Watch CBS News

Biden Says Hillary Might Be A Better VP

(CBS)
From CBS News' Ryan Corsaro:

(NASHUA, N.H.) - Joe Biden went above and beyond in showing support for Hillary Clinton today, saying she was more qualified than him to be vice president.

"Make no mistake about this – Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America, let's get that straight. She's a truly close personal friend. She is qualified to be president of the United States of America, she's easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America and quite frankly it might have been a better pick than me. But she's first rate, I mean that sincerely. She's first rate so let's get that straight."

The response from Biden came after a man told him he was "happy" that Obama had beat out Clinton to win the nomination. Biden lowered and shook his head as the man delivered what was intended to be a compliment.

A McCain spokesman, who watched the feed live on a streaming news website, immediately sent the quote to the Republican National Committee, who distributed it to members of the press.

Before the event had ended, McCain spokesman Ben Porritt, issued a statement, saying:

"Barack Obama's most important decision of this election and Biden—the candidate he selects suggests himself that he wasn't the right man for the job and that Hillary Clinton would have been a better choice. Biden certainly has a credible viewpoint on this."

It was not the first statement Porritt has released this afternoon. As Biden delivered his speech, the McCain campaign released line after line attacking Biden.

After Biden received a question on gun control, telling the crowd that he supported the second amendment and the right for New Hampshire residents to own guns, Porritt emailed, "This ticket has the worst record on second amendment rights of any ticket in modern presidential history."

While Biden was illustrating examples of how he and Obama would reach across the aisle on political issues, Porritt wrote, "Barack Obama has zero record of bipartisanship."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.