If a white man compliments an Asian woman on her excellent driving, does that make him a racist? 

This is the kind of question Americans need to be asking themselves after a scandal erupted earlier this month over comments made by Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), a Democratic presidential contender. The incident exposes America’s hypersensitivity to anything involving race and shows that this paranoia has already begun destroying friendly targets. 

On Feb. 7, the New York Observer published an interview with Biden, who is white, in which the senator commented on his friend and fellow presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who is black. Biden said of Obama, “”I mean, you’ve got the first, sort of, mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”” 

Within hours, Biden released a statement: “”I deeply regret any offense my remark in the New York Observer might have caused anyone. That was not my intent and I expressed that to Sen. Obama.”” 

What remark was so offensive? Critics seemed to perceive Biden’s use of the terms “”articulate”” and “”clean”” as racist.

Now, when one thinks of racial epithets, the words “”articulate”” and “”clean”” do not spring to mind. Rather, the words are highly complimentary and their recipient often appreciates hearing them. 

The racism, as Biden’s critics have implied — but have never stated outright — is indirect. Since Biden is in awe of one black person’s articulateness and cleanliness, critics argue, he must believe the stereotypes that black people as a population are inarticulate and dirty. 

But even a casual glance at the context will show that those naysayers are dead wrong. 

To begin with, Biden and Obama are friends. They are both Democratic senators and have had plenty of time to get to know each other. When Biden notes that Obama articulates his words and his thoughts impeccably, he speaks from firsthand experience working with him. 

When Biden calls Obama clean, he states a tested truth. Obama has been scrutinized by the press and by Republicans for months, as have all the leading presidential candidates. And the only dirt that they have been able to dig up on Obama is some drug use when he was young and that his middle name is “”Hussein.”” Presidential candidates don’t get much cleaner than that.

Moreover, today’s political climate demonstrates that Biden was making a political distinction, not a racial one. 

Every American has varying degrees of love and hate for President George W. Bush. But all can agree that the man has a tenuous grasp of the English language, and sometimes has difficulty articulating his thoughts, especially in high-stress situations or when thinking on the fly. When Biden remarks that Obama, a would-be president, is articulate, he means it as a welcome contrast to the current president.

The same goes for the description “”clean.”” The sweeping victory by the Democratic Party in last year’s congressional election was arguably caused by the furor over dirty, corrupt Republicans like former Rep. Randy “”Duke”” Cunningham (R-Calif.), who pleaded guilty to accepting more than $2 million in bribes, and former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), who resigned after pleading guilty to criminal charges in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

In such a political climate, if a candidate is not clean, he can forget about winning a seat on the school board, let alone the presidency.

Biden did not mean his comments in a racist way, and by the end of the day the article was published, Obama stated this himself. 

That’s where Biden’s story ends, but it’s also where America’s problem begins.

Accusations of racism have been around for decades, and most of them have been well-founded. But Biden’s case is the first one in which someone has been accused of racism implied through a friendly compliment. Most assuredly, it won’t be the last.

Of course, racism is wrong and racists should be condemned by society. It is that very truth that makes Biden’s case so disturbing. If accusations of racism are hurled haphazardly at those who give compliments, and they are condemned by society, people will start to think twice about complimenting someone of another race. 

Let there be no mistake; in another context or with a different tone, Biden’s comments could have been racist. So could those of the white man mentioned at the beginning of this article. But before the word “”racism”” is tossed into the fray, those who feel offended need to take a moment to consider the circumstances. 

To restate the opening question: If a white man compliments an Asian woman on her excellent driving, does it make him a racist? What if the man grew up in Hazzard County, where the insane driving of Bo and Luke Duke is commonplace? Is he a racist then? What if the woman had been a poor driver but practiced all summer and returned with the driving skills of a pro? Is he racist then? 

Compliments can be a backdoor route to racism, but they almost never are. They must be given the benefit of the doubt before they are condemned as racist. Otherwise, they could be lost altogether. 

In any war, there are unnecessary casualties. In the war on racism, compliments should not be one of them.