Blue-collar vote, one gaffe at a time

[chiefofclarinet]

Source: Yahoo! News/Politico

Media, Pa. — Joe Biden has a “bad habit” of telling voters what he thinks, he told a gymnasium full of Montana supporters recently.

But that’s not his only bad habit.

In the four weeks since becoming Barack Obama’s running mate, Biden has been a reliable fount of gaffes, awkward statements and hyperbole. He is a candidate in the highest-profile election in the world, operating under the unrelenting scrutiny of the media Hydra, but he seems constitutionally incapable of conforming his quirky and anachronistic political style to the punishing and unforgiving modern news cycle.

Among other things, the Delaware senator has said that Hillary Rodham Clinton may have been a better vice presidential pick; accidentally referred to his partner as “Barack America”; told a wheelchair-bound man to “stand up”; and called Michelle Obama’s convention speech “the most remarkable speech I have heard in my life.”

Yet somehow, despite an effusive, loose-lipped and emotive manner seemingly better suited to the urban ward-style politics of another era, Biden is proving to be an effective campaigner even as he validates Democratic fears about his undisciplined and garrulous ways...

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080921/pl_politico/13596

---

GOD, I hate Biden being associated with "gaffes." Everyone makes mistakes. If Palin makes a mistake, it's "charming." If McCain makes a mistake, it's "understandable." If Biden makes a mistake, it's a "gaffe."

Fortunately, for us, the rest of the article is quite positive for Biden.

More excerpts:

"Attendees at his events report a genuine connection with Biden, saying they feel as if he’s a regular guy, telling it like it is."

" 'I love the guy,' he said at an event in suburban Philadelphia."

"Biden’s homespun axioms and family tales recall a better time for blue-collar folks, when government seemed to be on their side."

"It stands in stark contrast with his early days on the trail when he was frequently emotional, once tearing up three times in one day — choking up while thanking his Delaware supporters, speaking with a working mom and then talking about his wife’s teaching."

“I think he’s a man of integrity,” Susan Salverson of Bryn Mawr, Pa., said after a Biden rally. “He says what’s on his mind, and that gives me a lot of confidence in him.”

Other than a horrible introduction and even worse title, it is written rather well.

(Mods, if this is in the wrong spot, please move to the right place. I don't know if this is exactly news.)

[TwilightGardener]

1. He told a wheelchair-bound guy to "stand up"?

:spray: Oh, Lordy, Joe, what are we going to do with you? Well, at least people sense that he's real and that his heart is in the right place.

[msongs]

2. at least he doesnt take an hour to say 10 minutes worth of content lol nt

[Merlot]

5. Technically, to "stand-up" to for something or someone

doesn't actually mean standing up, it means showing support.

I think this one was taken out of context. And I'm not seeing much else that he's said that sounds "gaffish." Just a catchy headline for an article that actually says a lot of good stuff about Biden. But who's interested in good news?

[AZ Criminal JD]

9. It wasn't taken out of context

He told the guy to stand up so the crowd could see him. The tape has been played a hundred times in various media.

[Muttocracy]

13. AFAIK, he was given the name of the local Dem. politican before the event

but hadn't me the guy. Bad advance prep made him look bad I guess? He actually recovered from it well.

[madmom]

3. What is wrong with saying "Michelle Obama's speech is the most remarkable he's ever heard?

[chiefofclarinet]

4. *shrug*

Maybe they wanted him to say that Palin's speech was the most remarkable speech?

Should I even put the "sarcasm smilie" here? Oh, OK then. :sarcasm:

[Lautremont]

7. I guess my problem with it, insofar as I have one at all, would be that I don't believe it's true.

It would mean, for example, that he missed his own running mate's epochal speech on racism. It's clearly hyperbole.

[madmom]

15. Yes but one would expect that from a politician, not his wife, so I would say it was remarkable.

[Lautremont]

17. Don't get me wrong - Michelle's speech was excellent.

But the most remarkable Biden has ever heard? Probably not. Anyway, it's a non-issue for me - it's good to see Democrats getting excited about what other Democrats are doing, and saying so. Go Joe!

[trthnd4jstc]

6. Sen. Biden is not perfect, but he does work for the whole of the Nation, unlike the Republicans. n/t

[bread_and_roses]

10. sure. when he's not working for the banks, cc companies, and other corporations

that own his state. He's a good scraps-and-bones Democrat.

[MasonJar]

8. Who cares what Politico says? I KNOW THAT I DO NOT!

[chiefofclarinet]

11. It was on Yahoo! News

It was only after I read the details of the article that I found it was cross-posted to Politico as well.

Still, it's not a bad article, besides its horrible headline and poor first 4 paragraphs.

[OwnedByFerrets]

12. I, for one, am glad to have a candidate who is not perfect....

I do believe that for the most part Joe has his priorities straight. IF he makes a faux paux every now and then, I can overlook it because of that.


www.wearableartnow.com

[Muttocracy]

14. Similar NYTimes article with some great quotes from actual voters

I don't care much what the pundits say - here are some more reactions from actual voters in swing states:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/us/politics/20biden.html
...
Mr. Biden might seem like an afterthought on the national airwaves, but he can clearly resonate close up.

“People got to wake up, because these guys in Washington are raping this country,” said Dave McLimans, a steelworker from Coatesville, Pa., who attended the rally in Media. “Joe Biden talks in a way that can wake people up.”
...
“Biden is a guy who I really believe, who really seems like he is going to help us out,” said Sheryl Kline, a loader for the United Parcel Service who attended a rally in Maumee, Ohio. “He sounds like someone who knows how we’re struggling.”
...

[LiberalFighter]

16. Politico should fire Victoria McGrane