Looking at the current occupant of the White House, since when was "articulate" a pre-requisite for election to the Presidency?

Then again....look what we got....

Maybe we should make it one. ~lol~

The "A" word here is not a bad thing at all. There has been so much hate rhetoric, and just plain whining coming from the minority side of the population for so long, the new attitude coming out is refreshing. Between Bill Cosby and his comments a couple of years ago, and now the efforts of Mr. Obama, the attitude is shifting. All I can say is finally. The old give it to me because I was oppressed is finally becoming, give it to me because I have EARNED it.

I know 100 African American men and /or women who are just as articulate attractive and "clean" as Obama. I am one of those African Americans.
It troubles me to think that people in the majority are so naive to think that Obama is an oddity and the only Negroe that is articulate, attractive, and "clean". Nonetheless, the majority class/ race in the US will not elect him president in spite of the fact that he is QUALIFIED, attractive, articulate, and "clean".
Karl Rove is an idiot. He has never earned a degree! Who is he to say that experience is a factor.

Poor Bill. Unfortunately, it's ignorant comments like that one about "whining coming from the minority" that continue to persist. Check your stats, friend: things may only seem so terrific for you because you are NOT a minority. Wages, jobs, housing are still not on a level playing field. Do some research and then weigh in. And imagine--this input coming from an "articulate" minority female!!

Calling Obama "articulate" is not an insult towards him, but rather to the million of African-Americans. They treat Obama as if he is some kind of exception to the rule, that he is unique, unlike the "uneducated dirty masses". Thus, by extension, it IS insulting to Obama as well.

Biden's comments - particularly the part of "the first mainstream African-American" is insulting to the many AA political candidates, business men, and entertainers that have made it. Sharpton isnt articulate and clean? really? Jesse Jackson isnt clean? Oprah? Bob Johnson? Hell, Martin Luther King, Jr?

Just shows that no matter what side it's coming from - left or right - racism is as persistent now as it has ever been, even if it is just subtle and condescending and wrapped in "code words".

I don't recall anyone saying he was the "only" one - just the first one with a legitimate chance to run for and win the presidency.
And you're right - he won't be elected unless he has an architechtural "idiot" like Karl Rove masterminding his campaign.

What's wrong with articulate! People of both raises should talk correctly!

Obama can join he colleagues who are fraudful. He has already been involved in scams in his short period of time in politics. He doesn't have the experience either. Furthermore, I would like to see our first black President be 100% African American.

He articulate when compared across the general population of -all- people. I think that can be said without it being implied that he stands out among the black poulation.
Relax people. Biden's comments seem different, to me.

If Al Gore doesn't run, Obama has my vote.

I fear that if Clinton gets to office she will make man pay for the injustices ofther man commited in the past against woman, and is only going to give more power to women over man, right now they already have the power to ruin our lives without proof. Imagine is she is ELECTED!!!

Obama in the other hand is not the typical black man, that thinks we ought to vow to him cause his ancestors were slaves. Obama is more down to earth with current issues.

The thing is, Obama IS articulate, though maybe "eloquent" is a better word, and that's a large part of why so many people like him.

I think it's a shame that we've become so sensitive to racial condescension, we automatically assume there's some sort of subtext, some implicit assumption that a white person using the word "articulate" to describe a black person is couching the adjective in terms of race or ethnicity.

In other words, I don't think everyone describing Obama as "articulate" is saying so because they're *surprised* by that fact. Maybe some are. But if the first thing that leaps to OUR minds when we hear "Barack Obama is articulate" is "He's only saying that because Obama is black," who's the bigger racist?

Since when does earning a degree mean you are not an idiot? I know a lot of people that went to college and have the intelligence of a fruit fly.

After his comments about protest, there is no way he should even be a senator. Just think back to the needless riots of the 60's and 70's.If we are going to get along we need to do so in harmony.

Yes, we can see now all the benefits the country got from Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney's "experience and depth."
LOL

Barak is ARTICULATE, yes he is ARTICULATE. but he is gonna LOOSE the presidential race just like Alan Keys did.

I WILL NOT VOTE FOR HIM BECAUSE HE IS BLACK!

When Sen. Biden referred to Sen. Obama as "articulate," he meant "in comparison to the Current Occupant," not "for a black guy." And Obama most definitely is "clean"--impeccably groomed and dressed--but Biden didn't mean "unlike all those other black guys, who are dirty." Biden was smeared by the 24/7 media grinder on a slow news day. I'm hearing only today that Bush and Rove also said Obama was "articulate"; why no media outrage? Not that there should be: Mr. Bush and his Brain may be taking us to Hell in a handbasket, but they are not racists, any more than Biden is.
Polls show that the white majority are not as naive as Shawn fears. There will always be ignoramuses who will never vote for a black, or a woman, or a Yankee, or a pointy-headed intellectual, or a (snarl!spit!hiss!) liberal--but after two terms with a prez who is none of the above, it's obvious that we need positive criteria for choosing the leader of the free world, with "QUALIFIED" at the top of the list. "Articulate," "attractive," and "clean" would be nice, too. Barak Obama has the potential to inspire this country, to bring out the best in us. It will be an honor to vote for him.

The difficulty now is this veneer of civility over still very present racial tensions on all sides. The selection of "articulate" and the reactions against point to issues we have not yet resolved as a country.

Bill, yes, I think Obama earned the compliment in that he is a clever man with a very good rhetorical style. At the same time, coupling that with "clean" and hell, pointing out that a ::politician:: speaks well (well, no shit, that's like 90% of the job) show that Obama is being assessed in the context of his race. I cannot remember the last time someone pulled up a white candidate and praised how articulate they were. Not to mention that "articulate" is sort of the old chestnut of backhanded racism, so it's got a lot of associations that have nothing to do with Obama per se.

Shawn, I am an upper middle class white girl (which I believe qualifies me for "the majority class/race in the US") and I'm planning to vote for Obama. As are a lot of my white friends. Try not to think in binary; I don't like it either.

There is a lot we still need to hash out as a country. I almost feel today like, because not being racist is the new required social behavior, we skirt around issues of race to avoid implicating ourselves. This has to change if any new progress can be made.

Shawn,

I agree with you 100%. Although I am a professional WASP male I know many blacks who would meet all the criteria that Obama meets. They have chosen simply chosen a different career path. It is so easy for us the whole US population to allow ourselves to be spoon fed the "thoughts" and "beliefs" of the media without second thought. Unfortunately, black politicians, supported by the media, have focused on the plight of the "poor black man" in america rather than celebrating the advancements and the individuals who succeed. Provide examples of successes for young negroes to aspire to emulate. As long the media perception that the only way up is as a Jock, Rapper, or Dealer the Black Population will keep themselves from achieving their full potential, to the detriment of our whole country. We need every American pulling together. Lifting each other up. Coming together.
As much as I dislike Karl Rove, I have to appreciate that he has been very successful at the dirty business of getting his guy elected. But, his expertise is in dividing the country and playing one group against another. This is exactly what we can not allow to happen. Find our common ground and join forces there then find equitable compromises on the issues where we disagree.
One good thing which can hopefully come out of 9/11 and Operation Iraqi Freedom is agreement that we are all opposed to extremism. Extemism represented by American NeoCons, or Islamic fundamentalist radicals, or Christian fundamentalist radicals.