Biden On Governing, Gaffes, And His Boss

Lesley Stahl Interviews The Vice President, His Wife, And President Barack Obama

(CBS)  The first 100 days of an administration is when the first report cards come out.

The president is facing a barrage of tough issues and is getting some good marks - and some criticism. What about the vice president?

Well, he's still "regular Joe," a man deepened by tragedy when his first wife and baby daughter were killed in a car crash in 1972.

He's been a senator for 36 years, chairman of two powerful committees, and as he told 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, he may have more experience than any vice president ever. And yet he has a reputation as a gaffe-machine - a loose cannon who simply talks too much.

Stahl asked if he was worried about doing an interview for 60 Minutes. "It's not you I'm afraid of," Biden replied. "It's me!!"

But everyone 60 Minutesspoke to at the White House said they don't want him to change.

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"The president and the entire team close to him has encouraged me not to try all of a sudden to be a different Joe Biden than I was for the past 36 years," Biden told Stahl. "Sometimes maybe I shouldn't be as straightforward as I am. …I'm not sitting on it. I decided I just - it's who I am."

After trying to muzzle the man often ridiculed for his loose lips, the White House now calls his - shall we say exuberance - an asset. They call it "truth telling."

And they see his talent for connecting as a real advantage - his "hot" personality, versus Obama's cooler approach.

"You seem to be not just yin and yang, but diametric opposites. He's so disciplined. This is not you," Stahl remarked. "He's crisp. This is not you."

"There's a lot of constituencies out there that want the time. Want to hear more than they, as you would say, the crisp answer. They want somebody who's going to take the time and have the time to listen to them," Biden replied.

"And that's you?" Stahl asked.

"That's basically my job. I like engaging with people," the vice president replied.

Call him "schmoozer in chief." And, as he told an audience in St. Louis, he loves being vice president: "When I was a United States Senator and a powerful chairman, I'd have to plead," Biden joked. "Now I can just call a cabinet meeting. They all show up. (laughs) You know what I mean?"

But at the end of the day, he is the number two and the question of how he's dealing with the transition from powerful senator to the guy standing behind a much younger president has become a Washington parlor question.

He admitted to Stahl that after 36 years being his own boss, the first 100 days have been a period of adjustment.

"Well, it's like, for example, I would ordinarily have phoned the captain [of the Maersk Alabama] as Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee. Well, it’s not appropriate for me to do that. I mean, the president did it right away. Do you follow me?" Biden replied. "And so I mean, it's little things. They're
really not big things, but little things."

He hasn't had much time to worry about the "little things" because there've been so many big things: from Afghanistan to bailouts to torture memos. Which means, he told Stahl, he's been spending a lot of time with the president.

"When Mr. Obama asked you to be his vice presidential running mate, there was kind of a deal - a conversation. You wanted to be, I’ve heard the expression, 'uber-advisor.' You wanted to be involved in all the issues. And be the last person in the room when he makes a decision. Has that worked?" Stahl asked.

"Well, the first part is too sophisticated for me," Biden joked.

But he told Stahl that overall it has worked out. "On every major decision the president has actually sought my advice," he said.

The president wants everyone to know - his team, and us - in case there's any question, that he thinks he made a brilliant choice.

Asked what kind of impact Vice President Biden has, President Barack Obama told Stahl, "He's pretty fearless in offering his opinions. He's oftentimes willing to make the contrarian argument. The one that runs against conventional wisdom. And really forces people to think and defend their positions, and that ends up being very valuable for me."

Asked if Biden argues with him, Obama said, "You know, Joe's not afraid to tell me what he thinks. And that’s exactly what I need, and exactly what I want."

[Jim_Bronke]

Lesley Stahl and CBS cannot be expected to do anything but a feel good kind of article on Biden. After all he is our vice President and who doesn?t want to feel good about our country and its? choice for that person. But, there is a problem. It?s his complicity in the Iraq war. Most people seem to think of the Iraq War as being a Republican led action because of our administration at the time. Yet it took many ignorant Democrats (like Biden) to get behind it and lead the way.
In August of 2002 Biden was head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was head because he was the senior member of the Democratic Party in the committee and the Democrats had the majority in the Senate. That meant that when the issue of Iraq came up that he had the sole responsibility to direct the course of action of the investigation. That means that he could invite who he wanted to his meeting and ignore those he didn?t. So, if he wanted to make a case for the war then the course of action is simple- only invite hawks. Those who spoke out against the idea that Iraq was a threat, like Scott Ritter, could be ignored. Instead he could invite ?Saddam?s Bombmaker? who?s evidence of WMD was only the text of one of Saddams? speeches where Hussein had used the word ?mujahedeen? to refer to his men. This meant that those men were his ?WMD warriors?. Nowhere in the entire 300 page plus document of the minutes of these meetings were there any reference to any legitimate evidence of WMD in Iraq. Yet, Biden left the meeting and went to Congress saying ?follow the bouncing ball? Saddam is a threat. It was Biden?s senior leadership that was used as a weapon of influence with fellow senators of less experience. Biden later made a statement with Chuck Hagel that he was in the possession of an incriminating letter that was reputed to have that evidence. Yea, right. It is all clear now that there was no WMD and that it was all hysteria, promulgated by both Republicans and Democrats who for their own political purposes supported the war. It was an exercise in complete irresponsibility by our government and our news media who threw out our Constitution in the final lead up to the war. Biden was personally responsible for taking us to war and it should not be forgotten. Biden cannot be trusted with the lives of our soldiers nor the future of our country and he cannot and will not support our Constitution.
The War on Iraq turned America in to a rogue nation as our rule of law did not prevail. It became clear that our news media works around the clock to make sure that Americans never learn the truth about what is going on. The use of depleted uranium weapons, for example.
We are fortunate that President Obama doesn?t have an agenda for war although there is an element that wants it against Iran. Biden and other war idiot hawks like Clinton have to take their marching orders from him. The current state of affairs we are in is due to the many that supported the war. Why do I care? I am an American who worked on weapon systems for our country and this is not what I expected from our leaders. We all need to seek the truth and never forget what our leaders have done.

[weazl1]

Ms. Stahl (and 60 minutes) failed the American public and objective journalism when the recent broadcast about VP Biden's many gaffes failed to mention Biden's repeatedly (over 36 years) blaming the deaths of his first wife and child on a drunk driving truck driver. The facts are well documented by the press and police reports. The driver was not only not drunk, he attempted to help Mrs. Biden and the child after Mrs. Biden failed to stop at an intersection and was struck and killed. The driver was emotionally shattered by the incident and undeserved blame, perpetuated by Biben. Biden has made statements and speeches to anti DWI groups about the trajedy, none of which provided the truth.
It was only after the driver's family (he has since died) hired a lawyer to contact Biden that Biden finaliy apologized to the family for his misrepresentation of the incident..
Politics aside, this sad story says a lot about Biden. Anyone (Democrat or Republican) who had experienced such a trajedy would certailnly know the circumstances of the death of a wife and child.
Biden had to know. 60 Minutes had to know.
Why wasn't the story told?

[fiberglass3]

This was a really good interview with the VP. I really like Joe Biden. There is honesty in his approach and answers. I can see why he was chosen to be Vice President.

[actornaught]

...The polite thing to say is, 'thank you for the Bible lesson.' ...
Posted by itsjustathought at 1:28 PM : Apr 27, 2009

If you had read the full exchange, you'd know that i was asking for such information. But after being hammered, i asked again, and the hypocrite gave said Bible lesson, layered heavily between insults and creepiness, like a typical phony christian.

[actornaught]

yea.....FDR should be condemmed for sending many to their death in WW II
Posted by ReallyMeanIt at 2:14 PM : Apr 27, 2009

I didn't bring up w in regards to this article, a Biden-hater did, but that would mean you'd have to address context. And also in this context, i wasn't "condemning" w, exactly, i was referring to difference in scale between Joe's gaffes, and w's horrendous decisions. (And i don't give a ratsbut about dems voting for anything. If they need impeached, gofer it.)

I normally keep my posts very short, because the neo-conned work hard to shift focus from the point by making out of context attacks on extraneous points. Or they just make up their own extraneous points. But WWRD!

[manchesterunitedfan]

I would like to nominate Lesley for a PUFFlitzer Prize. I thought maybe I was watching an infomercial for Obama/Biden 2012. I like how she mentions the war hero son but does not mention the coke-snorting daughter. Or how she refers to "gaffes" without mentioning his penchant for blatant plagiarism.

[alexaii]

His son went off to fight in a war that should never have happened and that HE VOTED FOR. Doesn't look like he feels too guilty about his son fighting in that war. Nice Daddy.

[ReallyMeanIt]

being an act of sending hundreds of thousands of innocents to their deaths in a war of choice
Posted by actornaught at 12:57 PM : Apr 27, 2009
-------------------------------------------------
yea.....FDR should be condemmed for sending many to their death in WW II

[ReallyMeanIt]

THAT is funny! Not only will Biden calling w dumb NOT get us into any kind of "incident", it just makes Joe & the USA more popular!
Posted by actornaught
-----------------------------------------------------
That's the problem with the libs is they think being popular means they're right.
You libs can have all the popularity you want with hamas, hezbolah, the castros, mahmood, etc.

[weedapeapl]

being an act of sending hundreds of thousands of innocents to their deaths in a war of choice
Posted by actornaught at 12:57 PM : Apr 27, 2009

After I've already shot you down in flames over your stupid Bible comment, you're pretty jerky to bring this up again after I already shot you down on this, too.

You're right, Clinton deserves to be put in prison for starting the WMD lie that killed thousands.

[TheMasses02]

I thought you 2 were going to be civil while I was away?

[actornaught]

On a 10-point scale, 10 being an act of sending hundreds of thousands of innocents to their deaths in a war of choice to satisfy an oedipal fit ala w, Joe's mistatements are, um, let me look closer... get my microscope... turn on the flux-capicitor power booster... nudge the hamster wheel... NOPE, doesn't even show up!

[weedapeapl]

Try tranqs.
Posted by actornaught at 12:42 PM : Apr 27, 2009

You're really in the mood to be a jerk today, aren't you.

[actornaught]

Posted by weedapeapl at 12:15 PM : Apr 27, 2009

You're right about one thing, i was wrong to ask a question of phony christian.

Try tranqs.

[weedapeapl]

You're really having a bad day, arent you.
Posted by actornaught at 12:06 PM : Apr 27, 2009

You're the one spending all day at work babbling on the internet.

But when I suggest that you DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH you whine and cry like a baby.

Then you call ME a "hypocrite." Ya right. Sonds like projection to me.

BTW, I HAVE NOW PROVEN YOU TOTALLY WRONG about everything you posted. Funny how you just suddenly forgot about that.

Yes, Jesus Himself plainly prohibited divorce. It was not Paul.

And Jesus NEVER approved of abortion.

Sooooo - how does anybody conclude that Jesus was a "liberal???"

Ooooh ya. It's because liberals keep changing the definition of liberal to suit whatever argument they want to win.

Then they deny being liberal.

[TheMasses02]

Okay good.
Now play nice .................

[TheMasses02]

Comonnnn..... shake......

[TheMasses02]

2 two cut it out and shake ..........................

[actornaught]

Posted by weedapeapl at 11:59 AM : Apr 27, 2009

You're really having a bad day, arent you.

[weedapeapl]

No Bible here at work. So i try to spend minimal time on hypocrites.
Posted by actornaught at 11:47 AM : Apr 27, 2009

You can do a google search for "online Bible."

You can even do a keyword search and find the same verses I did.

Nobody will ever know.

Well, unless your employer is spying on you.

What are they going to do, fire you for reading the Bible at work???