The Trouble with Joe (Why Team Obama should be very worried about the VP)

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.

Biden will stay on the ticket, but I expect his campaigning will be confined to small, friendly crowds and they may saddle him with a teleprompter to be safe.

Only problem with a teleprompter is that Joe is enamored with the sound of his own voice and feels that he is the smartest guy in the room.

His performance in the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings as Senate Judiciary Committee Chair gave great insight into this, as well as his personal, profound belief that he was a god.

ONLY reason in his mind that he isn't POTUS is that a smart, clean articulate Halfrican came along and prevented him from getting his message out to the unwashed masses.

Was his "chains" remark a gaffe?

Not to him!

Just playing to the blacks that will blindly vote for a Democrat Sugar Daddy to keep giving them Gov-Goodies.

Nothing has changed in the Democrat Party since the War Between the States except that now they use taxpayer money to buy their slaves.

I have had the thought that Obama would replace Biden before the election, for many months. I began to think more about it when Hilliary said that she would not remain as Sec of State after the coming election. Then comes the endless Bill Clinton appearances on any talk show that will have him, in an attepmt to support/or not support Obama and his efforts to embrace Rommney at the same time. All of these destractions by the Clintons, in my opinion are purpusful and intendional to intimidate Obama into putting Hillary on the ticket. I believe that Greta Van Sustran uses Sarah Palin for ratings. Greta is a very close friend of the CLintons. Greta’s husband was one of the attorneys for Clinton during the impeachment process. Add to that, the fact, that Palin can not stand Romney. I don’t think I have missed a single appearance of Palin on Greta or Hannity where if Romney’s name is even mentioned, that Palin’s facial expression become twisted and grotesque. Palin would like to appear in the know, or Greta put her up to saying that Obama should replace Biden with Hillary. I still ask the question, Why would Palin even suggest and at this time, so close to the convention? Palin speaks in clichues as of late, repeating the same thing over and over again. The bottom line with Palin is she has not wanted Romney to be president. My opinion, I know, but her body language tells me a lot about this lady, whom I not only finicially supported and voted for has dissappointed me. If she is so capable of firing up the ranks, why has she spent months tearing down our only possible candidate to run against Obama.

Joe's the least of his problems. Team Obama has probably told the MSM to stop covering Joe, it's starting to sting. Ever notice that when Obama is near Biden when he's on camera, he never takes his head out of his hands?

On the other hand, Obama has his reprobate cabinet to deal with. Napolitano, big problem. Holder, bigger problem. Sibelius and Panetta, problems. Not to mention his multiple czars that are like little children playing with razor blades.

I do believe the One does not want to win a second term.

I agree, and I think that attitude is party-wide. I also suspect Romney and the GOPe don't want to win, either.

2013 on (and maybe the end of 2012) is going to be an economic nightmare that no one can avert. It might not be as bad under Romney, but circumstances are beyond any politician's control. Whoever is in office will get the blame. If O is reelected and the USSA survives, no democrat will be elected again for 50 years. Same with Romney and the GOP

I wouldn't take the presidency if you handed it to me (I would take the office of king. No president has ever "fixed" a crisis, but I would unleash the private sector, the people who can fix, and have fixed, it).

This is what government schools lead to: functional illiteracy.

I noticed that, also. Goldwyn and a lot of others, including me, make that kind of joke purposely.

And the Post writer being quoted wrote, "Alexandra Petri discussed 'the trouble with Joe' and took the VP to task for 'periodically alarming outbursts.'”

I think she meant "...for periodic, alarming outbursts." The alarms aren't periodic, as she wrote; the outbursts are.

Biden Brain Storm

…….Sharon Stone and Vice President Joe Biden both survived (brain) aneurysm rupture and emerged unimpaired. They were the lucky ones. When those brain bubbles pop, massive bleeding can occur, killing 33 percent of those afflicted and permanently damaging the brains of many survivors.

………….Vice President Joseph Biden shared his deeply personal story of brain trauma at the annual Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) fundraising gala on Tuesday. He told the Chicago crowd gathered at Navy Pier’s Grand Ballroom about the life-threatening aneurysm and two subsequent seizures he suffered in 1988. Biden called epilepsy “a terrible lightning storm in the brain.”

I missed the bit about periodically alarming outbursts. Very good catch on your part.

Their thinking sucks, their writing sucks... everything about liberalism sucks and sucks and sucks.

It just never stops.

I don’t think Samuel Goldwyn had a ‘sly wit’. I don’t think the ‘verbal contract...written’ confusion was intentional. I remember a story about Samuel Goldwyn meeting with his production people discussing the then current run of religiously themed movies like ‘The Robe’ they were making.

Samuel Goldwyn was trying to make a point about the ignorance of religion among them. Supposed he said, “I’ll bet $50 that no one here even knows the Lord’s Prayer.” Someone recites ‘now I lay me down to sleep, the Lord I pray...’

Goldwyn throws down $50 saying, “Damn, I didn’t think anyone knew it.”

There will be a correction coming. I do think if Federal and State spending and payrolls are reduced it will be fine. However if there is no change in all Gov spending, it will be a 1930’s style of economy. If the EU and the Euro fail, that will actually help the US and of course China will have some internal strife to include a civil war and GDP contractions that will help the US as well. The TEA party has to win and make sure Gov’t spend at all levels is cut.

One other factor that is not discussed at all: Record numbers of Boomers will be hitting there statistical end of life dates in the next 5-7 years. What happens when the Boomers are dropping dead like flies..... Cricket Cricket....

Another Cricket Cricket item is the long term effect of abortion on the ecomonics of this Country. Can’t kill off, 42M people and not have an impact.

As for Othugga, he and many others know he is a complete Fraud, soup to nuts, Milli-Vinilla type of Fraud. His swang song will make Jimmy Carters post Office years look tame. He knows he is toast for many reasons. Othugga will continue his hate America program at the UN with glee and renewed support, minus the Clintons and the Joe Biden types. The US will have to leave the UN or move the UN to Moscow, Paris or Pyongyang, were it belongs. The One will be beating the US like a rented Mule and he will just like John Swift boat Kerry, be tossing his creditials in protest while consorting with known enemies of the US.

I am in complete agreement with you on the necessity of the tea party winning. I am much less optimistic than you on two items: whether it is even possible in this degraded, degenerate country to cut spending a little, much less enough; and whether any amount cut isn't too late. But those are differences of opinion, which spice horse races.

I am one of those boomers, and your demographic analysis is correct--especially with the death panels. But demographics also cuts two ways. The rise of Islam in the USSA; the migration of a huge amount of people from the south; the existing educational propaganda of the young about the country's principles that are totally at odds with the Founders' ideas; and the manifest shifting of the average IQ in the country toward the left side of the bell curve auger against the nation being saved with any recognizable form of liberty.

Ah, well. Perhaps fatigue combined with a curmudgeonly personality makes me so pessimistic. I would hate to have to live with the world we are bequeathing our progeny.

However bad it is here, out side the US it is for the most part is worse... NZ and few other places will be fine.

One encouraging item for me as a Gen X’er is the home school movement and private schools. The public schools and Universities will collapse in the next 10-12 years. Far too much subsidies and competition, The last of information gate keepers are doomed, that is your traditional brick and mortar Universities. Education is being de-centralized, much like the news on the internet and twitter. 10 years ago we would never hear from Palin and Joe Biden’s stupid comments would never see the light of day. The industrial age is over and we are living in the turmoil of change to the information age.

I do believe the pendulum will swing back to the right and government is going to decline and shrink rapidly in the next 10 years. Currently it is far left, hanging and the move to the center has started. Not in my life time till this election did you have teir 1 presidential candidates advocating getting rid of entire Departments of the USG and some candidates speaking of repealing the 17th amendment. The TEA party is not going away, nor is homeschooling.

My gut feel is once abortion is gone in the land, only then will you see an acceleration to limited Government again. The bell weather is abortion

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