MSM Forgive-a-thon Continues: Olbermann Calls Biden Comments 'A Slip'

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I'm feeling a lot of love out there. Directed by the MSM toward Joe Biden, that is, for having called Barack Obama the first "clean" and "articulate" black presidential candidate. Earlier this evening, as noted here, Chris Matthews, joined by MSMers Jay Carney and Anne Kornblut, cut Biden mucho slack.

The forgive-a-thon continued on Countdown. First, Keith Olbermann declared Biden's comments "a slip." Washington Poster Dana Milbank got into the evening's understanding zeitgeist, assuring us that "nobody sees Joe Biden as a racist."

Olbermann spun a theory that "the conservative media establishment" including "bloggers" who are "doing a lot of Biden bashing today" are motivated not by outrage over Biden's comments but by "a desire to inflict damage on a Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."

View video here.

Milbank agreed: "That's exactly what it is. It's not inflicting damage on a Democratic presidential candidate. Nobody gives Joe Biden a chance of winning that nomination anyway. But he is the guy out there, front and center, and he has been having these hearings criticizing the president on Iraq, so he's potentially quite a fat target for that reason."

Please. How can Milbank possibly be so sure that Olbermann is "exactly" right? Has Dana interviewed a single member of that "conservative media establishment"? Speaking as one humble blogger, I can assure Keith and Dana that the notion of discrediting Biden as a Bush administration critic never crossed my mind. The thrust of my outrage is the hypocrisy of the MSM. What incites me is the MSM's willingness to so readily excuse Biden, whereas Olbermann and company would surely have had a field day excoriating the hapless Republican who made similar remarks.

And while I'm not calling Biden a racist, before totally letting him off the hook I'd be curious to know what he meant in calling Obama the first "clean" black presidential candidate.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Olby-forgives-Biden ping to Today show list.

[RJS1950]

Of course he's a racist. He's a senior member of the party of slavery and the KKK.

[DakotaRed]

Looking closely at what Democrats often say, when not scripted, they do reveal a bit of latent bigotry.

Why else would they work so hard to convince poor Blacks they "cannot succeed, so don't even try, just accept what you're given."

[Pharmboy]

I guess he meant that the Reverends Al and Jesse were dirty.

[CMailBag]

I'm sure that's what they would say if George Allen would have said the same things.

[spikeytx86]

He's not a racist. So a senator complements a Black candidate for being clean cut (or something else) and articulate. So what if he brags that Delaware was a slave state and part of the confederacy, That does not make one a racist right? right??

[MNJohnnie]

RIGHT! Biden "made a slip" but Lott had to be burned at the stake because the Junk Media put a negative spin on his must LESS obnoxious comments.

Sorry Overliar. You don't get to have to standards here.

[muawiyah]

The MSM forgives Joe Biden for everything.

First of all he's a Democrat, but even more, he suffered unrecoverable brain injury. He was actually absent from the Senate for many months trying to recover, but failed, and came back where his problem is barely visible (given the condition of all the other senators).

The "newsies" are deathly afraid of offending Joe because they just don't know what he might do in this state.

(Spin, spin, spin, sarc, spin, spin, sarc/)

[laweeks]

"Of course he's a racist. He's a senior member of the party of slavery and the KKK."

Well said. How about we add also that it's the party that was TOTALLY against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And it was the Dummycrats who blocked entrance to the schools back in the 60s.

[Dog]

We should forgive him....he just can't help himself for being an idiot.

He didn't get the nickname "Slow Joe" Biden for not being fleet of foot.

[duckbutt]

Man....this was more than just uttering one word....macacca....

Let's keep this alive --

PJ

[NotSoFreeStater]

Well, Mark Levin always calls him the dumbest man in the Senate. And don't forget Biden's remarks last year about all the Indians owning Dunkin' Donuts. Seems to be a pattern... oh, never mind he's a Democrat.

[edsheppa]

whereas Olbermann and company would surely have had a field day excoriating the hapless Republican who made similar remarks.

O and co are a bunch of macacas.

[weegee]

The party that wanted to teach ebonics as a genuine second language are proud they found an "articulate" liberal half-black man. Meanwhile they ignored numerous articulate black men and women who made the "unpopular choice" of being conservative in their politics.

[popdonnelly]

I don't take anything Olbermann says seriously.

[edsheppa]

Mark, I don't think it's fair. You have one of the easiest jobs in the world. Kind of like being a stand up comedian during the Clintoon years.

[weegee]

I suspect that Biden plagiarized that Dunkin' Donuts comment from Mrs. Clinton, the Democrat who made the Ghandi's gas station joke.

[JohnLongIsland]

"the first "clean" and "articulate" black presidential candidate"

i could swear somebody wrote this before biden...