In a letter to the editor of the New York
Times, Alan Hoffman, chief of staff for Sen. Joe Biden, defends his boss's characterization of Sen. Barack Obama as "articulate." Turns out Biden says that about a lot of democrats:
In "The Racial Politics of Speaking Well" (Week in Review, Feb. 4), about Senator Joe Biden's use of the word "articulate" to describe Senator Barack Obama, Lynette Clemetson suggests the following rule: "Do not use it as the primary attribute of note for a black person if you would not use it for a similarly talented, skilled or eloquent white person."
During the recent hearings on Iraq that Senator Biden presided over as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, he referred to the following people as "articulate":
Leslie H. Gelb
Edward N. Luttwak
Lawrence J. Korb
Robert Malley
Senator Lisa Murkowski
Peter W. Galbraith
Frederick W. Kagan
Ted Galen Carpenter
Gen. Jack Keane
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
While Senator Biden has expressed his regret that anyone was offended by his words, we wanted to make it clear that his reference to Senator Obama was sincerely intended as a compliment.
Of course, this may be the first time in years anyone referred to Ted Kennedy as "articulate."
