Sarah Palin, one extremely tough lady . . .Everyone acknowledges that former Senator Joe Biden is a windbag -- and, as one reporter observed, "a human gaffe machine." He's also a compulsive liberal, the fourth most liberal Senator (after Obama, Dick Durbin of IL, and (avowed socialist) Bernie Sanders of VT.
His gaffes are legendary. During one campaign stop, he saw a man with a sign that Biden liked. He urged the man to "Stand up. Stand up so everyone can see you.;" The gentleman was in a wheel chair.
After the election, he said that Vice President Cheney, whom he called "the worse vice president in history" had violated Article 1 of the Constitution in exceeding the bounds of his office. In fact, Biden, who supposedly teaches constitutiona law, apparently didn't know that Article 1 deals with the legislature, and Article 2 is the one applicable to the vice-presidency.
On the lighter side, Biden repeatedly insists --with no evidence -- that he is in close contact with America's version of The Great Unwashed. In the Oct. 2, he talked about what the common folk of Delaware -- he mentioned "Katie's Diner . . . on Union Street . . . in Wilmington" -- were saying about the economy. The next day, long-term Wilmingtonians noted that Katie's had been closed for going on 15 years. Obviously, Joe needs to get out more in his home-town.
If Sarah Palin had many any such statements, "Saturday Night Live" would have devoted whole episodes to them. But frankly, "SNL" doesn't regard Biden gaffes as worthy of notice.
In the debate with Gov. Palin, Biden insisted to an amazed Sarah that he really hadn't voted for the war in Iraq. Palin insisted that Biden, who had indeed voted for the authorization of the use of the force (i.e., war) must be using "Washington insider" logic.
In fact, Biden had said before the war that the U.S. had "no choice but to eliminate" Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. He added that war with Iraq was "probable." In August, 2003, with insurgency growing, he said he didn't regret his vote for the war. (For more information on Biden's statements, see Michael Barone, The Almanac of American Politics, 2008 edition, p. 365)
Palin found Biden's falsehoods hard to deal with. Who wouldn't> How do you say that a six-term Senator -- one with silver hair (via transplant) -- is doing nothing more than blowing endless clouds of smoke up the collective derriere of the American people?
Also in the debate with Palin, Biden said that the Iraq war was costing more per month ($10 billion) than the entire action in Afghanistan. In fact, the total cost of the U.S. effort in Afghanistan at that point added up to $172 billion. -- 17 times as much as the (monthly) cost in Iraq.
And what the media say about Biden's constant misstatements? Generally, they regard him as "lovable, loquacious old Joe," the guy with chronic foot-in-mouth disease. As a CNN reporter (Paul) said last week, in spite of Biden's record of misstatements, "he brings so much else to the table."
Biden brings to the table a record of being perpetually misinformed -- and of having not even a tangential relationship with the truth. The American people elected the wrong person vice-president, an error we have a chance to correct in 2012.
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