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L.A. Times Spins: 'Everyman' Biden Sounds Like 'The Most Interesting Man in the World'

By Scott Whitlock | May 31, 2012 | 11:44

A  A
Scott Whitlock's picture

The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday spun Joe Biden's seemingly unending series of gaffes as proof that the Vice President is a combination of "affable everyman and the Dos Equis 'Most Interesting Man in the World.'" Although staff writer Michael Memoli admitted that Biden's blunders can "keep Obama strategists awake at night," he studiously avoided actually describing any examples.

Instead, in a page one story, Memoli hyped, "For a White House led by a famously cool — at times robotic — commander in chief, the vice president's loose, less-programmed, often self-deprecating style provides a humanizing touch." The print edition featured a smiling Biden with the headline, "Just an average Joe?"

The journalist parroted:

Campaign strategists see him as a perfect weapon to use against Romney — "Scranton Joe" vs. "Swiss Mitt." After Romney had called Obama "out of touch" in a recent address, Biden asked soon after: "Hey, how many of you all have a Swiss bank account?"

...

At a steel manufacturing plant, Biden's voice crackled with emotion as he raged against Republican criticism of those attacks as "class warfare."

Yet, the closest Memoli came to actually explaining any of Biden's gaffes was in relating that Obama's campaign website is selling "'BFD' T-shirts (memorializing one of the vice president's more famous off-color lines)."

It's not as though there aren't numerous examples, in addition to the "BFD" incident:

"This is a big f****** deal!" --Joe Biden, caught on an open mic congratulating President Barack Obama during the health care signing ceremony, Washington, D.C., March 23, 2010.

"When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened." –Joe Biden, apparently unaware that FDR wasn't president when the stock market crashed in 1929 and that only experimental TV sets were in use at that time, interview with Katie Couric, Sept. 22, 2008.

"Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see ya." –-Joe Biden, to Missouri state Sen. Chuck Graham, who is in a wheelchair, Columbia, Missouri, Sept. 12, 2008.

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." –Joe Biden, referring to Barack Obama at the beginning of the 2008 Democratic primary campaign, Jan. 31, 2007.

Instead, Memoli only generally referred to Biden's verbal miscues: "On Biden's recent swing through eastern Ohio, Romney spokesman Ryan Williams trailed him, iPhone camera in hand, trying to catalog gaffes and perhaps to provoke one."

Dan Quayle, readers will remember, never had it so easy.

[H/T NewBusters reader Gary Hall.]

About the Author

Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Scott Whitlock on Twitter.
  • Campaigns & Elections
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The most interesting man in the world...

Submitted by CobraMan on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 11:49am.

The most interesting man in the world drinks Dos Equis. Biden is more of a wine cooler type.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court

Or Anwar al-Awlaki.

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Not wine coolers

Submitted by jon_torlin on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 12:23pm.

But cheap beer.  He's the kind of guy that would demand the more expensive kind, but anything he gets for himself, will be cheap.  Or that he'll spend as little money as possible(and I don't mean in the stingy or frugal sense) while demanding others spend more.  Hell, look at his donations to charity(or lack of) while demanding the Secret Service pay HIM the rent.

I could go on and on, but why bother?

-Jon

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Biden is more of a Kool Aid drinker

Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 1:02pm.

His utterances are awkward combinations of "Hey, I'm a regular guy" patter with Leftist talking points. To paraphrase the late George Goebbel, "The world is a tuxedo and he's a pair of brown shoes." Biden is the kind of annoying character who circulates around a party thinking everyone finds him engaging and funny, when everyone else at the party is trying to avoid him.

Part of the appeal of Biden's selection for Obama's ticket was that he made Obama look smarter.

"Scranton Joe" had been representing Delaware for about 35 years before being elected VP. This Scranton connection wore out a long time ago.

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Biden the common man who sneers at the working class?

Submitted by frank14 on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 1:13pm.

The LA Slimes writer must have missed Biden's slam on plumbers. Meanwhile Idiot Joe has been wrong on every major foreign policy decision since the days of the Soviet Union. He is a petty, mean-spirited political charlatan. This propaganda by the LA Slimes is a perfect example of how the media can build up a complete idiot like Biden while tearing down a true patriot like Sarah Palin.

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Is it true...

Submitted by c5then on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 12:03pm.

That Joe Biden was the model for Homer Simpson?

 

Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it! 

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I don't think that's being fair to Homer Simpson

Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 1:56pm.

. . . but it ain't far off. Homer's more genuine. :-)

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Biden is Mr. Magoo...

Submitted by adamsmith on Fri, 06/01/2012 - 7:37am.

rewatch some of those old cartoons. Biden is the political version of Mr. Magoo.

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I LOVE JOE!!!

Submitted by JPTSO3 on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 12:08pm.

Recall when Biden visited Kopp’s Frozen Custard shop in Milwaukee? The same city where a democrat county supervisor spoke in public about how Arizona and Mexico don't share a border... maybe there's something in the water because Joe asked for ice cream in the custard shop. That’s like walking into “Ken’s Coffee Can” and asking for some tea - a minor gaffe for the Master. Uncle Joe stripped off his coat and got to work. He scooped out some of that ice-cream-looking custard stuff and took a frozen bite. Biden turned to the store manager and said “what do I owe you?” The manager replied “lower our taxes and we’ll call it even”. The most interesting man in the Dem party, the man of the people called the manager a smartass and added “why don’t you say something nice?” Like what Joe? “Nice hair plugs”? Or how about “you can’t open your mouth without tripping over your brain. Joe gives all “everymen” and nincompoops hope.

Before the election Biden was interviewed by Katie Couric. You likely didn’t see it because Couric’s rating were about equal to “My Mother the Car” reruns, but he was asked about presidents/leaders. He said: “Part of what a leader does is to instill confidence, is demonstrate that he/she knows what they are talking about … when the Stock Market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed; he said, “Look, here’s what happened.”

Ohhhh Joe…. The Market crashed in 1929 – and the only TVs in 1929 were the size of softballs transmitting static in a lab, not FDR in the Oval Office - in fact FDR wasn’t in the Oval Office in 29 - he was the governor of New York. People on the left ignore Joe’s gaffes or joke about them, because now, Joe the dumbass is a “man of the people”, an "everyman". Robert Gibbs, the Dems Jeopardy champ, called them “Joe-speak”. So when Joe calls a working guy a “smartass” it was of little surprise when it was most ignored by media, or laughed off as just another "Joe-speak".

I’m a big fan of Biden. Outside of President of the Senate and the once in a lifetime power to break a tie, he has no actual power, save to throw his foot in his mouth. The First Lady has more influence. Heck, I think Obama listens to 12 year old Malia before Biden. One would think, Obama has told Joe to plug his gaffe-hole, but that’s like pleading to a guy with tourette’s to stop cussing - Biden will continue to run his mouth, call working guys smartasses, and ask for ice-cream in Custard shops, lying about how many degrees he has or thinking FDR was prez in 1929… He can’t help it – he’s got “Joe-speak Syndrome” and there ain’t no cure… You rock Joe!

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I think that somebody on high

Submitted by killa37 on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 12:24pm.

I think that somebody on high issued a fatwah to try and make Joe Plugs Bite-Me look good, because these little stories are starting to appear this week - trying to elevate ol' Joe to some kind of status that he really doesn't have. And this guy , aside from being one hearteat away from the Presidency, has RUN for the office a few times??? But..................hell.................look what we've got now!!!

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taking the week off

Submitted by CarlosS on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 2:18pm.

Joe, the most interesting man in his mind, is taking the week off from the stresses of his Gaff-tastic duties.

I have this image if ole joe making pancakes in the kitchen and the giant mountain lion jumps on the counter... ole Joe tries to shoo the mountain lion away and it bites his hand off

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* delete *

Submitted by c5then on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 12:29pm.

oops

 

Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it! 

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He's fluent in all languages including three that only he speaks

Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 2:06pm.

Behold.

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Yes, this is in written form and it appears to be in English...

Submitted by StarAZ on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 2:29pm.

But Biden as interesting? He sucked off the trough for 30 some years, while protecting the credit card cos in his district, and now...what? He babbles. I also felt this way about Michelle Obama just saying to Laura Bush that she thanked Laura for providing a good example for her, Michelle, to follow? What? When did she ever wear tasteful clothes, behave sensitively, and speak softly and sincerely? Name one time! Poor Laura--now she gets the blame for Michelle.

 

 

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You have to admit, it IS

Submitted by texastommy on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 2:26pm.

You have to admit, it IS quite interesting that such a boob can stay in office so long. How does he do it? How DOES he do it?

"Occasionally, and randomly, problems and solutions collide. The probability of collisions decreases geometrically as the size of the committee created to force these collisions increases."
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Makes sense to me

Submitted by LinTaylor on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 2:36pm.

The Most Interesting Man in the World once had an awkward moment, just to see what it felt like.

Biden apparently did the same, and liked it so much that he trained tirelessly until he could put his foot in his mouth without a second thought.

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Well, Biden does share the occasional "inside joke"....

Submitted by CobraMan on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 2:42pm.

Well, Biden does share the occasional "inside joke"...

With himself. Total strangers? Not so much.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court

Or Anwar al-Awlaki.

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Biden=DOPE

Submitted by PVC1234 on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 3:21pm.

Biden is the most interesting man in the world because I cant wait to hear what stupidity comes out of his mouth
by the way if he were Quayle saying these moronic things he would be mocked without hesitation by every 3rd rate hack on ABC CBS NBC CNN... and a target for hack written comedies on TV and the movies

PVC1234
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This guys a bafoon!

Submitted by James Youngblood on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 3:41pm.

Biden will plagiarize anything, including the life of Neil Kinnock, leader of the British Labour Party in the 1980's. On school records, it is documented that Biden plagiarized at least five pages of legal doctrine on a test in law school. He publicly stated he graduated in the top half at law school when he actually graduated 76th out of 85. He also proclaimed he graduated with 3 degrees when in fact he graduated with a single BA degree. Biden is the epitome of the old saying, "How can you tell when he's lying?, answer, "When you see his lips moving."


J. Youngblood
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Most interesting man...

Submitted by DoggieDog on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 4:18pm.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb114/Beeglz/obamaIdontalways.jpg

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Classic Example Of

Submitted by stratman on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 10:11pm.

Lowered expectations.

These folks have no shame or even horse sense.

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Don't you mean...

Submitted by helomech on Fri, 06/01/2012 - 8:35am.

....'the most IGNORANT man in the world' ?

"The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps..." General Alexander A. Vandergrift, USMC to the Senate Naval Affairs Committee, 5 May 1946
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