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Biden Defends Civil Rights Record During NAACP Appearance

Reuters

   DETROIT - Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden defended his
   civil rights record on Wednesday, reminding a crowd of black leaders of
   his close relationship with Barack Obama while backing away from his
   work on the 1994 crime bill.

   Biden has been under fire in recent weeks from black rivals Kamala
   Harris and Cory Booker on racial issues. He said Obama, the first black
   U.S. president, would not have chosen him to be his vice president if
   he was bad on civil rights.

   "They did a significant background check on me for months with 10
   people. I doubt whether they would have picked me if these accusations
   about me being wrong on civil rights were correct," Biden told the
   annual convention of the NAACP, the nation's oldest civil rights
   organization.

   He rejected the idea he was using Obama as a "crutch," however, saying
   his administration would not just be a continuation of Obama's.

   Biden's early lead in the nominating contest has been fueled in part by
   strong support from black voters, who remember his service for eight
   years as vice president for Obama.

   But Biden has slipped in the polls after a confrontation at the first
   debate last month with Harris, who criticized his opposition to
   federally mandated busing to integrate schools in the 1970s and his
   willingness to work with segregationist senators.

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