I think this is less a George Allen Maccaca moment and more a Trent Lott "Strom Thurmond" moment.
In both cases you have a Senator (Biden, Lott) trying to be witty to an audience of rednekcs and, in both cases, you have a Senator ending up saying something nostalgic about the pre-civil rights era south. But, where Lott got blasted, Biden gets a pass. Which I think is a little unfair.
I also think Biden is developing a habit of this sort of stuff, given his earlier comments about the Indians and 7-11 that ill serves him.
