Former Virginia Governor Doug Wilder better take the boulder-size beam out of his own eye before going after Joe Biden's racial gaffes. I'm no fan of Biden but Wilder seems to have conveniently forgotten how he got maximum mileage out of playing the race card in the last presidential election.

Now Wilder is mad at Biden for doing the same thing. The governor appearing on CNN says he wants the Obama camp to consider whether Biden's recent preposterous remark to a Danville Virginia audience that Republicans want "y'all in chains" is bad enough to give him the heave-ho.  

Well, first of all it is divisive and certainly uncalled for...I don't think the Obama administration needs that at this time... But when you make a statement that says 'They are going to put y'all back in chains,' which means 'I'm OK - not going to happen to me.'"

We'll work through it, but 'y'all' would be in chains...Slavery is nothing to joke about. And the history of this nation's involvement with slavery is nothing to pass off in a joke...But you can't continue to make gaffe after gaffe after gaffe and believe that it's going to be supportive of what you and the president are trying to do."[S]o the more important thing is don't divide the country...Speak to them as equals - not 'they' are going to put 'y'all' back in chains. So that means you are separating yourself from y'all."

In a February 17, 2008 Face the Nation appearance Wilder outdid Biden by going so far as to predict riots at the Democratic convention in Denver if Obama didn't get the nomination.

While some are suggesting Obama nix Joe Biden for Hillary Clinton before the VP says something even worse, it should be remembered Wilder, among others, followed super-spinmeister David Axelrod's lead in 2008 by calling out the Clintons for being racists.

Face the Nation-2008: 

BOB SCHIEFFER: Mayor Wilder, I want to start with you. We talked about this just briefly in the previous segment, about Bill Clinton's remarks in South Carolina, when he compared Barack Obama to Jesse Jackson. What I would like to ask you, Mr. Mayor, is why do African-Americans seem to take that -- they don't seem to like it. What did he do? What did they find offensive in that statement?

WILDER: Well, I certainly don't plan to speak for all African- Americans, but I can tell you what I found offensive. It is that he didn't look to the issues; he didn't look to the positions; he looked to the color. And to the extent that he did that and said, oh, he's a good spokesperson, he, you know, Jesse Jackson carried South Carolina twice. So it's no big deal.

And I think the mistake has been, unfortunately, that there are too many people who act as if the African-American voter is different, that they don't think, that they don't articulate their own views, that some people can speak for them.

More importantly, it's a mistake for Bill Clinton to believe that there has been given to him this mantle of authority to be able to speak for and to and to be dismissive of African-Americans. And I think he made a big mistake, and I think he hurt Hillary in the process.

When Schieffer asked the panelists about the super delegates and whether "this would go all the way to the convention" Wilder threatened riots.

Bob, I think it would be a mistake because you pointed out the first convention you went to was 1968. You know what a mess that was.

...and if the super delegates intervene and get in the way of it and say, oh, no, we're going to determine what's best, there will be chaos at the convention.

It does nothing to help the Democrats. And if you think 1968 was bad, you watch; in 2008, it will be worse.

Wilder is getting a lot of play from conservative media for his criticism of Biden's use of racially charged lingo but fair is fair. If he can do it why can't Biden?

Read more M. Catharine Evans at Potter Williams Report