Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama just can't get away from the word “articulate.''

White House political adviser Karl Rove told an Arkansas crowd that the Illinois senator is “charismatic, he's articulate, he's a very strong figure on the national stage.''

During an interview on Fox News Channel, President Bush said of Obama, he's “an attractive guy. He's articulate.''

Delaware Senator Joe Biden, also a Democratic presidential hopeful, told the New York Observer that among presidential candidates, Obama is, “the first mainstream
African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.''

Biden's off-the cuff comment drew an unhappy reaction from Obama. He said it could be taken as disparaging toward previous black presidential candidates, including Carol Moseley Braun, Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Biden says he didn't intend it that way and apologized.