WASHINGTON _ With a tone-deaf bit of nostalgia Tuesday night, former Vice President Joe Biden ignited a fire around his presidential campaign, speaking wistfully of a time in Washington when he could work civilly with conservatives, including archsegregationist Sens. James O. Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia.
"He never called me boy, he always called me son," Biden, speaking at a fundraiser in New York said, referring to Eastland.
And while Talmadge was "mean," he said, "Well guess what? At least there was some civility. We got things done. We didn't agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished. But today, you look at the other side and you're the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don't talk to each other anymore."
The response from many Democrats was quick and angry, with Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, a black rival for Democrats' 2020 presidential nomination, and others accusing Biden of racial insensitivity. By Wednesday afternoon, the fight had become one of the most heated intraparty disputes of the 2020 Democratic primary campaign.
The controversy goes beyond Biden's well-known penchant for verbal gaffes because it directly involves one of the central tenets of his campaign _ his call for a return to the bipartisan style of governing that prevailed in the Senate in the past.
The timing increases the likelihood that Biden's theme of bipartisanship will become a focal point of next week's first presidential primary debate.
That theme has appeal for voters who long for an end to Washington's gridlock, but for many Democrats, especially on the party's left, it underscores Biden's image as a figure of the past, out of touch with today's hyperpartisan realities and unwilling to challenge entrenched interests to achieve the party's objectives.
"Vice President Biden's relationships with proud segregationists are not the model for how we make America a safer and more inclusive place for black people, and for everyone," said Booker. "I'm disappointed that he hasn't issued an immediate apology for the pain his words are dredging up for many Americans. He should."
Some critics even suggested the remark should disqualify Biden for the party's nomination.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is married to a black woman and has two biracial children, said on Twitter, "It's past time for apologies or evolution from @JoeBiden. He repeatedly demonstrates that he is out of step with the values of the modern Democratic Party."
Connie Schultz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who is married to Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, said on Twitter: "That segregationist never called you 'boy' because you are white. If you want to boast about your relationship with a racist, you are not who we need to succeed the racist in the White House."
The episode was reminiscent of the 2002 controversy that forced GOP Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi to step down as Senate majority leader after he expressed sympathy for the segregationist presidential campaign of Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.
Biden's spokesman declined to respond to the criticism.
