July 22, 2014

"The full Biden plays better around the Mediterranean and in Latin America than in, say, England and Germany."

"A former British official who attended White House meetings with Biden said, 'He’s a bit like a spigot that you can turn on and can’t turn off.' He added, 'For all of the genuine charm, it is frustrating that you do feel as if he doesn’t leave enough oxygen in the room to get your points across, particularly for those who are polite and don’t interrupt.' He learned to leave extra room on the schedule to account for what colleagues called 'the Biden hour.' In Israel, Biden’s approach goes down better. On a visit in 2011, Biden quoted his father saying, 'There’s no sense dying on a small cross'—to urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take a larger step toward peace in the Middle East. Ron Dermer, the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., said, 'We’re in Jerusalem, we’ve got a Catholic Vice-President, we’ve got a Jewish Prime Minister, and he’s telling him, "There’s no sense dying on a small cross." The Prime Minister starting laughing, and, I have to tell you, it is the single most succinct understanding of Israeli political reality of any other statement that I’ve heard.'"

From "The Biden Agenda/Reckoning with Ukraine and Iraq, and keeping an eye on 2016," by Evan Osnos in The New Yorker.

17 comments:

rhhardin said...

Spigot tip : turn spigots off as gently as works, after you put in replacement washer, with a very light touch.

Then the washer lasts for decades.

Turning it off tightly is what gouges the washer and leads to quick leaking.

Wince said...

Me, I've been waiting for Biden to go full blackface with his ashes one Ash Wednesday and start singing "Mammy".

Anonymous said...

"There’s no sense dying on a small cross." The Prime Minister starting laughing, ..."it is the single most succinct understanding of Israeli political reality of any other statement that I’ve heard.'"

That "small cross" sounds good and profound, so Biden stole it, like he stole a Brit pol's biography. The "small" problem is Biden didn't know what the hell he was saying.

Brando said...

Oh, that glorious idiot. He makes an amusing yet offensive mascot, running around adding some comic relief to the long stretch of dull, bad news coming from his administration.

I hope Sarah Palin and every other Republican idiot who wants to impeach Obama realizes that if they were successful, this moron would suddenly become our president. And between his incumbency and the natural advantages the Democrats have in presidential elections, it could also mean having him for an additional eight years.

SteveR said...

Run Joe Run!

Michael K said...

I got through some of it but Biden is such a dishonest fool, I couldn't finish. Plagiarizer in chief.

Tibore said...

To me, "The full Biden" is like "The Full Monty": Some may be entertained, but I'd rather avert my eyes.

Widmerpool said...

Entertaining article (and I generally fall into the Biden-is-an-egotistical-gasbag camp). Evan Osnos is an excellent reporter and writer. I highly recommend "Age of Ambition" base on his New Yorker reporting from China.

Achilles said...

Cue the leftist rage over palestinian kids being killed in Gaza. The moral equivocation of a country that uses missiles to protect it's civilians and a country that uses its civilians to protect its missiles.

Just like the thread below discussing the mass execution in Egypt that needs to happen Gaza needs to be cleaned out. The people there will suffer as long as Hamas is in charge. Everyone supporting that hamas needs to be executed for civilization to exist.

Nonapod said...

If the last vice presidential debate was any indicator, our Vice President is an overbearing, blathering gasbag who enjoys the sound of his own voice and is prone to interjections and interruptive guffaws. Lot's of people find that behavior "charming" I guess though.

Thorley Winston said...

Isn’t the Full Biden the backside of the Fully Monty?

exhelodrvr1 said...

You voted for him!

lgv said...

Agree, run Joe run!!!

You would expect better of a man who graduated at the top of his law school class. What? He said so.

The Yogi Berra of politics, without the talent.

Larry J said...

Biden is the best life/impeachment insurance Obama could ever hope to buy. Even Secret Service agents who don't like Obama would be willing to take a bullet to keep Biden from becoming president.

John henry said...

Brando,

What VP who succeeded a prez has ever been re-elected?

Not Roosevelt, Not Coolidge, Not Truman, Not LBJ, Not Ford. Not Bush. Ford couldn't even get elected.

(as in LBJ got elected in 1964 but could not get re-elected in 68.)

If Biden took over today he might, maybe, perhaps get elected in 2016. Although, see Ford in 76.

Highly unlikely he would get re-elected in 20.

All my life people have been saying that the VP is a good place to run for the presidency from. Yet look at all who have tried and failed. Bush was the only one in 180 years or so. He could not get re-elected either.

Nixon did it eventually. He had to sit out two terms to get the VP stink off him before he could get elected, though.

Joe would give us an entertaining couple of years but would be gone in 2016.

John Henry

holdfast said...

"Full Biden" = "Full Retard".

"Never go full retard!".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAKG-kbKeIo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6WHBO_Qc-Q

Brando said...

John, while historically VPs haven't had much luck getting elected on their own, they often get a boost when they've first succeeded a Prez due to death or resignation. It started with Teddy Roosevelt, but also Coolidge, Truman, and LBJ were able to take advantage of their initial succession and get elected convincingly on their own (though none of them got elected a second time). Ford came pretty close.

I don't think Biden's a great campaigner--his last two presidential runs were pathetic--but he'd have an advantage in his party's nomination, freeing money and the chance to go right at the middle in the general. Whomever the GOP nominates would be dealing with the disadvantage of constant attacks while also trying to get the narrow field of states that his party can still win (and many of which are demographically moving out of reach).

I agree that 2020 would be too far away to tell--four years of Bidenomics and Democrat fatigue could be enough to make even New York fall to the GOP.