Is Joe Biden a racist? I do not know one's heart, just their outward actions. His camaraderie with President Obama seemed real even though his early implied ignorance to a black Obama being articulate was initially a put-off.

I don't want the noun racist to lose its real meaning. It is much more profound than what Biden or many others do. What Biden's off remarks show is a precise gradation of acceptable disregard of the other when it suits an outcome he wants.

I do believe Biden's overall goal was to show that he would do what it takes to get the job done for the American people. And that is what governing is all about. But there was some duality in his commentary, and it was purposeful. And it is these cuts, these small slices of the skin that we must not leave in the ethos lest the afflicted bleeds to death.