Despite GOP Ad, Biden Stays Silent on “Tested” Guarantee
ABC News’ Matthew Jaffe Reports: Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., persisted Friday in not commenting on his guarantee Sunday in Seattle that if elected, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., would be tested by an international crisis within his first six months in office, despite their Republican rivals using his remarks against them in a new ad.
At a visit to a Charleston, WV, ice-cream shop, Biden ignored a question asking for his reaction to his own words being used against him.
The ad for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., starts with an announcer saying “Listen to Joe Biden talking about what electing Barack Obama will mean.”
“Mark my words,” Biden said at a Seattle fundraiser Sunday. “It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama. The world is looking. We’re going to have an international crisis…to test the mettle of this guy. I guarantee you it’s gonna happen.”
While the audio of Biden’s comments play, images of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and tanks are shown on screen in the ad.
“It doesn’t have to happen,” the announcer warns. “Vote McCain.”
Although Biden would not respond to the Republican ad, his spokesman David Wade did, releasing a statement attempting to clarify Biden’s remarks.
“Senator Biden was simply saying that with an economy in crisis and two wars going on – and after eight years of a foreign policy that has made us less safe – the next president is going to confront real challenges,” said Wade. “Even Joe Lieberman, one of McCain’s biggest supporters, said recently that ‘our enemies will test the new president early,’ and Secretary Chertoff has said that ‘any period of transition creates a greater vulnerability’ — and that will be true whoever the next President is.”
“Most importantly," Wade continued. "Joe Biden said that Barack Obama has the ‘steel in his spine’ to take on these challenges and protect us here at home. General Colin Powell agrees, and he’s confident that Obama ‘will be ready to take on these challenges on January 21st.’ He praised Obama’s ‘steady’ leadership and make it clear that he’s ‘the president we need right now.’ Most importantly, one of the most respected Generals and statesmen of our time knows that we cannot ‘just continue, basically, the policies that we have been following in recent years.’ End of story.”
However, Biden was asked about his Seattle comments in an interview Wednesday with Abby Lane of KOAA, NBC News’ Colorado Spring affiliate.
“Barack is much better prepared to deal with an upcoming crisis, whichever they may be, than John is,” Biden said. “Secondly, John, we have a crisis on our hands already. It’s an economic crisis. And John is nowhere.”

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I’m a Democrat who’s voting for experience – McCain
Obama can run again in 8 years.
Posted by: DemocratVotingForMcCain-Palin | October 24, 2008, 5:09 pm 5:09 pm
What Biden spoke of is the truth but it’s the truth for whether McCain or Obama win.
After watching McCain handle the economic crisis, I actually trust Obama more than McCain in handling an international crisis.
Posted by: David | October 24, 2008, 5:17 pm 5:17 pm
I`m a life long republican who is voting for good judgment and leadership.
Obama 08
Posted by: Keith | October 24, 2008, 5:20 pm 5:20 pm
Perhaps Biden is tired of his foot/mouth disease. He gaffe are so stupid considering the time this man has been in the Senate and a VP candidate. The Democrats must be desparate with Obama and Biden now and their sheer lack of intelligence. But those lemmings are following the leader over the cliff.
Posted by: Mary | October 24, 2008, 5:20 pm 5:20 pm
Biden is someone I trust to speak the truth. Bush got tested and look where the cowboy took this country with suport by McCain and other republicans. Clean House vote Obama Biden
Posted by: S. Canning | October 24, 2008, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm
democrat voting for mccain, please hand in your democrat credentials because anyone who can vote for mccain with palin on the ticket is sick and needs to remove themselves from this party…
voting for mccain… and what happens when mccain gets sick with cancer and she becomes president in the first six months?
Posted by: Bhrandon | October 24, 2008, 5:23 pm 5:23 pm
lol so your voting for mccain and palin mary
lol talk about inexperience
Posted by: Bhrandon | October 24, 2008, 5:24 pm 5:24 pm
How McCain would handle an international crisis:
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/johnmccain/ig/John-McCain-Pictures/Animated-McCain-Tongue.htm
Posted by: samurai | October 24, 2008, 5:31 pm 5:31 pm
AP finally included the last line of Biden’s comments in their story about the McCain commercial. “The words are: They’re are going to want to test him, and they’re going to find out this guy’s got STEEL IN HIS SPINE.”
The ad is another McCain half-truth!
In all seriousness, do you really think McCain will be immune from the “test.” When it comes, how will he react? Remember, “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.”
Posted by: B. Bear | October 24, 2008, 5:32 pm 5:32 pm
Interesting how Colin Powell has gone form a sellout who convinced the UN to sanction war on Irag, to “one of the most respected Generals and statesmen of our time”. Endorsing The Obama erases all sin
Posted by: sDee | October 24, 2008, 5:34 pm 5:34 pm
biden made a true statement about all new presidents—and lame mccain put a different spin on it —nothing more nothing less—just more republican bs.
Posted by: rodney | October 24, 2008, 5:35 pm 5:35 pm
I worked for the Regan campaign when I was 18 and been a lifelong Republican believing that their affilitation knew how to maneuver International waters and keep this country safe. The last 8 years, some of which have been devestating, in terms of International threat, I am disheartened and broken. I find myself in new waters. Unsure of the steps it is going to take to strenghen the foundation of America. We gambled and lost under the Bush administration. This is the time for change. Under Palin I am afraid (yes I do not believe McCain will live thru his term)all women will wear burka’s and live an incredible life of “barefoot and pregnant”. I am not confident that she can spell UN let alone understand what it takes to navigate in those waters. Obama, I hope you are steady, strong and wise. Change is what we need, change is what I am counting on. Change for the better. You have my vote.
Posted by: Jake | October 24, 2008, 5:40 pm 5:40 pm
Bush took the country to war with the support of McCain, Biden and Hillary Clinton. Oh and Colin Powell, who made the case for war in the first place.
What do folks make of Biden’s “steel in his spine” comment, or the fact that he was telling a group of liberals in Seattle that they wouldn’t much like Obama’s response to the “international crisis” he was promising? Could it be that Obama might have the sort of cowboyish response Bush has been accused of? It sure sounds that way to the interested observer.
By the way, if the media could stop obsessing over the cost of Sarah Palin’s wardrobe it might serve us all for them to pin Joe down on precisely what he meant. Don’t voters deserve to know how President Obama would react to a an international crisis?
Just Wondering?
Posted by: Just Wondering | October 24, 2008, 5:47 pm 5:47 pm
Biden has probably been told to keep his mouth shut as he has diarriha of the mouth. He hasn’t met with the press in weeks either, not that anyone really cares.
Obama’s eratic behavior, short term memory loss (Joe the Plumber rally), changing his positions daily to suit his audience, past terrorist associations, all his lies, ACORN involvement, negative campaign ads that exceed McCains, shady real estate dealings, increasing taxes on small business that will increase unemployment, Zero Experience and now his spreading the wealth is more that America can stomach.
My whole family voted today, 2 sons as first time voters.
4 Votes for McCain/Palin You go girl!!Country First!
Posted by: DJB | October 24, 2008, 6:00 pm 6:00 pm
It will be less than six months, Iran
and all those terrorist countries will
be licking their chops if Obslima gets
to be pres. Wait and see !!!!!!!!!!!!
Go McCain 08
Posted by: Joey | October 24, 2008, 6:00 pm 6:00 pm
To the democrat voting for mcshame-palin.You’d really rather have a hothead and an idiot in the white house? Insane! Barack Obama WILL be our president and everyone needs to get used to the fact.
http://www.ocweekly.com/2008-10-23/news/john-sidney-mccain/
Posted by: Ritalisa | October 24, 2008, 6:04 pm 6:04 pm
Keith: If you’re a lifelong republican I’m the Pope.
Posted by: michael loehrer | October 24, 2008, 6:05 pm 6:05 pm
“”The words are: They’re are going to want to test him, and they’re going to find out this guy’s got STEEL IN HIS SPINE.”"
Yes, and those words were spoken at a subsequent rally AFTER he had been caught, and I’m sure after the Obama campaign palced a frantic call to his cell phone.
Nice try though.
Posted by: Cliff | October 24, 2008, 6:05 pm 6:05 pm
Jake, if you had volunteered for the Reagan campaign, don’t you think you’d at least know how to spell his last name?
Don’t you just love the anonymity of the ‘net? Anybody can claim to be something they’re not. Pretty pathetic in this case though, Jake to pass yourself off as a former Reagan Republican who is voting for Obama. Even if that’s the case with you, good riddance and enjoy his overwhelmingly socialist-driven agenda.
I wonder how you’d feel four years after supporting Obama if you’re so quick to “supposidly” abandon Reagan conservatism? Sunshine and lolipops, I’m sure.
I call BS.
Posted by: Mike B | October 24, 2008, 6:12 pm 6:12 pm
“Posted by: Ritalisa | Oct 24, 2008 6:04:38 PM”
No, the only FACT here is that your proclamations of an Obama victory are premature and will, in FACT, serve to drive more voters away from your candidate.
Posted by: Cliff | October 24, 2008, 6:14 pm 6:14 pm
sDee,
Actually Powell is not a sell-out. Even though he judged that Bush’s Iraq policy was rash and hawkish and relentlessly tried behind-the-scenes to convince the Commander-in-Chief to consider prudence, in the end he consented to be, practically, Bush’s pawn when the president made the case for invasion. He was the fall guy. This isn’t the action of a sell-out but that of a soldier merely following his Commander-in-Chief. In fact, until Bush kicked him out of his administration, we had no idea about Powell’s disagreements with other White House insiders. Naturally, before that, many supposed that he colluded with Bush to invade Iraq; after facts became known, we realized he was an outlier, after all. Where were you in all this???
Admittedly, many still lamented that he tainted his name by not being more outspoken about denouncing Bush’s policies. But Powell is still one of our most formidable statesmen, having served in FOUR administrations — Reagan, Clinton and the 2 Bush’s. He was a former NSA director, former Joint Chief of Staff, former Sec of State. Bush 43 diminished him, greatly. By finally speaking out against the current Republican party, many people now — including me — consider him absolved, if only to put a plug into McCain’s myth of “experience”. Here is an actual leader with actual and relevant experience — Powell — preferring the “rookie” Obama over the pseudo-experienced POW McCain. I don’t judge McCain’s loyalty and fervent patriotism, but his ability to lead.
Posted by: AB | October 24, 2008, 6:18 pm 6:18 pm
AS MARTIN LUTHER KING SAID, YOU SHOULD NOT JUDGE A MAN BY THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN
BUT BY THE CONTENT OF HIS CHARACTER
OBAMA’S TRACK RECORD
FRIENDS – AYERS (terrorist), WRIGHT (anti-white racist), REZKO (convicted felon)
FOREIGH EXPERIENCE – UNCONDITIONAL MEETING WITH AHMADINEJAD
SENATE EXPERIENCE – 100 WEEKS, 100% PARTIZAN VOTE
ECONOMIC MESSAGE -”SPREAD THE WEALTH AROUND”
POLITICAL PLATFORM -”TAXES TO FUND SOCIALISTIC WELFARE”
MIDDLE EAST – “UNDIVIDED JERUSALEM – NEXT DAY CHANGED HIS MIND”
IRAQ -”FORFEIT A VICTORY”
ACORN – “VOTER REGISTRATION FRAUD”
THIS IS NOT A TIME TO TAKE A RISK WITH LIBERAL ROOKIE – MCCAIN IS THE RIGHT CHANGE WE NEED
Posted by: LostDemocray | October 24, 2008, 6:23 pm 6:23 pm
Obama has been tested for two years in the national spotlight against the heaviest of the heavy weights – and he remained calm and resolute. Where does this come from?. ………………….
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/10/24/the-root-of-obamas-calm-is-humility/
Posted by: Ohg Rea Tone | October 24, 2008, 6:26 pm 6:26 pm
this person says it well:
Don’t u think Biden has confidence in Obama’s abilities- which is why he brought up the crisis issue?
What I am saying is, why would Biden say that about someone he is campaigning with unless he is absolutley confident that Obama is capable and ready to improve our countries security, (our economy which allows us to have a strong military supply, our reputation in the world i.e. how we treat others and if someone still attacks us, how well we defend ourselves). Their is no way that Obama could do any worse than Bush. (Why are we fighting a war in the wrong place? Why is our economy (a big amount of how well we can defend ourselves) worse now than in 2001?) Oh and again- have you seen the footage of mccain saying he has agreed with bush 90% of the time? how about on meet the press when he said “the fact is that I have agreed with president bush far more than I have disagreed.” How about them apples? Do we really want a guy that argues with even other republican senators and curses at them to have the world looking at HIM? And remember, our next president whichever candidate will be ibn charge of the nuclear button.
Posted by: trish | October 24, 2008, 6:26 pm 6:26 pm
And exactly how has McCain already been tested? Has he conducted any foreign policy? Has he made any executive decisions? All he has done in the past 8 years is work hard to get Bush re-elected and go along with his incredibly poor decisions on the Iraq war. Oh, and don’t forget his “Bomb bomb bomb Iran” remarks. … Tested???? Please
Posted by: Dave | October 24, 2008, 6:31 pm 6:31 pm
I would just like to say that all the money Palin is spending would have gone a long way to buying ads that McCain needs. If this is a peep into future spending on her part, can we afford her as VP?? And, as the Kennedys have been brought in, does anyone remember Jackie’s long arm reaching into the deep pockets of government funds to “remodel” the White House? She was a lady that liked to spend money also, but she was just our First Lady. Anyone with eyes, let him see; anyone with ears, let him hear. Then vote!!!
Posted by: Betty Bee | October 24, 2008, 6:43 pm 6:43 pm
Or you can be a good democrat and start the Vietnam war like JFK and LBJ over a trumped up charge that N. Vietnam started it.
None of that matters any more than the cost of Palin’s wardrobe. Obama, McCain and Biden are all millionaires, Palin isn’t. Did you expect her to campaign in a fur trimmed parka? No one complained about Hillary’s custom designer outfits.
Get real.
Posted by: Marshall | October 24, 2008, 6:47 pm 6:47 pm
“What do folks make of Biden’s “steel in his spine” comment, or the fact that he was telling a group of liberals in Seattle that they wouldn’t much like Obama’s response to the “international crisis” he was promising? Could it be that Obama might have the sort of cowboyish response Bush has been accused of?”
The “steel in his spine” comment was added only after Biden made the original epic gaffe during an earlier speaking engagement.
The comment actually means the opposite of your understanding of it IMHO. I really think Joe is asking Obama supporters to stand up for him because his response to the crisis may be unconventional, and as a result Obama may begin to immediately lose support among the American people.
An example might be a military conflict, perhaps an attack on Israel by Iran, or something else out there where conventional wisdom might dictate a military response but where Obama takes a different approach that’s then looked upon as weak by our enemies and by many Americans.
Posted by: Cliff | October 24, 2008, 6:55 pm 6:55 pm
“…and go along with his incredibly poor decisions on the Iraq war.”
Do you mean MCain calling for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld and advocating on behalf of a surge strategy that’s working at a time when Harry Reid was saying “this war is lost?
Yeah, that was a poor decision alright, if you’re hoping for the US to lose.
Posted by: Cliff | October 24, 2008, 7:00 pm 7:00 pm
“The Root of Obama’s Calm is His Humility”
In marketing, that’s what we call accentuating your greatest weakness and turning it into a perceived strength.
the $5M Obamapolis in Denver was for The People. The $2M inauguration party is for The People. His promise to accept public financing and then backing out so he could raise hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations is for The People.
With Obama, it really is all about the “O” so I’m not buyin’ what your sellin’.
Posted by: Cliff | October 24, 2008, 7:09 pm 7:09 pm
Heh, with Biden, silence really is golden…
Posted by: Cliff | October 24, 2008, 7:11 pm 7:11 pm
Isn’t is good to know that a Senator can tell the truth? Biden did just that. He knows the facts and was trying to say how Obama is ready. He wasn’t scaring folks, but the McCain campaign is with scare ads, and robotol calls saying untruths about Obama. Are you forgetting that if Congress listened to Obama we would not be in a war today. He has foresight, intelligence, calmness and extreme intelligence to lead this country. Why can’t you all see the qualities of a family man, who loves his family as well as his country. Then you will see the real man and not see “color or creed”.
Posted by: jo | October 24, 2008, 7:14 pm 7:14 pm
RE: None of that matters any more than the cost of Palin’s wardrobe. Obama, McCain and Biden are all millionaires, Palin isn’t. Did you expect her to campaign in a fur trimmed parka? No one complained about Hillary’s custom designer outfits.
Excuse me, please. I never heard about Hillary’s wardrobe spending. As to Palin not being a millionier, she has been in the public eye for some time. One would think she would already have a wardrobe of sorts to go with the parka, which she won’t need here in the lower 48 States. PS: I am real
Posted by: Betty Bee | October 24, 2008, 7:19 pm 7:19 pm
One other thing and then I’ll be quiet about Palin’s spending. If it’s all OK to be spending money like this, then why does she need to enter it under false headings?? I quote: Palin’s traveling hair stylist Angela Lew, the fourth highest paid individual during that time, was paid $10,000 over two weeks in October for what the campaign called “communications consulting.”
It’s not about spending; it’s about personal spending from the wrong funds.
Posted by: Betty Bee | October 24, 2008, 7:45 pm 7:45 pm
Biden’s only mistake was to speak openly what he was thinking and at length. The Lying with a Straight Face Express just uses his words out of context. Everyone knows he meant that either man would be tested as President and Obama would be the one that would be the winner in any tests, not McCain.
If McCain’s team thinks that anyone is going to believe and ad from them that suggests Biden is against his own Mste on the ticket, well, good luck.
Posted by: PaulStewart9 | October 24, 2008, 8:05 pm 8:05 pm
When the chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee talks like that (Biden), I know he’s speaking from the heart. I don’t think Obama is ready yet (maybe after he finishes out his first term in the senate). Hillary would have made a better candidate. I think I’ve finally decided to vote for McCain.
Posted by: R. D. | October 24, 2008, 8:37 pm 8:37 pm
McCain was tested ..sure..and was caught by the Viets!
http://therealmccain.com/
Posted by: tod | October 24, 2008, 8:49 pm 8:49 pm
McCain ready to lead ? NO
Obama 08
John McCain’s Top 10 ‘Temper Tantrums’ of All Time
http://hyerstandard.com/john-mccains-top-10-temper-tantrums-of-all-time/
McCain Transition Chief Aided Saddam In Lobbying Effort
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/14/mccain-transition-chief-a_n_134595.html
Posted by: tod | October 24, 2008, 8:58 pm 8:58 pm
I guess it makes everyone feel better to express their opinions whether based on research or talking points for the uneducated. None of it matters. What matters is that white america, still at present a majority, will not elect a black person president, no matter what they tell others. You people here make up a very, very, very small percentage of the totla population. Race is the issue. Period.
Posted by: joe | October 24, 2008, 9:00 pm 9:00 pm
Attention McCain supporters: Thanks to George Bush, 50% of your 401K plan has vanished. If McCain wins, you can kiss the other half of your 401K goodbye.
Posted by: hamishdad | October 24, 2008, 9:03 pm 9:03 pm
Dose any of you know if there is complete transcript of Biden’s original statement. If so please post.
Posted by: canyouhelp | October 24, 2008, 9:27 pm 9:27 pm
My whole family voted today, 2 sons as first time voters.
4 Votes for McCain/Palin You go girl!!Country First!
When Abraham Lincoln said ” You can fool- some of the people all the time…” he was talking about poor republicans. The rich republicans never get fooled, only richer.
This is why McCain has seven houses.
Posted by: seemstome | October 24, 2008, 9:29 pm 9:29 pm
McCain is all gimmick, that’s how he runs his campaign. All smoke and mirrors, no substance. How else are you going to fool the poor middle class into thinking you are for them?
If McCain wanted to be a REAL maverick he would admit the war was a mistake, admit the surge was a surge of bribe money to the Sunnis, fire all his corporate lobbyists, return tax breaks to the middle class, give tax breaks to corporations that walk the walk and keep jobs in America and the hell with the rest.
McCain, like Bush, is from the privileged class and will serve their needs first.
Don’t look to him for help, he just doesn’t care.
Posted by: seemstome | October 24, 2008, 9:31 pm 9:31 pm
McCain for President
EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA Excellant!
By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, October 24, 2008; A19
Contrarian that I am, I’m voting for John McCain. I’m not talking about bucking the polls or the media consensus that it’s over before it’s over. I’m talking about bucking the rush of wet-fingered conservatives leaping to Barack Obama before they’re left out in the cold without a single state dinner for the next four years.
I stand athwart the rush of conservative ship-jumpers of every stripe — neo (Ken Adelman), moderate (Colin Powell), genetic/ironic (Christopher Buckley) and socialist/atheist (Christopher Hitchens) — yelling “Stop!” I shall have no part of this motley crew. I will go down with the McCain ship. I’d rather lose an election than lose my bearings.
First, I’ll have no truck with the phony case ginned up to rationalize voting for the most liberal and inexperienced presidential nominee in living memory. The “erratic” temperament issue, for example. As if McCain’s risky and unsuccessful but in no way irrational attempt to tactically maneuver his way through the economic tsunami that came crashing down a month ago renders unfit for office a man who demonstrated the most admirable equanimity and courage in the face of unimaginable pressures as a prisoner of war, and who later steadily navigated innumerable challenges and setbacks, not the least of which was the collapse of his campaign just a year ago.
McCain the “erratic” is a cheap Obama talking point. The 40-year record testifies to McCain the stalwart.
Nor will I countenance the “dirty campaign” pretense. The double standard here is stunning. Obama ran a scurrilous Spanish-language ad falsely associating McCain with anti-Hispanic slurs. Another ad falsely claimed that McCain supports “cutting Social Security benefits in half.” And for months Democrats insisted that McCain sought 100 years of war in Iraq.
McCain’s critics are offended that he raised the issue of William Ayers. What’s astonishing is that Obama was himself not offended by William Ayers.
Moreover, the most remarkable of all tactical choices of this election season is the attack that never was. Out of extreme (and unnecessary) conscientiousness, McCain refused to raise the legitimate issue of Obama’s most egregious association — with the race-baiting Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Dirty campaigning, indeed.
The case for McCain is straightforward. The financial crisis has made us forget, or just blindly deny, how dangerous the world out there is. We have a generations-long struggle with Islamic jihadism. An apocalyptic soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. A nuclear-armed Pakistan in danger of fragmentation. A rising Russia pushing the limits of revanchism. Plus the sure-to-come Falklands-like surprise popping out of nowhere.
Who do you want answering that phone at 3 a.m.? A man who’s been cramming on these issues for the past year, who’s never had to make an executive decision affecting so much as a city, let alone the world? A foreign policy novice instinctively inclined to the flabbiest, most vaporous multilateralism (e.g., the Berlin Wall came down because of “a world that stands as one”), and who refers to the most deliberate act of war since Pearl Harbor as “the tragedy of 9/11,” a term more appropriate for a bus accident?
Or do you want a man who is the most prepared, most knowledgeable, most serious foreign policy thinker in the United States Senate? A man who not only has the best instincts but has the honor and the courage to, yes, put country first, as when he carried the lonely fight for the surge that turned Iraq from catastrophic defeat into achievable strategic victory?
There’s just no comparison. Obama’s own running mate warned this week that Obama’s youth and inexperience will invite a crisis — indeed a crisis “generated” precisely to test him. Can you be serious about national security and vote on Nov. 4 to invite that test?
And how will he pass it? Well, how has he fared on the only two significant foreign policy tests he has faced since he’s been in the Senate? The first was the surge. Obama failed spectacularly. He not only opposed it. He tried to denigrate it, stop it and, finally, deny its success.
The second test was Georgia, to which Obama responded instinctively with evenhanded moral equivalence, urging restraint on both sides. McCain did not have to consult his advisers to instantly identify the aggressor.
Today’s economic crisis, like every other in our history, will in time pass. But the barbarians will still be at the gates. Whom do you want on the parapet? I’m for the guy who can tell the lion from the lamb.
Posted by: Down Mexico Way | October 24, 2008, 10:22 pm 10:22 pm
I always vote for a republican president, but there are a lot of things I like about Obama. Still, as Biden pointed out, very often new presidents get tested. Given Obama’s awful response to the attack on Georgia (called for both parties to exercise restraint, huh?), his lack of support for the surge and his seeming tendency to want to get out of Iraq just in time to lose a war we are winning, I don’t know if I trust him. McCain is far less likely to be “tested” because you can tell he will be decisive, swift and unafraid.
Posted by: jack | October 24, 2008, 10:27 pm 10:27 pm
This is really stunning. I was about to vote this guy until I heard this joker Biden made this comment. His own Vice-President does not have any confidence in him. I am voting McCain, the guy who was ready to give up his life for his country.
Posted by: lal | October 24, 2008, 11:04 pm 11:04 pm
Obama probably doesn’t even know the geo political structure of this world let alone dealing with an international crisis. He probably feels more comfortable dealing with his terrorist buddies better than other international statesmen in the face of a crisis.
Posted by: manish | October 24, 2008, 11:12 pm 11:12 pm
Just a quick note to all those young adults that are voting for Obama…..When the service personel become disheartened with your choice and stop volunteering….and our army is depleted….and we need to have some defense….even with Obama we might have to have a few people at the gate…..
Guess what will happen…..yes young adults……the DRAFT is COMING….but hey you voted it in.
Posted by: dkn | October 24, 2008, 11:32 pm 11:32 pm
Biden was just saying what he believes, will happen after this Election. Biden is a Catholic Christian, Iam sure, Biden reads his Bible. I believed, Biden is well informed about the Revelation, the Rupture and the Trials and Tribulation. Biden definitly understand, Our civilization is coming to a close. That is why, Biden could not just keep it to himself and end up bursting with prediction, to share the empending Judgment and International Desaster. Maybe, Biden already knows what Barack Obama will play on this Judgment DAy. Biden could not directly voiced his concerned because, he happen to be on the Ticket. He might be experiencing a battle with his concience. Being a Catholic Christian, I am positive, Biden has Good Intentions, to give some kind of Warning and informed people, So as not to be caught unaware and can response to un-expected situation, to be able to protect themselves. ( THE MORE YOU KNOW, THE MORE YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO ) I am aware, a lot of people does not believe, something like this will happen in the very near future. If only people will be more observant and start to ask themselves, WHY ARE ALL THIS THINGS ARE HAPPENING ONE AFTER ANOTHER. This is not just in America but the whole World. The people are being Tested and wanted their Attention. This Times of Crisis Reminds me of Abraham Lincoln. At that time when America almost lost the Unions, But, with that president at that time, who believed in our Creator, He asked the people, WHO FORGOT TO FAST AND PRAY, TO ASK FOR ASSISTANCE, AND THEIR PETITION WAS ANSWERED. THE UNIONS WAS SAVE. I believed, we need the same solution. People has to come together and ask for assistance from our Creator.
Posted by: AveryConcernCitizen | October 24, 2008, 11:38 pm 11:38 pm
Listening to the mainstream media these last few days I’ve learned a few things about the GOP’s VP nominee.
1. From the media I learned Sarah Palin’s husband has a DUI conviction from 22 years ago.
On my own, I learned that Ted Kennedy (hero of last month’s tribute at the DNC) was drunk while driving a car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick in 1969. That same crash killed a young campaign volunteer with whom he was having an affair. Oh, and that young woman was pregnant with his child.
* Mr. Palin’s (who is NOT running for office) DUI came a mere 4 years after Barack Hussein Obama (who IS running for president) SUPPOSEDLY stopped using cocaine and marijuana (by his own admission in his autobiography).
Shocking – It’s OK for the presidential candidate to use drugs, or the Democrat party patriarch to kill someone while driving drunk, yet the husband of a VP candidate should be demonized for something done 22 years ago?????
2. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin’s daughter is pregnant.
* On my own I learned that Obama’s mother was an unmarried street hippy in Honolulu , Hawaii, when she conceived Obama.
* On my own I learned that Joe Biden’s (Democrat VP candidate) son was paid a large amount of money as a consultant to a credit card company, MBNA.
That SAME company had business before Senator Joe Biden concerning regulation of consumer credit practices. After the company paid a hefty sum to Mr. Biden’s son, he voted in favor of legislation to help that company!!! That same son, Hunter, is also engaged in a legal investigation and suit for defrauding a former business partner!
*Shocking! It’s a crime for the republican VP candidate to have a child who’s pregnant even though it’s irrelevant to how she performs her job, but it’s OK if the Democrat Presidential candidate’s unwed mother conceived him out of wedlock, and it’s OK, however, for the Democrat VP candidate to vote in favor of a company who paid his son over a quarter of a million dollars?????
3. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin should be considered “selfish” for agreeing to run for VP knowing about her daughter’s condition. Knowing that at her public role would bring extra scrutiny on the family is selfish and she should have declined, to protect her child (actually heard this on ABC this weekend).
*Strange! The same people who said Sarah is selfish for running for VP did not care about any impact on Chelsea when Bill Clinton had his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky. That was a private, personal matter you see. Oh, that’s right….these things do not apply to the Democrats in power!! Silly me!!
4. From the media I have learned to be “concerned” that Sarah Palin probably won’t be able to manage her family and do an effective job of being VP at the same time.
*Funny – I never heard anything about Hillary’s ability to support Chelsea while re-doing healthcare or any of the other feminist icons who say you can balance work and family. They also never mention that Barack will have to balance time with his children while meeting with heads of rogue nations. They never mention that Joe Biden’s kids, who don’t have a mom, will be fighting for his time while he hosts white house coffee fundraisers and sells nights in the Lincoln bedroom. Then too, they never mention that Nancy Pelosi has five children but has no problem balancing her time.
5. From the media I have learned that Sarah Palin is “too inexperienced” to be a heartbeat-away from the presidency.
* Apparently taking on corruption in your own party and running a state that has at least as many people as Delaware (hint hint: that’s where Joe Biden is from) is not really experience?
* However, time spent as a “community organizer” and less than 180 days in the senate where you’ve authored NO significant legislation is just the type of “change” we’re looking for from the top of the ticket???
* Funny – Inexperience at the top of the ticket is a mantra for “change” and “hope” while strong practical everyday experience as the #2 is cause for concern???
6. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin’s husband once got a ticket for fishing without a license.
* But, I haven’t heard much about the fact that if he were still a practicing attorney, the VP candidate Joe Biden would be disbarred for plagiarism not once but multiple times!!!
It’s OK to break the rules if you’re a Democrat candidate but not OK if you are the spouse of a republican candidate???
7. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin doesn’t know much about Iraq; in fact we wonder if she even knows where it is.
* Sarah’s son volunteered into the US military and is now deployed in Iraq . I guess that doesn’t count!!!
* Sarah has spent more time with troops in Iraq (as commander of the Alaska National Guard she visited Iraq last year) than Obama has even while running for president!!! In fact, when Sarah went to Iraq she spent time with the troops!!! When Obama went there, he skipped a base visit to instead go work out at the Ritz Carlton!!!
8. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin is a “lightweight” and she better be a “quick study” to keep up with this team.
* Funny, nobody is talking about how, after Barack Obama had “visited all 57 US states” or endless other stupid gaffes that expose who he really is!!! By the way, there are 57 states in the Muslim world!!!
9. From the media I have learned that (gasp!), Sarah Palin’s husband was once a registered member of a 3rd party that favored states’ rights (man, this is really bad stuff).
* That same media has been silent to the story that when Barack Obama announced his first senate run, he did so in the home of William Ayers. Ayers is an un-repentant terrorist convicted for bombing the pentagon!! This same Mr. Ayers said on 9/11 that he and his group did not do enough to harm our military and he wished he had done more!!! During the same time as that comment, he was serving on a board with Barack Obama!!!
All notes and information about their serving together is now locked up by the corrupt Chicago machine and reporter access to those records are being blocked by the Obama campaign!!!
If we’ve had any doubts about the bias of the media, it’s pretty clear now where they stand. Pass this on to your friends and relatives who get all their information from the likes of Katie Couric, Wolf Blitzer, Tom Brokaw and the gang!!! This is egregious and corrupt!!! The only way to stop it is to spread information using other outlets and make these guys irrelevant!!!
Posted by: lightnin | October 25, 2008, 12:01 am 12:01 am
Why you should not vote Obama.
1. No leadership experience
2. No foreign policy experience
3. Poor judgement – Ayers, Biden, Acorn
4. Biden talks first and thinks second
5. socialist views on economy
6. Can’t add: 95% gets tax cut, 35% do not pay tax, 10% who will pay more…
That equals 140%
Posted by: Chuck | October 25, 2008, 12:08 am 12:08 am
Senator Biden’s remark was obviously taken out of context, as you probably all know already. It’s just that some people can’t help but focus on juicy and in-your-face soundbites, at the expense of leaving out the original point that Sen. Biden was driving at: that he thinks Sen. Obama is, indeed, ready to put the US back in a leadership position on the international stage, regardless of the mess that they are inheriting from the outgoing Bush administration.
tl;dr moar critical thinking, less appeal to the masses and l2beobjective pl0x, kthx.
Posted by: Jack | October 25, 2008, 12:10 am 12:10 am
Chuck,
1. Hyperbole; you require more research. And yes, presidential advisers exist for a reason. And no, our vote should be decided on the basis of many other factors, not just leadership experience.
2. Sen. McCain will carry on with the policies of the Bush administration. We’ve, quite frankly, had enough of the outgoing administration’s 8 years of inept leadership and reckless unilateralism. We’ve had enough of our diminished standing on the world stage.
3. Please do your research on Obama’s affiliations instead of taking what the media has to say at face value, and at least try to determine his sense of judgment in the proper context after doing so.
4. Sen. Biden’s remarks keep on being taken out of context. Read up on his full statement before spewing FUD. On top of that, Gov. Palin is obviously way out of her league. She is not ready to be VP; I cannot overemphasize. No, really.
5. What of the corporate socialism that the outgoing administration has become increasinly adept at? That’s fair game, too, isn’t it?
6. I require more research, lulz.
Posted by: Jack | October 25, 2008, 12:26 am 12:26 am
i was asked..”brk dck What is the true definition of a leader”?&can one tell how a person that has been anointed as being a leader standup under the pressures & adversities in an uncertain world and what affect does the media plays in how we judge what qualifies as experience& passing some madeup commander&chief threshold test and what is rhetoric.TO which i replied a leader isnot just someone who leads not by decree but by example a true leader is some one who inspires,listens relies on foresight¬ hindsight who knows that no person is an island so surrounds themselves with people who are not afraid to speak up & point out flaws in this or that plan and is both willing to change or remove certain aspects of it if the concerns are proven to be valid AS for how a leader will react in times of crises no one really truly knows but if they have a good team in place it will make the response more effective and more precise which brings me to the affect of the media in what count as passing this so called commander&chief experience threshold test&what is just rhetoric THERE is no test the media hasnt got a clue its all about trying to look knowledgeable they cannt tell poop from shinola without a teleprompter yet they sit there and pass their b@@@s@@t off as somehow genuine&tried true hell you could pick the winning lottery # in every state that has a lottery for the next five years before their threshold b.s. pan out. Just like there is no test for who will throw themselves on a hand grenade to save comrades,or other heroic stuff there is no correlation between experience and being a good commander&chief which is why the office of president isnt about fighting wars but about the economy&maintaining peace because history has shown us that any moron knows how to lead a nation to war but only a real leader knows how to keep you out of one
Posted by: brkdckdwg | October 25, 2008, 1:19 am 1:19 am
being commander&chief is only a small part of the presidency and as much as the media& mccain would like you to believe there is no threshold test to determine who has it and who dont just like there is no formula that can predict who will throw themselves on a grenade to save others Hell you would have better luck picking the winning lottery#s for the next five yrs than the yahoos in the media many of whom cannt tell S@@T from shinola without a teleprompter but what you can tell is who has the leadership abilities that inspires others that is willing to listen to others that relies on foresight& not hindsight who not only surrounds themselves with some of the best & brightest{because no one is an island}but is willing to rely on their council and judge it from the possibility that they might be right& he wrong and not be offended by that revelation History has shown that any moron can lead a nation to war but a real leader will keep a nation at peace
Posted by: brkdckdwg | October 25, 2008, 1:40 am 1:40 am
#6 everyone pays taxes. If you don’t want to pay taxes, then stop working. If you want to pay slightly higher taxes, then vote for McCain, as his large tax cuts to the wealthy will shift the tax burden down to the middle class, even more so than currently under the Bush plan. Like McCains health plan, his tax plan simply favors the wealthy and puts more burden on the middle class where the majority of economic activity is generated in terms of spending on necessities and consumer goods.
Posted by: Concerned American | October 25, 2008, 3:58 am 3:58 am
No, not everyone pays (income) taxes. Unless you’re buying a yacht, sales taxes are of little concern to the average consumer.
Funny, I haven’t really heard too many complaints about taxes for years and years and now *poof* like magic it’s somehow an issue?
What are those ‘necessities’ I see mentioned above? I-pods? PSPs? X-boxes? Video rentals? Pron? Booze? Weed? Smokes? Disney World tickets? Obama campaign contributions? Seems like millions of Americans have more than enough money for such ‘necessities’.
Posted by: Grand Old Party | October 25, 2008, 6:32 am 6:32 am
Biden cannot keep his mouth shut.
Right after a meeting with national security advisors, Biden has to come out and blab everything. Not the most professional thing to do as a VP candidate. He also wants to cut defense by 25%, last time that was done was by Clinton and 9/11 happened 10 months later. And why would we want to cut defense after he said Obama is going to be tested. Makes no sense.
This goes back to Obama’s poor judgement. He chose Biden for VP, someone who has had anuresyms. If something happened to Obama, and Biden the Big mouth collapsed from an anuresym, that leaves Pelosi as prez. Very scary thought.
Other instances of poor judgement, Ayers, Rezko, Rev Wright, Farakhan, ACORN, Iran and Venezuela as “tiny countries who are not a threat”, “spread the wealth”.
Glad I din’t vote for “that one”, my conscious is clear when the country goes deeper into a depression and we are facing an “international crisis”
Posted by: S Adams | October 25, 2008, 11:52 am 11:52 am
Posted by: lightnin | Oct 25, 2008 12:01:38 AM
++++++++++++
Great info lightnin. Now if everyone had, had this information from the media before the primaries, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in now with Obama the Chicago thug on the threshold of running the country into the dumper.
The media will be partly to blame for not doing their job. Reporting honestly with no bias.
Posted by: S Adams | October 25, 2008, 12:04 pm 12:04 pm
***
Funny, I haven’t really heard too many complaints about taxes for years and years and now *poof* like magic it’s somehow an issue?
***
Yes, the GOP has been harping on them for months now.. complaining that the wealthy are taxed too much and need more relief.
And last I checked, the middle class purchases much more necessities and consumer goods and injects more revenue into the economy than the wealthy. Of course, from other posts I’ve seen, you believe that 9/11 was somehow related to Iraq, so I can understand your total ignorance on such matters.
Posted by: benji | October 25, 2008, 12:10 pm 12:10 pm
So Joe Biden got carried away and said the thinkable, but apparently the unmentionable. I think it has been a good discussion. Trouble is some of us discuss the entire quote while others prefer to just discuss the first part of it, ignoring Joe’s conclusion. I guess it suits their purpose better to only take part of the quote. I call that lying by omission.
The fact that Joe is getting skewered for saying something about Obama that in conclusion was a good thing (except McCain doesn’t quote Joe’s conclusion)is an indication of how desparate McCain is to latch on to anything to exploit.
Posted by: Donna Hughes | October 25, 2008, 2:21 pm 2:21 pm
Twice last weekend, Biden grimly warned at closed-door meetings that a great crisis is coming early in the term of President Obama:
“Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. … Remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said … we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.”
A “generated crisis”? By whom? Moscow? Beijing? Tehran?
This is an astonishing statement from the CHAIRMAN of the Foreign Relations Committee who has access to the same intelligence as President Bush. Was Joe warning of a crisis like the Berlin Wall of July 1961, where JFK called for a tripling of the draft and ordered a call-up of reserves, or the missile crisis where U.S. pilots like John McCain were minutes away from bombing nuclear missile sites in Cuba and killing the Russians manning them?
Is Russia about to move on the Crimea? Is Israel about to launch air strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites? What is Joe talking about?
If one assumes Joe is a serious man, we have a right to know.
Instead, what we got was Obama’s airy dismissal of Joe’s words as a “rhetorical flourish” and a media – rather than demanding that Joe hold a press conference – acting as Obama surrogates parroting the talking points that Joe was just saying that new presidents always face tests.
Had John McCain made that hair-raising statement, he would have been accused of fear mongering about a new 9/11. The media would have run with the story rather than have smothered it.
Has anyone ever asked Joe about his own and his party’s role in cutting off aid to South Vietnam, leading to the greatest strategic defeat in U.S. history and the Cambodian HOLOCAUST? Has anyone ever asked Joe about the role he and his party played in working to block Reagan’s deployment of Pershing missiles in Europe, and SDI, which Gorbachev concedes BROKE the Soviets and WON the Cold War?
Is Joe’s record of having been wrong on Vietnam, wrong in the Cold War, and wrong on the Surge, less important than whether Sarah Palin tried to get fired a rogue-cop brother-in-law who Tasered her 10-year-old nephew to “teach him a lesson”?
Posted by: Biden is a Menace to America's Security | October 25, 2008, 2:29 pm 2:29 pm
The reason he’s being silent, duh,
is that he knows he blew the election
for Obama! Game Over!
President McCain, get used to it
ABC News aka the disgrace to
real journalism!
Posted by: reaganfan | October 25, 2008, 2:45 pm 2:45 pm
Blew the election? HA! everyone who read the WHOLE statement looked at the comparison of Barack (unruffled under pressure) and McCain (aka Yosemite Sam) and said we certainly don’t want someone with a short fuse and an itchy trigger finger in the oval office!
Of course when the right-wingers only present the first part of Joe’s statement without the conclusion, and THEN they project their fear mongering imaginations into it as well, then the right-wing sheep start spouting doom and gloom – woe is me! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
The MAJORITY of us want someone who is unruffled, with a cool head at the helm – someone who sees more than black and white to every problem! Someone who sees NUANCES! Someone who isn’t afraid to try new ways of doing things for a new century, in a world that has grown smaller and more complex.
So I guess this is a showdown between the old way of thinking and a new approach.
Posted by: Donna Hughes | October 25, 2008, 3:52 pm 3:52 pm
Elizabeth is so young; life gives us some many experiences that bring wisdom to a logical mind. No matter what Senator Obama says she only hears parts, the part that her party barfs up repetitively. Senator Obama says he served on a board with Professor Ayers and other Democrats and Republicans, Professor Ayers who bomb a building when he was eight years old; she only hears he was eight years old when Professor Ayers bombed a government building. Doing the last debate this question was answered with a full statement.
Senator Biden says Obama will be tested, six months into his presidency but he is up to the challenge. But you Elizabeth only hear the part that plays to your party. Maturity sees Senator McCain has never occupied the seat of the presidency (McCain’s ad) and he will be tested as well.
I am a Christian I am located in western Pennsylvania and I hold closer to my religion in times of trouble. Like now with all the sickness in our world, I am praying a lot more and with a lot more passion and dept. Which to me is a necessity; we need God more when times are so violent, so economically barren, and so void of God.
I have voted across party lines when I felt that the other candidate was the better person. I had to do what was best for this country I love, and I would not vote for Obama if I felt he could not do the best job for our country. This Joe the plumber mess has played, this what about Obama has played, Governor Palin hasty chosen to reach Senator Clinton voters, a lack of judgment.
I lived eight years during President Reagan administration in fear; I saw signs of his dementia while he reigned in the White House. The President would drift off during speeches and Mrs. Reagan would elbow him and he would continue with he prepared speech. But with party loyalty, smoke and mirrors he was elected to a second term. We all have to put country first not some but all. Thank God for the republicans, who are patriotic enough to cross party lines and brave enough to say so!
Stand Blessed,
Posted by: Hazel | October 25, 2008, 4:40 pm 4:40 pm
Maturity sees that “Hazel,” like so many Obama partisans, is full of baloney!
Those guys aren’t crossing party lines in the greater historical sense, and they sure aren’t patriots—HW Bush’s Brezezinski is who Obama shares in common with Powell, etc. New World Order, phase IV. Duh!
Posted by: otik | October 26, 2008, 12:03 am 12:03 am
“Yosemite Sam”…LOL
Anyway, about all I can come up with all of this is that they (Obama, Pelosi, Biden and all the other wannabe Marxists) plan on throwing Israel under the bus.
Any other thoughts on this?
Posted by: Grand Old Party | October 26, 2008, 12:28 am 12:28 am
Obama’s steady leadership? Leadership of what? Powell’s taking orders from Brz and the other HW Bush NWO posse, just like Obama will.
The reason why so many people around the world revile American “culture” is because of the cr@p representations of it emanating from Hollywood, the same people promoting Obama. They also hate the same hyper-capitalists that Obama and the NWO Powell-posse (since Wes Clark is too, uh, excitable) will “intervene” for. Oh and all you Halliburton haters, who do you think Obama is going to use to do all this? What a crock!
Posted by: smedley | October 26, 2008, 1:22 am 1:22 am
Joe is awesome, I can”t wait to see him speak. Thing about Joe that makes him so great is he is one of us. Joe Biden is a hard working, true American that America desperately needs representing us. This will be a change alright, because he is a dramatic departure from the ”good ol” boy” corrupt Republican backwards ideology that has had a stranglehold on America for the last 8 years. I would take Joe”s occasional ”mental typos” any day of the week over the countless and numerous lies, misstatements, misdeeds, crimes and hack job self serving policies of George the idiot Bush anytime. Don”t forget the disaster that was Bush for 8 years and that we are finally finally going to be rid of. Joe is a serious upgrade from weirdo Cheney and President Idiot. Joe is a good man and will be just fine, you doubters will all see and eat your foul words and thoughts. God Bless America, the road to recovery is just around the bend, it won”t be long now before the curse on our great country that is the Bush administration is lifted.
Posted by: Democrats 08 | October 26, 2008, 8:54 am 8:54 am
Biden is ambivalent. He knows Obama is a marxist socialist, which he likes, but he also knows that it could be extremely violent in the world if Obama actually had the power to put his ideas into action.
Posted by: kat in you hat PUMA | October 27, 2008, 5:58 am 5:58 am
LORDY, LORDY, I can’t believe I really read all this………
Posted by: Betty Bee | January 19, 2009, 10:55 pm 10:55 pm