(Posted by John.)
I've been out all weekend, so this will be short and simple. I understand how and why Joe Biden's description of Barack Obama was offensive, but surely it's not out of line to describe him as articulate? The last person I read point this out was Matthew Yglesias, but it's a general point that many politicians are simply lousy public speakers. (I can't stand watching Bush speak anymore, I just can't.) Obama had one of the best speeches of the 2004 Presidential season -- by any standard he's simply a fantastic speaker, easily comparable to any of the other great public speakers in America.
Is "articulate" even the right word for that? How can we complement the Junior Senator from Illinois without resorting to language with an unfortunate racial undertone?
