Biden explains calling Boston bombers "knock-off jihadis"
Vice President Joe Biden is known for his frank, off-the-cuff remarks, but he said in a recent interview that calling the Boston bombers "cowardly, twisted, perverted knock-off jihadis" was very deliberate.
"I actually wrote that speech," Biden said in an interview with presidential historian Doug Brinkley, published in Rolling Stone. "I wanted to communicate two things: first, to make it clear that there is not this sort of gigantic, coordinated network run by al Qaeda that has cells all around the country and, second, that the republic is not in jeopardy and there's no reason for us to jettison the Constitution and erect a police state in order to protect people. The moment we change, they win."
Biden said the attack shouldn't be used to forgo immigration reform or invade people's privacy. "We'll make rational adjustments in plugging holes within our law that could have been plugged, if it turns out to be that way," he said. "But do not, do not, do not yield in any way to the intimidation."
The vice president told Brinkley that he and President Obama see eye-to-eye on all substantive issues. In fact, he said that as vice president, he never wanted his agenda to diverge from the president's.
"When I first got asked to do this job... he asked me what portfolio do I want, and I said, 'I don't want a portfolio; I don't want to be Gore' - who was a great vice president - 'I don't want to be Cheney. You said you wanted me here to help you govern, and I have a lot of experience,'" Biden said. "I wanted a commitment that I get to be the last guy in the room on every major decision - not generally, but specifically. My job is to accommodate what he wants done and, internally, to make my cases for what I think we should be doing different."
Even on the issue of same-sex marriage, Biden said that even though he voiced his support for it before Mr. Obama, the two were on the same page.
"Remember, I got criticized for saying I support gay marriage . . . . I just decided I couldn't be quiet about it anymore, and everybody was stunned that that's where the public is," he said. "I got blowback from everybody but the president. I walked in that Monday, he had a big grin on his face, he put his arms around me and said, 'Well, Joe, God love you, you say what you think.' I knew he agreed with me. It wasn't like he was in a different place."
