Uh-oh. Audio of the Biden interview available. Coming in a minute.
Late Update: Okay, here’s the link to the actual audio of the Biden interview. Biden still uses a series of words that are arguably racially charged ones in the context — ‘mainstream’, ‘articulate’, etc. But there was a debate going on below about whether the transcription of the interview — not including a key comma — might have changed the meaning of Biden’s words. And when you listen to the audio of what Biden said, I think it’s clear that it’s a misleading transcription.
Listen and let us know what you think.
Later Update: Also, a number of people have focused on Biden’s use of the word ‘clean’. This is one I don’t get. This seems clearly to mean he’s not tainted by corruption, which seems unobjectionable, not ‘clean’ in other senses of the word. Still, I think that Dems looking at this have to see this statement as not a landmine but a friggin’ minefield, open to a series of very problematic and not unreasonable interpretations, even if some of the key points weren’t nearly as bad as they were portrayed in the Observer transcription. In other words, if you’re a Democrat evaluating presidential candidates, would you want to be in the middle of this debate over commas in October 2008? Didn’t think so.
Still Later Update: TPM Reader TC checks in from Texas … “The debate shouldn’t be comma or no comma. There’s clearly a period after “African-American.” In fact, the interviewer interjects his own “yeah” during the pause after “African-American,” which is followed by another pause, after which Biden continues with “Who’s bright . . . .” I don’t like Biden much (I can’t think of anyone who loves to hear himself talk quite as much as Biden), but there’s no “gotcha” here at all.”
