The liberals hyperventilating at the thought of Paul Ryan “a heartbeat away from the presidency” seem completely unaware of who’s filling that slot at the present moment. Why is it that Joe Biden is the only national campaign surrogate who’s never expected to put together an appropriate sentence? Every time he spouts off some wildly offensive stereotype, or makes a glaringly false assertion, journalists treat him like a chatty, precocious four-year-old who has no control over what comes out of his mouth.
“Joe Biden doing his best Joe Biden,” joked Politico about Biden’s latest blunder, which, as Jonathan noted, crossed the line into blatant racial incitement. But the media rarely, if ever, seems to be concerned that this guy they view as a hopeless buffoon is sitting a “heartbeat away from the presidency” — next in line, in an emergency, to deal with a nuclear Iran, the fiscal cliff, Medicare teetering on bankruptcy, and global terrorism. In fact, all the grave murmuring about vice presidents and “heartbeats” only seems to come up during discussions of Republican tickets.
The Obama campaign is defending Biden’s racially charged comment, and why not? If past Biden-related goofs are any prediction, this controversy may not have much shelf life. Once again, the media may simply shrug and dismiss this as “Biden being Biden.”
That’s unfortunate, because journalists can’t expect to be fair analysts of the race unless they’re willing to hold Biden accountable for remarks that could ruin any other politician’s career. Right now, every move Paul Ryan makes is being evaluated under a microscope — as it should. But is it too much to ask that our sitting vice president be held to the same standards? He is, after all, a heartbeat away from the presidency at this very moment.
Instead of asking Mitt Romney to release more tax returns, Joe Biden should be required to reveal a few years' worth of psychiatric evaluations.
the vice presidential debate is going to be wonderful. Uncle Joe is nuttier than a fruitcake, and even though I still think Ryan was a mistake, we've got him, so let's use him. he'll take Biden apart.
Joe's crack was true. The Republicans do want to enslave working folks. The bozo is dead-eyed Sam, the one with the fondness for the mortiChrist Ayn Rand – Paul Ryan.
Hate to say it, but I would take Biden over Obama as POTUS any day of the week. Obama is like a pyro going around setting as many fires as he can. Biden is so inept that he would would still be figuring out how find a match in order to start the lighter in his hand.
But much as even the most inept buffoon can start a forest fire by tossing lit matches or cigarettes into tinder-dry underbrush, in the right circumstances, Biden could have sparked a nasty race riot with his comments. n nRacists tell the Blacks that the Whites wish to bring back slavery and put them all in chains, racists tell the Whites that the Blacks want to rape all the White women — this is racism at its most basic and vile, with each race having a legitimate visceral reaction to it. n nDo we not remember all the things that allegedly were wrong with GHWB's "Willie Horton" issue — how it was said to be racially inflammatory and the rest? How even though it was a legitimate issue, it fanned the flames of racism? Well Biden's statement *isn't*? n nThis isn't like using the "n" word — as a certain late DEMOCRATIC Senator from West Virginia used to do with frequency — this is on the level of Klan rhetoric — this is inciting racial violence.
While I can agree with TS in a way, Biden is a new low in Veeps. But again, this was all part of the non-vetting of Obama last time around. Clearly Paul Ryan is a smart and sober fellow with as much experience as Obama had. Of course Sarah Palin had sufficient experience when compared to Obama too. n nWhat is really pleasing me is how even RINO repubs like Sununu are starting to fight the media. n nAs Andrew Breitbart wisely said: if the media did their jobs we wouldn't even be in the messes we're in. Good job to those who are starting to step it up a little vs. the dems.
In listening to Joe Biden talk he has to be one of the dumbest people in Washington D.C. next to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. What happened to the DNC – there are a bunch of bumbling buffoons – they are also dangerous as well because they are in such high positions of power. It seems like Joe is a gaffe a minute and I can't wait to see Ryan mop the floor with this guy when the VP debate takes place.
“What happened to the DNC?” n nWell, jocon307 above wisely quotes Andrew Breitbart: if the media did their jobs we wouldn't even be in the messes we're in. n nWhat’s happened to the Dems is that they have been so protected and coddled by the DNC-media that their standards have become lower than a snake's belly. n nImpunity not only invites ever worse crimes –Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat –but it also simply degrades and degrades.
"…a chatty, precocious four-year-old who has no control over what comes out of his mouth." n nWow….. n nI have long said that Alana Goodman has the ability to summarize complex and nebulous issues into a simple sentence and she has done so here. People from Delaware "like" Biden, even Republicans, and the concept of a "chatty, precocious four-year-old" hits the nail right on the head. n nBut am I the only person who remembers when he told reporters that the super-secret bunker under the VP's house — something far worse than it might appear at first glance because that is where the VP is put when the POTUS addresses Congress so that there would be *someone* left to continue the government should the unspeakable happen. Anyone else doing that would have gone to jail — would have been hounded into jail as being a treasonous scoundrel. n nBut not Biden. "But we all like Joe"– that's how my Republican friend from Delaware summarized the man. And Ms. Goodman does better here — he is the friendly "chatty, precocious four-year-old" that everyone loves to adore. n nAnd the media isn't biased? Let's compare that to Dan Quayle who was reviled for being stupid because of the "potatoe" v. "potato" incident, and let us not forget that (a) both are correct spellings and (b) the mistake really was made by the prep person who put the "e" spelling on the back of the card. It is the same thing with Michelle Bachmann's confusion of Concord, NH with Concord, MA — the human brain can only process so much information so when you are "on stage" you defer to your notes and hence are dependent upon (and trusting of) the persons who wrote such notes. n nIt's like a lawyer trusting his/her/its secretary to actually mail the documents just signed, etc, etc — and when this doesn't happen, there is an acceptance of "clerical error" with judges and everyone else aware of how much they depend upon their people and thinking "there but for the 'Grace of God' go I." Dan Quayle is not stupid — ANYONE who had been in more than a few media events would have trusted that the spelling on the back of the card *had* to be right and gone with it, personal judgement notwithstanding, because that is what you have to do. n nBut much as I was told as a small child that I don't tell people certain business secrets about the family business, even if they ask me, someone would have sat down with Biden and explained that there were certain things (e.g. the formerly-secret bunker) that "we don't talk about." And perhaps this needs to be done in the context that it was done with me — "or we won't ever be able to buy ice cream again" — a concept a child can understand. n nRegardless, Ms. Goodman deserves credit for her concise summary of not only how the media treats Biden but what he truly *is* — a personable, likable and "chatty, precocious four-year-old who has no control over what comes out of his mouth." Let us also not forget back in 1988 when he was running for President and essentially laughed out of the nomination process for plagiarizing all of his opponents….
You'd hope that the consequences of him outing that secret would bite him while he was in office, but it'll likely be a successor.
No, it is you and I who got bit on this one — the government will have to build a NEW bunker somewhere else and we get to pay for it.