And the GOP would like to apologize to the entire world for Biden.
Those of you who are docs know every profession has their sick jokes, said Biden. The joke among docs is: How do you know someone’s had a cranial aneurysm? On the autopsy table. Only 20 percent of the people have it even get to the table.
Well, one of the fascinating things is, that the second operation, after the first one, which was a bleed, and they gave me a relatively low chance of surviving, said Biden. I remember going down, and asking the doc, and, you know, youre counting the ceiling tiles and youre heading into the operating room—a lot of youve been there. I said, Doc, what are my chances? I had two great neurosurgeons. And I’ll never forget—I will not mention his name, but he’s one of the leading neurosurgeons in the world—he said: Senator, for mortality or morbidity?
And I’m thinking, said Biden. No, swear to God, I mean, you know, jeez. Well, I said, Let me put it to you this way. It was a long road to the operating room. I said—this is absolutely a true story—I said: What are my chances of getting off this table and being completely normal? He said: Well, your chances of living are a lot better.
And I said, OK. What are they? He said, Well, they’re in the 35 to 50 percent range. And I thought, well—seriously, I was a born optimist—I said, well, hell, that means 35 out of 100, 50 out of 100 make it. I might as well be the one, said Biden.
I said: What’s the most likely thing that will happen if I live? He said, Well, the side of the brain that the first aneurysm is on controls your ability to speak. And I thought: Why in the hell didnt they tell me this before the ‘88 campaign? It could have saved us all a lot of trouble, you know what I mean?