Posted on 08/15/2012 10:02:42 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Obama campaign told The Hill on Tuesday that it “is confident Vice President Biden will be an effective foil” for Paul Ryan despite Biden’s latest gaffe. I’m not so sure, and neither are some Democrats.
Biden’s rhetorical belly-flop yesterday was a doozy. He first told a largely black audience in Danville, Va., that he hoped they could help Obama win North Carolina. He followed that up with the claim that Mitt Romney wanted to “unchain Wall Street.” He then switched to a comic down-home accent and bellowed, “They’re gonna put y’all back in chains!”
Willie Geist, a co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, was blunt: “If Paul Ryan, the Republican candidate, said that to an African-American audience, there would be calls this morning for him to get out of the race, for Mitt Romney to withdraw from the race. There’s a double standard.”
But there has been a double standard for Joe Biden for decades, and almost every reporter in Washington knows it. Last night, a frustrated Rudy Giuliani acknowledged it on CNBC. “I’ve never seen a vice president that has made as many mistakes, said as many stupid things,” he told Larry Kudlow. “I mean, there’s a real fear if, God forbid, he ever had to be entrusted with the presidency, whether he really has the mental capacity to handle it. I mean, this guy just isn’t bright. He’s never been bright. He isn’t bright. And people think, ‘Well, he just talks a little too much.’ Actually, he’s just not very smart.”
Biden has been very lucky that the national media have largely given him a pass until now. American history for the last half century has been replete with Republicans who have been portrayed by the elite media as dim or addled — from Dwight Eisenhower to Gerald Ford to Ronald Reagan and Dan Quayle to, of course, George W. Bush and Sarah Palin. No Democrat with comparable national stature has been saddled with a similar reputation. The media have tended to explain away Biden’s strange statements and unforced errors by saying, “Oh, well. That’s just Joe, you know.” Or they casually admit, “Well, he just talks a bit too much,” and then move on.
In the middle of a hotly contested presidential campaign, that may now be changing. In the Washington Post yesterday, Alexandra Petri discussed “the trouble with Joe” and took the VP to task for “periodically alarming outbursts” that are unbecoming of the second-highest office in the land. “He inspires the sort of discomfort one feels upon introducing one’s fiancé to Grandpa after he has had a Scotch too many,” Petri scolded. “His cringe-inducing gaffes . . . inspire less anger than embarrassment.” A New York publishing source told me that “Biden is now seen as a Catholic Sam Goldwyn, and that’s not a good place to be.” Sam Goldwyn was the legendary Hollywood producer who was known for malapropisms (“A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”).
The White House has to worry that for the next 82 days Joe Biden will be under tremendous scrutiny — especially given the fact that Paul Ryan has become such a media-attention magnet. Everyone is anticipating the October 11 debate between Biden and Ryan. Biden’s penchant for off-the-cuff remarks doesn’t inspire confidence that he won’t unintentionally blurt something out when facing Ryan. For example, he embarrassed the Obama administration recently by prematurely revealing he was “comfortable” with gay marriage — forcing his boss to suddenly endorse gay marriage on a timetable not of his choosing.
Biden’s erratic statements certainly should make Team Obama nervous. I’ve no doubt that some Democratic strategists would love for Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to swap jobs and bolster the Democratic ticket with a little Clinton magic. But there’s no evidence that Hillary would take that deal. If she wants to run, she is already the front-runner for the 2016 Democratic nomination and would gain no advantage by being yoked to Obama, her old adversary, for the next three months if they lost or the next four years if they won.
So Democrats are stuck with Old Joe, who will turn 70 this November. It’s said that few people vote for a presidential ticket based on who is filling the No. 2 slot. But some do, and they may matter in a very close race. It’s likely that by the time this campaign ends, a lot of people will be more nervous about Joe Biden being a heartbeat away from the presidency than about Paul Ryan.
— John Fund is national-affairs columnist for NRO.
“I wonder if Biden has something wrong with his brain (an actual ailment). Should be an interesting next couple of months.”
Well, it wouldn’t be the first time. Biden had brain surgery back in 1988 for two berry aneurysms, one on each side of his brain. Maybe he’s faking it this time to give a reason for a graceful departure because he’s already been told he doesn’t cut it for a second go-round.
Clinton would be a big lift to the Dems game.
Maybe if they get it out there now it makes it look more of an act of desperation for ghettobama since an illness will not be believable from slow joe?
“What is not clear is this, if Biden suddenly became president, would America be worse off than it already is?”
America would be decidedly better under Biden. He’s an idiot and he’s white so maybe the RINOs would consider impeaching him.
What do your liberal friends have against Romney and Ryan? They don’t support a pro-growth, pro-America reform ticket? Why not?
Obama/Democrat party not-too-bright. The old adage, “Be careful what you wish for, you may get want you want”. So.....the Obamabots jumped for joy when Mitt Romney selected Paul Ryan as his VP, choice. In their glee, they overlooked the impact & fact that the Ryan selection would have on the number one buffoon and dummie, not only in politics, but...in the entire universe, Joe Biden.
Now....old racist, Joe is front and center in competition with Ryan, who will eat his lunch every single day!!! Now....the Democrat Party still has time to dump Biden under the bus and replace him with someone like Hillary Clinton, but.....the real problem for the Democrat Party is not Joe Biden, but...Barack Hussein Obama.
Obama is the one the Democrat Party needs to dump, which they will not do!!! And....if Hillary comes on board, she, too, has a major screw loose, teaming up with Obama, who hate the Clintons. The Dems have boxed themselves with a pure and total moron!!! Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving group of American traitors!!!
As for Biden's replacement, there probably aren't any viable hispanic or black VP choices for the Dems, so they will probably go with a woman. O has nothing to gain from Biden anymore, and will probably seek to strengthen his take of the female vote, which Romney/Ryan would erode over the course of the campaign.
This long standing idea of replacing Joe Biden with Hillary Clinton doesn’t make much sense to me. If she is interested in 2016, why would she become more closely associated Obama? Second terms are rarely that great anyway.
I have not heard even a single mention of the First Family taking a well deserved summer vacation on Martha’s Vineyard or anywhere else. Just a coinkydink, I’m sure.
Well, it wouldn’t be the first time. Biden had brain surgery back in 1988 for two berry aneurysms, one on each side of his brain. Maybe he’s faking it this time to give a reason for a graceful departure because he’s already been told he doesn’t cut it for a second go-round. Clinton would be a big lift to the Dems game.I didn't know that. Interesting.
They are not going to replace Biden. The time to have done that was months ago when it wouldn’t look like a desperation move or a reaction to Ryan, whom they have been acting like was a great deal for their side.
Biden serves as the idiot for Obama to supposedly look brilliant, and to deter anyone from getting cute and wanting Obama gone.
I was talking on the phone to someone who gets Boston channels on his cable and he said there are all kinds of Masshole Dems that are supporting Scott Brown over Sheliesalot Warren and they are vocal about it - making Scott Brown TV commercials.
You know, I wish that everyone would STFU until Biden is actually nominated to be the Veep candidate again. We WANT him to be in this slot again, so that we can attack the idea of a 2nd BO administration based completely on lack of competence. Does ANYONE here want the H'Beast on the ticket? I'm dead serious - first, it'd make it a lot more likely that BO would win, and then we'd have H'Beast actually be a serious candidate in 2016 - but not so on either score for Plugs.
Team BO could easily dump him, but the excuse would be "health-related issues." They'd toss him under the bus, mentioning his anyeurisms and connect it with his idiotic statements (though any examination of his record will show that he has ALWAYS been an idiot).
Seriously, everyone STFU about Plugs until after the Dem convention. Let's not make it easier for BO.
0dumbsh_t is pure unmitigated evil as well as being stupid. Biden is a big dumb doofus, the dumbest guy in Washington DC. Give a choice, I would rather have dumbest guy in the WH versus the current RAT bastard evil commie pig, 0dumb0!
“What is not clear is this, if Biden suddenly became president, would America be worse off than it already is?”
America would become even more of the laughing stock of the world than 0Bamma and Biden have already made it. Let’s face it folks, who really takes Joe Biden seriously... He’s nuttier than chunky peanut butter and as squishy as creamy peanut butter.
But, by all means, please keep Biden on the 0Bamma ticket.... After all, if nothing else, Mr. “Stand Up Chuck, oh what was I thinking” Biden is truly fun to watch!
Last time I looked the Vice President of the United States was an ELECTED position. How does that fit with "Democratic strategists would love for Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to swap jobs"? Is that even possible?
Regards,
GtG
Palin cut off Hillary and put Othugga in a corner... while giving an elbow to Romney. Othugga can’t win, checkmate to Palin, Hillary is too beat down and drunk to run
Any changes now will be scene as palin directed and regardless of how the changes are made, the pissstream media will support with a full throat bark... Everyone else will just shred on them and rightfully so as..
Joe Biden will be just like the Libyan bomber next week and live for years afterwards... just saying
:: Seriously, everyone STFU about Plugs until after the Dem convention. ::
I respect your opinion but, that’s a bit harsh when you’re among FRiends.
The standard, run-of-the-mill Democrat talking points. The usual blather about throwing the middle class and poor under the bus, blah, blah, blah.
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