of Raj or this issue.

Hugh Hewitt and Raj are certainly right that there's a double standard, and when Republicans make similar gaffes we never hear the end of it, but I don't think we should be engaging in tit-for-tat. We should focus on the important issues, not get bogged down over political "gotchas".

Rafique Tucker said...

Yeah, Pat, I did get your e-mail, thanks. I've been away from the blogosphere the last few days. Don't worry, I didn't forget you.

I think you're right, though. This is not a big deal. Biden made an idiotic remark, and certainly is no racist. THese things do have the potential of coming back to hurt in the future though.

Believe it or not, I actually kind of like Joe Biden. He's a blowhard, but he's always seemed level-headed to me.

But at the end of the day, I've already forgotten about this gotcha moment.

PatHMV said...

Yeah, don't tell anybody, but I can't help but like the guy, too. He's pretty sane on foreign policy. Maybe his personality (the stupid, borderline risque jokes, etc.) makes him seem innocently child-like or something.