WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., was forced to follow up the announcement of his presidential campaign with an apology and defense of remarks about his opponents.
Biden struggled Wednesday to deflect criticism following his comments about a fellow Democratic presidential contender, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., CNN reported Thursday.
"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man."
Biden said the comment, specifically his use of the word "clean," was taken out of context.
"I really regret that some have taken totally out of context my use of the world 'clean,'" he said.
Obama said during an interview that Biden had called him to apologize and he did not believe the comments were meant to offend.
