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Say It Ain"t So, Joe Biden!

There's been an ugly rumor floating around Washington for a while now, namely that Vice President Joe Biden is a drunk.

Not to make light of the serious disease that is alcoholism but, if true, it would explain quite a bit about his antics and gaffes during last year's campaign and since he assumed the vice presidency in January.

Of course his boss, Barack Obama, is D.C.'s resident Gaffe King. That's not a result of being tipsy but because he's just Obama.

He is so reliant on his crutch, Mr. Teleprompter, that without it he tends to say stupid things such as claiming he had campaigned "in all 57 states" and being unable to speculate on the moment of conception because it "was above my pay grade."

Post-election his most famous, and insensitive, goof was ridiculing Special Olympians on Leno.

Not that any of the gaffe twins' numerous examples of foot-in-mouth disease get any significant play in the mass media, except for the Leno remark which was made on national television.

If covered at all, their flubs and screw ups are soon buried, never to see the light of publicity again, whereas George Bush's numerous misspeaks still are prime fodder.

Biden is no slacker in the blooper department, either.

Don't expect to see them on NBC, CNN, et al., but two videos featuring good ol' Joe have come to light which give credence to his having an issue with "the drink," as his Irish ancestors would say.

They offer explanation for his often rambling dissertations, solecisms, flubs, and outright improprieties.

The first Biden video, from the campaign trail in PA in 2008, shows Joe, his wife, Jill, and the Obamas. Joe is his usual loquacious self, bellowing and slurring and rambling on and on.

The second, undated, video presents Biden in all his glory, dancing and clapping in the great outdoors and belting out some nondescript song for the camera.

In the first video, perhaps he was just tired? In the second, without a breathalyzer, it's impossible to say whether he's simply exulting in nature and re-living his college days or if he's absolutely loopy.

I hope he was tired and exultant rather than inebriated.

See both videos at polipundit.com by clicking [http://bit.ly/34i8iW] and make your own call.

On the one hand, it's hard to imagine a guy spending 35 years in the Senate, even from Delaware, who has a severe drinking problem.

Then, again, even Tricky Dick was known to have inbibed adult beverages and Ted Kennedy survived for decades although they usually didn't have as many problems getting their brains in gear before they blabbered.

Biden calling his running mate "Barack America" at a rally, saying FDR got on television to address the American people in 1929, telling a wheelchair-bound Missouri state senator to stand up, thinking "JOBS" is a 3-letter word, causing a mild panic for air tavellers with his swine flu warning, and loudly dropping the F-bomb in Union Station are just some of the lowlights of Joe's conflict with common sense and discretion.

And, to be fair, just as Dan Quayle's potato problem and GWB's mangling of the language were amusing so too are the many indecorous Biden-blunderings.

Notorious drunk Brendan Behan who famously said he "was a drinker with a writing problem" was also very funny, until he would fall down.

Behan, though, wasn't a heartbeat away from the presidency, which is why I hope the rumor of "the drink" is false. If true, I hope he gets dried out before it kills him and before his finger is anywhere near "the button."


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