Joe Biden-Super Joe VP - Shotgun Wielding Gaffe Machine

Joe Biden-Super Joe VP - Shotgun Wielding Gaffe Machine

Many articles of late make a point of highlighting Vice President Joe Biden's verbal missteps. It seems quoting our amiably eccentric VP is the sport of the day. I want to make it very clear that I don't find fault where others do. In contrast to popular opinion, I appreciate the off the cuff remarks as words from someone who speaks from the heart and not a rehearsed script prepared by White House staff writers. I don't mind the mistakes, because everyone makes mistakes.

Many of his remarks tend to be on the humorous side, but then again, many of the questions he's asked are of the sort where any response will seem humorous. He often laughs and smiles wide before responding to questions. In fact, many of the things he is supposed to respond to are ridiculous and I am certain that anyone in his shoes would come across just the same.

All public figures past and present have made their share of mistakes, but our VP Joe Biden may be more scrutinized than most.

Recently VP Joe Biden was speaking and recalled what his son had told him … "That's one of the things that he finds was most in need when he was over there in Iraq for a year," - "That people would come to him and talk about what was happening to them at home in terms of foreclosures, in terms of bad loans that were being ... I mean these Shylocks who took advantage of, um, these women and men while overseas." These comments relate to the predatory lenders who were taking advantage of vulnerable service members.

Now it seems the word “Shylock” has come to be an anti-Semitic slur. Who knew? Most Americans and in fact almost everyone everywhere would never have guessed that. That's one comment that is only on the radar of those who try to find anti-Semitic in whatever anyone says.

VP Joe Biden immediately apologized and said it was a poor choice of words when it really wasn't necessary. His comments were never anti-Semitic motivated. It's just a scenario where he speaks plainly and others scrutinize to find fault.

Like anyone, he has made some mistakes when stating facts. His mistakes usually strike us in a funny way that can only be a reflection of just how endearing he is to all of us. Below are some of my favorite Joe Biden comments. These are only funny because they're Joe's. If they were comments from Al Gore or someone else, they'd have been mistakes forgotten and not the funny memories of a real human being before us.

1. "Folks, I can tell you I've known eight presidents, three of them intimately." – Joe Biden

2. "A man I'm proud to call my friend. A man who will be the next President of the United States — Barack America!" – Joe Biden, at his first campaign rally with Barack Obama.

3. "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." – Joe Biden speaking of Barack Obama

4. "Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me."

5. "Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see ya." –- Joe Biden, talking to Missouri state Sen. Chuck Graham, who was in a wheelchair.

6. "Look, John's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs." – Joe Biden

7. "You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.... I'm not joking." --Joe Biden

8. "If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there's still a 30% chance we're going to get it wrong." - Joe Biden, speaking to members of the House Democratic caucus who were gathered in Williamsburg, Va., for their annual retreat.

9. "This is a big fucking deal!" – Joe Biden, congratulating President Barack Obama during the health care signing ceremony.

10. "My mother believed and my father believed that if I wanted to be president of the United States, I could be, I could be Vice President!" – Joe Biden

And let's not forget the “Buy a shotgun, buy a shotgun,” rant, when asked about Citizens rights and the issue of gun control. Although he came across in a humorous manner, he's actually right, a shotgun is easier to control and more than effective. You don't need 30 rounds with a semi-automatic to make you safer.

Then when talking about Russia and Putin, he said, - "We no longer think in Cold War terms, for several reasons," - "One, no one is our equal. No one is close. Other than being crazy enough to press a button, there is nothing that Putin can do militarily to fundamentally alter American interests." - "I said, Mr. Prime Minister, I'm looking into your eyes, and I don’t think you have a soul," and "He looked back at me, and he smiled, and he said, “We understand one another."



And of course, most recently he said in a speech in Iowa on September 17, 2014, that Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of modern Singapore, is "the smartest man in the Orient." Now it seems the use of the word "orient" or "oriental" is now considered outdated and offensive by Asians.



It's unfortunate that many people can not appreciate sincere heartfelt sentiment. Instead, many will pick apart every comment and every word, in search of another gaffe. It's a good thing that most of us don't get the same scrutiny...imagine what others might think and say about you.