BIDEN'S BUNGLES: A BLATANT BIAS

[jaime]

Comments: 182Read Comments Leave a Comment  Biden: Gets away with endless idiotic comments because his media-elite pals "know" he's no idiot.

Posted: 4:08 am
October 22, 2008

Barack Obama's choice of Joe Biden as his running mate prompted a small wave of warnings about Biden's propensity for gaffes. But no one imagined even in a worse-case scenario such a spectacular bomb as telling donors Sunday to "gird your loins" because a young president Obama will be tested by an international crisis just like young President John Kennedy was.

Scary? You betcha! But somehow, not front-page news.

Again the media showed their incredible bias by giving scattered coverage of Biden's statements.

There were a few exceptions. On MSNBC's "Morning Joe," co-host Mika Brzezinski flipped incredulously through the papers, expressing shock at the lack of coverage of Biden's remarks. Guest Dan Rather admitted that if Palin had said it, the media would be going nuts.

So what gives?

The stock answer is: "It's just Biden being Biden." We all know how smart he is about foreign policy, so it's not the same as when Sarah Palin says something that seems off.

Yet, when Biden asserted incorrectly in the vice-presidential debate that the United States "drove Hezbollah out of Lebanon," nobody in the US media shrieked. (It was, however, covered with derision in the Middle East.) Or when he confused his history by claiming FDR calmed the nation during the Depression by going on TV, the press didn't take it as evidence that he's clueless.

And Biden is the foreign-policy gravitas on the Democratic ticket, so his comments are actually even more disconcerting.

The outakes of his Sunday remarks don't begin to capture the magnitude of what he said. After warning the crowd that there would be some sort of international incident - Biden could think of four or five scenarios - he told the donors: "We're gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it's not gonna be apparent initially, it's not gonna be apparent that we're right."

What does that mean? Obama's election would provoke an international incident because of his inexperience and even Obama's biggest supporters won't be reassured by his response?

Then there were Biden's predictions on the economy: "I promise you, you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, 'Oh my God, why are they there in the polls? . . . Why is this thing so tough? . . . I'm asking you now, be prepared to stick with us. Remember the faith you had at this point, because you're going to have to reinforce us.

"There are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, 'Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don't know about that decision.' "

Biden is teling us that, at a time when Americans need to feel confidence in their government, they will be going "Oh my God." Not a great message.

Needless to say, if Sarah Palin said this about a McCain administration, the media world would be exploding.

Whether you believe Biden is exaggerating, as he is known to do, or is providing real insight, the double standard in the media does even more damage to their lagging brand.

Part of the problem is their "Obama love," but we're also seeing the media elite's belief - prejudice - that anyone with an R behind their name is dumb. So, if they say something dumb, they must be dumb. A Democrat, like Biden, can make wildly inaccurate or outrageous comments and they are ignored because the TV and press insiders feel they "know who he really is."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10222008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/bidens_bungles__a_blatant_bias_134700.htm

On the stump recently, Sen. Biden declared he had "three words" for what the nation needs: "J-O-B-S."

Lucky for him, his name isn't Dan Quayle, or that would have followed him for the rest of his career.

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[jaime]

Barack Obama rejects Joe Biden's 'test' prediction as candidates squabble over national security

By TODD J. GILLMAN and WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected] [email protected]

RICHMOND, Va. — Barack Obama on Wednesday rejected his own running mate’s prediction that enemies would go out of their way to “test” him soon after he takes office, as he and rival John McCain wrestled with a disturbing report suggesting that terrorists are rooting for the Republican.

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“Whoever is the next president is going to have to deal with a whole host of challenges internationally — and a period of transition in a new administration is always one in which we have to be vigilant,” Mr. Obama said in Richmond, flanked by national security advisers to signal his readiness to cope with whatever crises might come.

Switching gears from the economy — his favorite campaign topic lately — Mr. Obama addressed for the first time Joe Biden’s assertion last weekend that within six months, adversaries will provoke an international crisis “to test the mettle of this man.”

Republicans have latched on to the statement, arguing that electing Mr. Obama could invite attack. In Ohio, Mr. McCain cited the statement as he stepped up criticism of Mr. Obama.

“I will not be a president who needs to be tested. I have been tested, Sen. Obama hasn’t,” Mr. McCain told supporters in Green, Ohio. “The next president won’t have time to get used to office.”

Mr. Obama rejected his running mate’s language but embraced his larger point.

“Joe sometimes engages in rhetorical flourishes, but I think that his core point is that the next administration’s going to be tested regardless of who it is,” Mr. Obama said, thanks to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, “an economy in free-fall,” and a host of “bad policies” by the current president.

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds chided Mr. Obama for trying to shrug off the concerns Mr. Biden voiced. “Joe Biden ‘guaranteed’ a generated international crisis if Barack Obama is elected, and a smile-for-the-cameras press conference isn’t going to mitigate the risk of an Obama presidency,” he said. Mr. McCain spent the day defending states President Bush won, New Hampshire and Ohio. Mr. Obama was vying for Virginia, which hasn’t voted for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 — reflecting Mr. Obama’s surge in the polls.

The Democrat spent an hour or so in private with national security advisers, among them former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig and former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia. He said afterward that he decided to convene the briefing two or three weeks ago to ensure that he kept up to speed on international issues despite the crush of politicking and the campaign’s focus on domestic problems.

It marked the second day in a row that Mr. Obama surrounded himself with elder statesmen to signal a readiness to lead. In Florida on Monday, he led a discussion on the economy with former Fed chairman Paul Volcker and Google chairman Eric Schmidt.

But his focus wasn’t entirely on foreign policy as he stumped in Virginia, where Democrats see a strong chance to snap their 44-year losing streak.

Mr. Obama stepped up his rebuttal to allegations that his plan to roll back Bush-era tax cuts would hurt middle-class taxpayers and mark a shift toward socialism.

“It’s not a very plausible argument,” Mr. Obama told reporters in Richmond, reiterating that Mr. McCain had opposed a proposal that skewed tax cuts to the wealthiest. “Was he a socialist back in 2000 when he opposed the Bush tax cuts?”

He took Mr. McCain on sternly at a rally in Richmond with Gov. Tim Kaine and former Gov. Mark Warner, who is running for the Senate.

“He’s not fighting for Joe the Plumber. He’s fighting for Joe the Hedge Fund Manager,” Mr. Obama declared. “John McCain likes to talk about Joe the Plumber, but he’s in cahoots with Joe the CEO. So don’t be fooled.”

Both candidates kept attention on the ailing economy. Mr. McCain, in New Hampshire, repeated criticism of Mr. Obama's tax plan. But much of the day’s squabbling focused on national security.

The McCain campaign vigorously denounced a report in the Washington Post that al Qaeda Web sites reflect “support for McCain.”

Former CIA Director Jim Woolsey, a McCain adviser, said the account the account relied on a blogger whose connections to al Qaeda were dubious.

“It’s ridiculous to believe that in its heart of hearts, al Qaeda wants John McCain to be president,” he said. “It’s ludicrous.”

McCain chief foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann said Mr. Obama’s willingness to meet with enemies without preconditions, and statements of praise for Mr. Obama from a Hamas leader and Libya’s leader could lead to the opposite conclusion, though he wouldn’t directly assert that terrorists preferred Mr. Obama. But he did argue that some Obama policies — in particular, early withdrawal from Iraq — would benefit terrorists. “Al Qaeda would certainly celebrate our defeat in Iraq.”

Todd J. Gillman reported from Virginia. Wayne Slater reported from New Hampshire and Ohio

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/102308dnpolcrises.13b5771b0.html

[jaime]

Rhetorical flourishes

Joined by a team of 15 foreign policy advisors yesterday, Obama discussed challenges in the international arena that would face any president.  When asked about Biden’s remark, Obama said what everybody seems to say — that’s just Joe.

“Joe sometimes engages in rhetorical flourishes,” Obama said.  “But I think his core point was that the next administration is going to be tested, regardless of who it is.  The next administration is going to be inheriting a host of really big problems.”

Biden spokesperson David Wade was more blunt in defending his boss a couple days ago.

“Sen. Biden was making it clear that history has shown presidents face challenges starting on day one, and with our nation fighting two wars and 21st century threats abroad, we know that we need steady leadership in tumultuous times, not the erratic lurching and stubborn ideology of John McCain,” he said.

Fine.  That doesn’t mean the McCain campaign isn’t going to try everything they can in the next 11 days to throw everything at the wall hoping that something sticks.

Rhetorical flourishes

Joined by a team of 15 foreign policy advisors yesterday, Obama discussed challenges in the international arena that would face any president.  When asked about Biden’s remark, Obama said what everybody seems to say — that’s just Joe.

“Joe sometimes engages in rhetorical flourishes,” Obama said.  “But I think his core point was that the next administration is going to be tested, regardless of who it is.  The next administration is going to be inheriting a host of really big problems.”

Biden spokesperson David Wade was more blunt in defending his boss a couple days ago.

“Sen. Biden was making it clear that history has shown presidents face challenges starting on day one, and with our nation fighting two wars and 21st century threats abroad, we know that we need steady leadership in tumultuous times, not the erratic lurching and stubborn ideology of John McCain,” he said.

Fine.  That doesn’t mean the McCain campaign isn’t going to try everything they can in the next 11 days to throw everything at the wall hoping that something sticks.

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/10/23/bidens-rhetorical-flourishes-lead-to-palin-like-seclusion/