Media covers for VP Bite-Me

| November 3, 2012

This probably won’t surprise many of my regular readers, but the Wisconsin’s Janesville Extra reports on Joe Biden’s little gaffe yesterday when he said that “There’s never been a day in the last four years I’ve been proud to be his vice president. Not one single day.”. But they report his quote; “Biden responded, saying not a day goes by that he’s not proud to be Obama’s vice president.” The local radio station, WCLO reported it the same way.

Yes, I know that’s what Bite-Me meant to say, but it’s not what he said.

Now can you imagine anyone in the media doing the same favor for Dan Quayle or any other Republican. How long did we have to hear about his misspelling of “potato”.

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Media

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Ex-PH2

See, this is why I say “frack” instead the other “f” word.

Devtun

Didn’t Josef Bin Biden tell Paul Ryan “he always means what he says”? So the media is panicked because maybe he truly never was proud to be BO’s VP…hey lets face it Barry and Uncle Josef probably really can’t stand each other, but willing to put up a good appearance for sake of expediency. Why Uncle Joe isn’t included in the Obama inner circle and is often allegedly ridiculed by Obama staffers…think there might be a little resentment?

Ex-PH2

I knew, if I looked diligently enough, I could find something from the prior campaign that Joe Biden said and here it is. Watch the entire video. He was still a senator then which means it’s from 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0gDGO2GzHM

There is also this article from 2008, rather prescient for Joey.

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/10/20/biden-obamas-inexperience-will-prompt-nations-to-test-us/

In my experience, when people make Freudian slips like this most recent one by Biden, they tend to say what they really meant.

2-17 Air Cav

How many times was George Bush scoffed at because of how he pronounced nuclear? To the Left, including those in the media, his prounciation of that word was hard evidence that he was a stupid man. Moron Joe is probably sitting on a floor somewhere right now drooling, laughing, and throwing paper around. He’s the Left’s idea of genius.

Michael in MI

Yep, this was deliberate CYA by the media for Biden. Just as it was deliberate when they change quotes to make GOP politicians look poorly. I believe they printed many Sarah Palin quotes by purposely dropping the g’s and such to make her come across like a dumb hick or something.

And the media even doctored the quote from George Zimmerman to make him come across as a racist, omitting words from his call he made to police the night of the shooting.

I read something recently (reported on by Breitbart) regarding a speech Obama gave in 2007 where he said some pretty radical racist things, yet the media deliberately did not report those, but reported on other things he said that night.

SOP for the media. Do CYA for liberals and Democrats and be activist a-holes when it comes to conservatives and the GOP.

Anonymous

Remember when they compared John Kerry’s Yale transcripts to GW’s and GW had a higher GPA?

We also heard very little about old drunk uncle Joe talking about “taking the whole load” just yesterday! YouTube it….. It’s hilarious! Does he ride the short bus and wear a hockey helmet every day?

Devtun

“A successful dump!” –Joe Biden, explaining his whereabouts (dropping deadwood at the dump) to the reporters outside his home, Wilmington, Del., Aug. 20, 2008

DaveO

The Powers That Be may change the term “Malapropism” to “Biden.”

Ben

You know, I’ve come on here and spouted stuff with you guys, but life’s too short for me to ever harbor any ill feelings against you. I really appreciate the work you do on posers, and whoever wins Tuesday, I hope we can all get mobilized to keep this country strong. I apologize to Hondo, Jonn, and Ex-PH2 for getting too fired up recently and engaging in mean-spirited talk (I don’t call someone a dumbass or idiot in person, so there’s no excuse to do it on here).

I just wanted to say that I may stop by and check out some posers from time to time, but I just have to avoid the political stuff. I know you may say that it doesn’t or didn’t affect you, but again, I am truly sorry for being mean-spirited towards any of you. Vaya con Dios, good luck, in the words of King George.

Insipid

I recall Poppy Bush saying 90-90 hindsight in a debate with Bill Clinton. No one made a thing of it.

I think that with some figures they’re more likely to let things go than others. Al Gore could not tell a joke about the Union Label song without people piling on, but George W. Bush could get away with not understanding that SS is a government program. The press sometimes just decides on a narative. I generally don’t like it either, actually. In Dan Quayle’s case potatoes was spelled wrong on his card. So it’s actually a pretty human mistake to assume that the card would have it right. I also thought that Bentsen’s “you’re no Jack Kennedy” remark was a cheap shot. Granted he should of brushed it off…but he had reason to be mad.

But yes, the media loves its naratives, but they can be too easy- or too hard- on folks from both sides of the aisle.

docstew

So Joe said that in Janesville? And the local guys covered for him?

Pretty ballsy to tell Ryan’s own constituents that they didn’t hear what they heard in his own hometown.

Hondo

At the risk of belaboring the obvious, Sippy: not reporting or emphasizing something is substantially different than deliberately falsely or incorrectly reporting something. The examples you quote above of the media giving conservatives a “pass” are all examples of the former. The Biden incident is a clear example of the latter.

(sigh) I don’t know why I bother sometimes. I’m beginning to believe that you’re incapable of understanding the obvious.

OWB

Not an excuse at all, because it simply proves the ineptitude of the media, but what happens with increasing regularity is tha the media is provided an advanced copy and that is what they quote. They just pay no attention to what is actually said.

Except when they are searching for gotcha moments.

Ex-PH2

Well, since the whole world is watching, this should be interesting reading:

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/04/14883042-the-world-is-watching-from-afghanistan-to-venezuela-obama-vs-romney-battle-captivates?lite

The reference to the Cairo University professor is particularly interesting:

“Cairo University political science professor Horeya Megahid said that many people expected too much of Obama and now feel deceived. In the wake of the Arab Spring, she feels that he is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood at the expense of liberal parties and movements.”

Expected too much? That’s a mild statement.

Ex-PH2

For anyone who did not understand my reason for posting references to Biden’s 2008 remarks, read this carefully:

In 2008, Biden clerely detested Obama. He was subsequently offered the VP position, just as Clinton was offered the Secretary of State position. There was a rift between the Clintons and Obama then which has never actually gone away and has been widening for the past few months. If you think either the Biden or Clinton camps have changed their minds over the past four years, you’re very naive — in the extreme end of that word.

Sicne the polls are so close, this election will be very close. It can go either way. In view of that, and because of the nonsensical behavior that has already begun to emerge in regard to absentee and early voting, the likelihood of vote fraud is extremely high. Whatever happens, we will not see the outcome, or final tally, for several weeks. A pattern of ballot manipulation and charges of fraud will begin within a day or two of the polls closing.

Why?

Because the possibility of breakdowns or strange behavior in electronic and mechanical equipment, including electronic and paper/mechanical voting equipment is extremely high on Tuesday. The likelihood that people won’t be entirely clear as to whom they are voting for is also very high. This will also add to the confusion of who actually won, not necessarily limited to the presidency but will affect other ballot races as well.

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, I’m going to go and vote my little heart out, keep cleaning up the kitchen so that it’s spotless, and around 8PM CST, I’ll make pop a big bowl of popcorn, crack open a bottle of Diet Coke, turn on the radio, and sit back and watch the live streaming squabble over votes begin.

Mark my words: this is going to be more rancorous than the late 19th century Boss Tweed – Tammany Hall crap

Ex-PH2

I almost left this out:

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, the act of actually traveling to the polls to vote will be impeded, not just in transportation as in a lot of traffic jams and vehicles not working, but also in getting through the door to vote.

Insipid

@15- ex-ph2- And you know what they’re REALLY thinking by the vast amount of time you’ve spent with these people? Oh no, you’re just pulling information out of your ass and brazenly calling anyone who disagrees with the assessments you just made up (Biden couldn’t stand Obama, Clinton couldn’t stand Obama etc.)as naive. Well, i think anyone who attributes emotions and feelings to anyone else is stupid.

@12- Hondo. You can please stuff your condescension. If you read anything but right-wing friendly news you’d know that transcripts often leave out the flubs and malapropisms of politicians. It’s not because they’re trying to cover for one side or the other, it’s because they don’t want to cause further confusion or convey the oposite of what is meant.

Learn something:

http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=2620

Hondo

Condescension? You err, Sippy. That was exasperation. You haven’t seen me be condescending towards you yet.

The link you cite contains some truth, Sippy. It’s also completely irrelevant.

If members of the media were there and heard what Biden actually said, they should report truthfully what the man said. Failure to do so is a deliberate failure to do their job. It’s also deliberately withholding or misstating a material fact.

If members of the media were not there and are depending on an advance “presser” or after-the-fact, “rectified” transcript for their quotes and do not clearly identify that fact, that’s called “slipshod, unprofessional work”. Coming from the media, that wouldn’t surprise me – but it’s only marginally less objectionable than someone deliberately withholding or misstating a material fact.

Which of these behaviors are you defending? Or are you saying both are OK as far as you’re concerned?

You might want to think about that a bit before you answer.

Insipid

I know that you are correct that the standard for journalism is to record the gaffe. But as you can see from the article, transcribers correct politicians from both sides.

The standard, is to record the gaffe, but honestly i’m not sure if that is the correct standard. Politicians speak all day, obviously mistakes are bound to happen, i’m not sure if the mistake should become the story. How is correcting a mistake all that different than amending the vocalized pauses?

My guess is that not every speech Lincoln gave was pefectly delivered nor did all the Lincoln-Douglas debates go gaffe-free. But if you read the transcripts of his speeches and the debates it appears that way.

I’m not even arguing with you here. I’m just honestly not sure if it’s terribly wrong for a transcriptionist to make a correction, provided they speak to the person they’re transcribing first with a “Is this what you meant to say.”

Medical coders do that all the time. The rule is that you’re only supposed to code from what the doctor wrote down. It’s against the law to do otherwise. However coders all the time call the doctor back and say “You prescribed hypertension medicine without diagnosing hypertension is that what you meant?” Then the doctor corrects that record and there’s joy in hospitalville.

Why is it so terrible if a transcriptionist asks a politician “Did you mean X or Y?”. Or if a transcriptionist sees a written form of the speech that makes sense and a verbal one that doesn’t why not just assume that he meant to say what was written?

Sarah Palin lamented “Gotcha” journalism, why is it so terrible when a reporter doesn’t practice it?

Insipid

By the way, i don’t think there’s a court in the land that would regard a mis-stated modifier as a “material fact”. Courts acknowlege mistakes all the time without making a thing of it.

Hondo

Uh, Sippy . . . that wasn’t a “misplaced modifier”. That was an omitted negation. Omitted negations change the entire meaning of the statement.

I’m willing to go out on a limb here and say that courts do indeed regard statements that say exactly the opposite of what is intended as being a material facts if and when those statements are not corrected by the original speaker.

Hey, Biden had a slip of the tongue and said exactly the opposite of what everyone knows he meant. Hell, he’s good at that and does so often. I don’t regard it as much of a big deal – except to prove he’s perhaps not the sharpest tool in the shed. (smile)

But you cannot be naive enough to think that a conservative candidate would have been cut the same pass these days as was Biden. Want proof? Just look at your own example: Quayle. And that was 20 years ago, when the media was somewhat less blatantly biased than it is today.

Casey

You know you’re wasting your time with him, don’t you Hondo? 😉

Insipid

Fine, we’ll call it a slip of the tongue then. Either way slips of the tongue are not considered material. Especially in a case such as this when we have Biden on record stating the above quote correctly many times. Especially when the purpose of the speech was clearly to make PBO look good. Courts look at the totality of the evidence. If the entire speech says one thing and the slip says something else, we assume that the slip was the mistake, and by definition not material. A material fact is something that is important, something that can effect the outcome of a case or determine the liability of a party. A slip of the tongue- even if that slip states the oposite of what he meant- does not apply. If it does happen in court, counsel just clarifies the record and they move on. If you think the entire judicial system revolves around “AH HA!” moments then you’ve been watching Perry Mason too much. Plus the concept of materiality does not usually apply to a public speech anyway. Biden just made a mistake, he’s not on trial. The media covers for Romney constantly. What was the big story after the first debate? That Romney threw the tea party under the bus? No, it’s that President Obama was listless. Obama won the second and third debate decisively yet still the media was talking about Mittmentum. And Romney, unlike PBO had two major gaffes, one with the “he never said terror” comment and two with mistakenly making Syria and Iran contiguous. I’ll grant that the media did report the “never said terror gaffe” but you KNOW that if PBO had made the geogaphy mistake Limbaugh and Fox would be going after him 24/7 for it. Despite these gaffes there were no reports of Romney in “free fall” in fact the Mittmentum narative stayed on until hurricane Sandy. In fact even the reports of Mittmentum is an example of the media carrying water for Romney since most polling shows that any momentum Romney had stopped around the 12th. Even now they’re… Read more »

Hondo

Sippy – you have checked the self-identified political demographics of members of the media, right? Specifically, their political affiliations and liberal/conservative split?

As I recall, the last data I saw showed somewhere around 80% of journalists self-identify as liberal or liberal-leaning. That’s more than double the proportion of the US general population.

Theoretically, that should make no difference in their reporting. Theoretically, it’s also possible that the sun might not rise tomorrow.

However, neither of those is a particularly good bet.

2-17 Air Cav

“The single best decision that I have made was selecting Joe Biden as my running mate. The single best decision I have made. I mean that. It’s true.” B. Hussein obama

October 15, 2010

Ex-PH2

Well, I see instupid is at again, making personal attacks, assuming that I have no backup for what I say. It appears that this particular attack is in reference to my statement that there is, and has been for some time, a growing rift between the Clintons and Obama. You know, I do try to pay attention to the news, and when someone at the Democratic convention said, on air, that the rift between those two parties was growing wider, I made a note of it. I searched for more information, and here it is: With tensions between President Obama and the Clintons at a new high, former President Bill Clinton is moving fast to develop a contingency plan for how his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, should react if Obama attempts to tie the Benghazi fiasco around her neck, according to author Ed Klein. “In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller, Klein said sources close to the Clintons tell him that Bill Clinton has assembled an informal legal team to discuss how the Secretary of State should deal with the issue of being blamed for not preventing the Benghazi terrorist attack last month. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters during a press conference Friday that responsibility for the consulate in Libya fell on the State Department, not the White House. If blame for the security failures falls to Hillary Clinton, Klein said, it’s possible that she would even consider resigning over the issue. ‘Bill is working on a number of strategies about what Hillary ought to do. He’s even gone so far as to play with various doomsday scenarios including up to the idea that Hillary would consider resigning over the issue if the Obama team tries to use her as a scapegoat,’ Klein told TheDC in an interview. Klein — the best-selling author of the Amateur, a book on President Obama — elaborated on his reporting in an op-ed for The Daily Caller. The entire article is at this link: Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/12/author-ed-klein-as-benghazi-blame-nears-hillary-clintons-grow-furious/#ixzz2BJCUQLXq There are more references, but they all say basically the same thing,… Read more »

Insipid

Fine, you didn’t pull it out of your ass, Ed Klein did. The notion that he has access to anyone in Clinton’s inner circle is laughable at best considering he has spent over a decade writing trash about them. The notion that he has access to not only the Clinton’s but Obama and Biden’s inner circle is hysterical. Either way, if you’re believing a word of Mr. Klein’s writing, you have no business calling anyone else naive.

Plus, i’ve seen Biden give dozens of interviews and dozens of speeches over the decades and i’ve yet to see him “clearly detest” anyone. In fact, in most interviews and speeches he makes some statement that it is “the ideas, not the person”.

The winner offering a runner-up the VP slot is nothing new. Reagan did it for Pappy Bush, Kerry did it for Edwards. There is nothing nefarious about it.

If someone cited the origen of the term voodo economics and used that as evidence that Pappy Bush hated Reagan, i’d say that was a dumb argument too. I always take as suspect any journalist, on either the right or the left, who professes to know another’s thoughts and plans.

Just Plain Jason

Wow, sippy I don’t know what rock you have been sleeping under or what pile of sand you keep your head buried in, but the dislike between the Clintons and Obama is not a secret.

Insipid

It’s not a “secret” among the right-wing punditry who’ve been claiming to know the inner feelings of the Clintons for 2 decades now. Just because Rush, the Daily Caller and Fox says something does not make it so. They don’t know the Clintons any more than you or I do. What i do ACTUALLY know is that Hillary has been working as SOS for 4 years now and that Bill Clinton has campaigned himself hoarse for President Obama. If they hate him they have a funny way of showing it. Which is i guess the reason for all the conspiracy theories.

Look, as much as i despise Bush, i don’t ascribe motivations to him. I just assume he is what he appears to be: a dumb-ass.

Nik

Actually, any motivations for picking Hilly as his SoS doesn’t have to lead anywhere suspicious or nefarious.

She’s young enough she could conceivably run for President in ’16. SoS creds, plus having served in the Senate, plus actually having lived in the White House as Wife-In-Chief, theoretically privy to the actions and behind-the-scene stuff that goes on, plus having many favors collected in volunteering their time would be a tough ticket to beat.

Just looking at it on the outside, nobody can claim she doesn’t have the foriegn policy bona fides. She knows the workings of the legislature. She knows the workings of the WH. Hell, by this point the only thing she hasn’t done is served on the Supremes.

Hondo

The motive for Obama offering Clinton SecState was obvious: co-opt her and prevent her from running a 4-year behind-the-scenes campaign to replace him as this year’s Democratic candidate if things didn’t improve. Anyone with a modicum of intellect and knowledge of the strained relations between their camps during the 2008 primary campaign should be able to figure that out.

I’m guessing Ms. Clinton has been kicking herself over the decision to accept the SecState position for a while now.

For what it’s worth: Clinton will be approaching 70 in Nov 2016. I’m guessing she won’t want to give campaigning for POTUS another try at that age. I could be wrong.

Ex-PH2

Hondo, seriouisly? sippy’s up at 2:45AM makng a rebuttal? What a dipstick. I thought my statement that Biden is a heartbeat away from being president, and he knows it, was perfectly clear. Lest it be forgotten, Obama is a smoker. Whether or not he’s quit is immaterial. Long-term smoking has long-term, hidden side effects that build up over a lifetime. Here’s a bit of information on that: If side effects showed up in the first few weeks of smoking, probably no one would smoke. Although it’s the nicotine that gets you addicted, the tobacco itself gives many parts of your body devastating long-term side effects, to wit: Digestive System Smoking causes short-term and long-term heartburn, because tobacco smoke irritates the entire digestive tract, stimulating a higher acid production. Smoking also negatively affects the pancreas, which secretes hormones that help your body digest most food sources. Smoking can contribute to pancreatic cancer, as well making you far more vulnerable to getting Crohn’s disease and peptic ulcers. Circulation System Smoking long-term makes the blood thicker, slowing down the body’s ability to deliver the energy it extracts from food via the blood stream and circulation system. Smoking also raises the blood pressure, making the heart work harder to pump the blood. In order to lessen the strain on the heart, the circulation system of a long-term smoker may stop sending energy to the fingers, toes, hair follicles or skin. The U.S. Surgeon General holds smoking accountable for one in five American deaths, and the majority of these victims were long-term smokers. In fact, half of all long-term smokers died prematurely, losing an average of 13.8 years off their lives. The damage from pipe, cigar and cigarette smoking adds up over the years, until most smokers contract one or more serious health problems. Following the short-term development of atherosclerosis, tobacco users may develop peripheral artery disease, angina, and blood clots and eventually have a heart attack. The American Heart Association notes that these events, sometimes described as coronary heart disease, are preventable by quitting cigarette smoking. This group of cardiovascular health problems represents the… Read more »

Ex-PH2

Hondo, was that long enough to countermand sippy’s blather?

Insipid

Well, we agree, smoking is bad for you. I don’t think it’s likely that Obama will kick off in the next four years, as he has first-rate medical care and a healthy BMI, but you never know. As vitriolic as our politics is, i would like to think you join me in hoping that does not happen.

UpNorth

Hoping? Why, Obama will be a private citizen, who gives a crap?

Twist

I’m pretty sure that nobody on here wants any harm to come to Obama. We may want him out of office, but we want that done by voting. Heaven help us if we ever have to utter the title “President Biden”.

Insipid

#35- No, he’ll be Pesident for the next four years. Not only does it look that way from state polling, but now national polls agree. Obama currently has much more chance of winning Florida than Romney has of Ohio. Obama will win.

Not only that, but I am now placing bets that Obama will get over 300 electoral votes.

NHSparky

Which polls are you reading, sippy? 15 point oversampled Dem polls?

Devtun

Uncle Joe done it again…”President Clinton Bankrupted Chrysler”
http://cleveland.cbslocal.com/2012/11/05/biden-president-clinton-bankrupted-chrysler/

NHSparky

For what it’s worth: Clinton will be approaching 70 in Nov 2016. I’m guessing she won’t want to give campaigning for POTUS another try at that age. I could be wrong.

Hondo–here’s my take on that–if she ever says she has no interest in running in 2016, put all your money on the fact she will run.

And sippy, while I may not PERSONALLY know the Clintons, I know OF them and their type. They do NOTHING without it benefitting them in some way, shape, or form, including their own personal lives.

One example, to quote Dennis Miller: “That marriage couldn’t be any more about convenience if they had a Slim Jim rack at the foot of their bed.”

Insipid

Well, now that you’ve given me a stupid Dennis Miller joke, i’m all convinced. [that’s sarcasm, since i know you Republicans are humor deficient].

NHSparky

Wow, who left the curly corn-fed crinkleneck brown trout in your fucking Wheaties this morning?

All must not be as sunshiney and rosy as you wish us to believe in your little world…tsk, tsk.

But nice to see you can’t deflect or debate the fact that the Clintons are, have been, will always be about obtaining and preserving their personal power.

Ex-PH2

Sparky, a question: Does the Navy still have on-base housing (barracks) for unmarried first class and chiefs in one building? I need to know, because Zack Hamlet lives in one at NAS Mallard Bay, and if the Navy doesn’t have them any more, what’s the replacement for it?

NHSparky

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. I was in the process of leaving my last boat when they were giving unmarried PO1’s BAQ/VHA to move out of the barracks (I lived in Point Loma on my own dime at the time) and I would imagine especially in areas where space is a premium, they’d rather shuttle the unmarried senior PO’s and CPO’s out into town rather than build more shitty BEQ’s for them.

Even the “high-rise” on Subase Pearl was so-so compared to what the airedales and AF guys got.

Ex-PH2

You should go by Great Lakes some timem then. The new construction is lovely. The old WAVES barracks was a cement-block dorm somewhere west of the lake, and the PO1s and chiefs had their own barracks, with beer can dispensers.

NHSparky

I remember those days…beer machines in the Barracks. Ah.

UpNorth

Sip is quoting the polls, much the same way ALgore’s lawyers did, Jawn F’ing Kary’s lawyers did and the way that the ONCE’s lawyers will. Your honor, Romney couldn’t possibly have won, Nate Silver said that Obama would win, waaaahhh.
I’m guessing the DNC and OfA are going to contest every precinct, nation-wide, that Romney wins with arguments just like that.
“Not only that, but I am now placing bets that Obama will get over 300 electoral votes”. Hey, Sippy-cup, if he doesn’t, promise to take a two mile walk out on a half-mile pier?

Insipid

You’re making up a fantasy to suit reality. While Nate Silver wasn’t around in 2004, there were others such as Sam Wang’s Election Consortium

http://election.princeton.edu/

that did acurately predict a Bush victory that are now predicting an Obama victory. I remember being in denial that the polls were against me, reasoning that they weren’t calling cell phones etc. Much like you’re doing now. I was wrong then, you’re wrong now. Plus, Nate also predicted a Red Tsunami in 2010. This bias amongst cite agregators is, like the liberal media bias, pure fantasy. Unlike folks like Dick Morris, they are actually held accountable for their predictions. If they start getting it wrong, people will stop clicking on them. All Dick Morris has to do to keep his Faux News gig is be a right-wing tool. He’s got that covered.

NHSparky

Dude, seriously…did you not see the last CNN poll from this morning that has Romney and Obama tied?

I’m sure you did. But just one itsy-bitsy problem. It’s oversampling Democrats at D+11. IOW, about DOUBLE the advantage he had in 2008, which is a once-in-a-generation occurance for either party.

That’s right. 11 percent. Obama is fucking toast.

Insipid

Well, we’ll know tomorrow night. I suspect you’ll be blaming Sandy for your loss, that seems to be the excuse du jour.