On Wednesday, when Democrat Senator Joe Biden joined the 2008 race for the White House, he spent much of the day extricating himself from a controversy over his comments about Senator Barack Obama, and eventually issued a statement of regret.

In an interview he gave to the New York Observer, a weekly newspaper, Biden described Obama as “the first mainstream African American (presidential candidate) who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

Asked during a conference call with reporters to explain his choice of words, Biden said he meant no offence in describing Obama the way he did, then lavished praise on the Illinois senator as a “very special guy” who has caught “lightning in a jar” like no politician he has seen before. “This guy is a superstar,” he added.

Obama later issued a statement that absolved Biden only in part. “I didn’t take Senator Biden’s comments personally,” he said, “but obviously they were historically inaccurate. African-American presidential candidates like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton gave a voice to many important issues through their campaigns, and no one would call them inarticulate.”

After Obama’s statement, Biden issued a statement further backtracking. “I deeply regret any offence my remark in the New York Observer might have caused anyone,” he said.

It was the second time in months that Biden has been forced to explain a comment that some interpreted as racially insensitive. In a videotaped exchange with a supporter last June, he said, “You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts (in Delaware) unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”

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