We are now in the hindquarter-kissing phase of Biden’s political redemption. This is where Biden has to fall prostrate before Sharpton and take his verbal beating with a “thank you.” Never mind the fact that Sharpton is himself a racist (and yes, he is a racist, I know for a fact because I’ve been watching him on the my local news station forever).

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton on Thursday took Sen. Joe Biden to task for calling Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama “articulate” and “clean,” questioning how the description reflects on other blacks.
[…]
But Sharpton told Biden: “A lot of people took it from you that because (Obama) is Harvard-trained, that people don’t see someone as good and clean unless they are less connected to the struggle of the African-American community.”
Sharpton also compared the gaffe to former Virginia Sen. George Allen’s use of a racial slur against an Indian-American man last summer – a controversy that was widely believed to have cost Allen re-election.
“George Allen got ‘macaca’ – this might be a step past that,” Sharpton warned.
Biden responded by lavishing praise on Sharpton, saying he and Jackson were the most articulate people in the country.
“I have overwhelming respect for what you did. I have an overwhelming respect for what Jesse did, and what Shirley Chisholm did,” Biden told Sharpton. “I didn’t know anyone tougher or straighter than Shirley Chisholm. I worked with her, I knew her.”
The two men agreed that the best way for Biden to make up for his remarks was to stress issues of concern to the black community in his campaign, such as poverty eradication and speeding up the rebuilding of storm-ravaged New Orleans.

So, let me get this straight, a politician says something that is clearly racist and condescending and he can get the support of the black community by paying lip service to poverty and Katrina aid? Too bad Lott didn’t realize that. Redemption appears to be pretty cheap if you are a Democrat.
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Joe Biden apologizes for his remark