Novak: Obama’s A ‘Strong’ Candidate Because He’s ‘Clean’ And ‘Not A Stereotype African-American’

This weekend on Bloomberg television, conservative pundit Robert Novak discussed what Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) “Achilles heel” would be if Obama prevails the in Democratic primary over the coming weeks.

Novak said Obama could be threatened by “racist prejudice” in the general election. In making this statement, however, Novak inadvertently made a racist comment of his own, arguing racist prejudice is unlikely against Obama because he is “clean” and “not a stereotype African-American”:

Q: What is Obama’s potential Achilles heel?

NOVAK: I think the only potential Achilles heel is in a general election, if there is some racist prejudice. I’m not sure there is. He’s, as poor Joe Biden said, he’s clean. He isn’t a stereotype African-American. And I think he’s a very strong candidate.

Watch it:

Novak acknowledged borrowing language from “poor” Sen. Joe Biden’s (D-DE) insensitive remarks from last year. Recall, Biden said that Obama is a “clean” and “articulate” African-American. Biden was widely condemned for the comments.

In stereotyping African-Americans as “unclean,” Novak exemplified the type of “racist prejudice” that still exists.