Second in line to be president
Scotty Starnes notes that the VP has forgotten the line of succession - today he claims he's second in line, when of course as Vice President he is first in line.
As Michelle Malkin says, thank goodness he's not a brown-haired Republican woman or this would be nightly news material!
This is a big expletive deal 1
An alert reader wrote in with today's Bidenisn. Just before the President's speech celebrating the historic health care bill, the VP murmurs some sweet nothings:
Yes, a massive new entitlement program and a huge expansion of the federal government is a big [expletive deleted] deal indeed. Hooray!
God rest her soul
A quick one thanks to the Telegraph - while speechifying on St. Patrick's Day, the VP referred to Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen's mother and said:
God rest her soul.
And here's the video:
Usually this sort of blessing is saved until after death - and Mrs. Cowen is very much alive. To do Biden justice, though, Cowen's father had recently died... nonetheless, this incident takes its rightful place among the ranks of other gaffes.
We're going to lead the world economically throughout the twentieth century
Back in Feb 2010 the VP was speechifying in Michigan; he took a bold stand regarding the U.S.'s status as an economic leader:
Yes, indeed, I look forward to the 20th century as well! In other news, I refuse to accept the notion that the Yankees will not win the 1978 World Series! And you can take that to your "too big to fail" bank!
It's easy being Vice President
Alert reader Ashley Tate wrote in with the latest Bidenism. From CNN; here's the dialog:
Biden: How you doing Eric?
Cantor: Not bad Mr. Vice President
Biden: Good, doing alright. It's easy being Vice President believe me.
Cantor: It's like being a grandparent and not the parent.
Biden: Yeah that's it.
And the video:
Excellent! Of course, he was joking, etc., etc... still, it's another classic Biden quote.
I wished I were seeing it in 3D
An alert reader wrote in with a a video that breaks a long drought. The VP has been keeping a low profile recently, sadly... but he emerged recently and was interviewed on ABC. The question of Oscar nominees came up, and Biden's response was typically concise:
Q: Any favorites among the Oscar nominees? A: Yeah, as a matter of fact, we do, um, and uh, um, and I think that the, uh, one of the odds-on favorites (Jill didn't go with me), but, is, um, is uh, this uh, this new program that I looked at it and I wished I were seeing it in 3D, and you sit there and you watch this science fiction thing unfold in front of you, Avatar...
It's hard to capture the bumbling nuances in text. If you have a spare 45 seconds, you won't regret watching the video. It took some effort to pry that movie name out of him, but, there ya go.
Are you really committed to changing the course of this country?
An alert reader pointed me to this boston.com article discussing the upcoming elections. Happily for us a Biden quote from a recent Allegheny County Democratic Committee dinner made its way into the article. Apparently Biden first rejected Obama's overtures to be VP, but later changed his mind. Here's the narrative from Biden:
“A couple months later,’’ Biden said, Obama repeated the offer in a hotel room in Minneapolis. The senator looked at Obama and said, “Are you really committed to changing the course of this country?’’ “He reached out, shook my hand and said, ‘I am.’ ’’
You see? It's all about Joe Biden! This Obama fellow is just along for the ride! I'm glad we've got that straightened out.
I hope to God you understand this race is winnable
Another item hot off the presses! Speaking at a October 2009 fundraiser in Alexandria, VA, Biden sounded optimistic. Or at least vaguely hopeful; here's the quote:
I hope to god you understand this race is winnable
Not to worry, though, he quickly recovered with:
I was told another good friend of mine running for governor in another state. They declared him dead two weeks ago. He is now ahead. We are going to win that race.
That's only fair - dead people have voted Democratic, so why can't a dead person receive Democratic votes?
Source: National Review's Mark Hemingway
Some of the guys Chuck and I have campaigned for are turkeys
This just in - hot off the presses from the LA Times! Biden was introducing several Democratic House candidates at a fundraiser in McLean, Virginia, and had a few words to say about them:
These guys are smart. Some of the guys Chuck (Robb) and I have campaigned for are turkeys. Not all Democrats are created equal, while most Republicans are.
It's been a long time since Biden has said something we can agree with. But yes, it's true, many of the Democrats for which he has compaigned are indeed turkeys.
I have let imagination take hold in some places
An alert reader wrote in with the latest Bidenism. While speaking at the Brookings Institute (transcript) on Sep 3 2009, Biden was asked about stimulus spending and how to ensure it was spent wisely. He rambled on for quite a while and then said:
And I have not bent the law, but I have let imagination take hold in some places where I think it's consistent with the spirit of the law.
Maybe it'd be better just to obey the law, sir? He then followed up with this:
Is that the best way of saying that? Yes.
I think he meant "No". I hope!
