The swearing in of Senator Chris Murphy

Apparently darlin' Joe Biden was having fun at the swearing in ceremony in the Senate. The maniac media gone into a feeding frenzy at CSPAN collecting Biden's most charmingly unguarded utterances, but this is my favorite moment of swearing in day. You'll recall Chris Murphy is the Democrat who beat crazy wrestling mogul lady Linda McMahon in Connecticut.

Why are these men laughing?

By Capt. Fogg


This just in:

Fox & Friends claims Biden's debate laughter indicates dementia!

            Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages

When Irish eyes are smiling

The VP debate last night was being billed as the "Thrill in the Ville." It lived up to its billing for me. I didn't want it to end. I got the feeling neither did Joe Biden. He was clearly enjoying his freedom to Hulk smash Paul Ryan's pathetic lies as they popped up. Felt like watching the kids play whack-a-mole at the arcade. And Joe Biden won all the prize tickets.

This of course, dismayed fully half of the on-air punditry. Much pearl clutching and gasping for air on the fainting couches about the heinous incivility of derisive laughter. It totally ruined their pre-written script for Old Joe the Gaffer versus the Whiz Kid of the GOP. Their whimpering was largely drowned out by the rousing cheers of newly heartened liberals in my seating section. Indeed, the collective sigh of relief from the left blew the roof off their newly constructed house of dark despair and let in the light again.

As might be expected, Charlie Pierce has the best telling of the Fall of the Mighty Paul Ryan:

On Thursday night, Biden dragged out the old Paul Ryan — and, I would argue, the real Paul Ryan — and put him on display, and he made the new Paul Ryan own him. ...

The ideas [Ryan] could explain were bad enough, but the profound ignorance he displayed on Thursday night on a number of important questions, including when and where the United States might wind up going to war next, and his blithe dismissal of any demand that he be specific about where he and his running mate are planning to take the country generally, was so positively terrifying that it calls into question Romney's judgment for putting this unqualified greenhorn on the ticket at all. Joe Biden laughed at him? Of course, he did. The only other option was to hand him a participation ribbon and take him to Burger King for lunch.

The GOP's whiz kid ended up looking like all kid, no whiz. I was reminded of those movie scenes where the wise, vaguely amused older guy is holding a little enraged kid at arm's distance, while the kid wildly flails at the air.

Unclear how much any of this will matter generally, but if it did nothing else but restore joy and some semblance of serenity on my social nets -- that's good enough. [Getty photo via Holly Bailey tumblr]

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]

Touching me, touching you

Don't understand the fascination with daily polls. The only thing you learn is that the public is fickle and we already know that. And there's so many out there now, that you can find one that validates your world view at any given moment. But I don't need that.

Me. I don't get excited when Obama's poll numbers are up. Don't get worried when they're down. I measure the public temperament more by what I see and overhear on the streets. Or don't. There is support for Romney among people who should know better. The ones I talk to have been woefully misinformed. Not sure all of them are going to vote. And plenty of time left for the Mittster to screw before this is over. So not worried like I was in 2008.

Meanwhile the Rombot is out there practicing his mad "acting like a human" skillz. Telling the sad stories himself. Noticing he's changing his facial expressions too. He smiles with an open mouth which doesn't really succeed in making him look any more sincere. And ye gods, he's been touching all the peoples. I must have seen a dozen photos in the last three days of him hugging the hot polloi. This one was my favorite. [via]

Somehow not feeling the empathy in this shot. Then compare and contrast to this one.

Backstory here. I know I'm biased, but this one feels real to me.

Joe Biden and the bikers

I look at this photo and see a sweet man. How genuinely he connects with us regular people. Our pearl clutching DC media looks at it and sees this:

Vice President Joe Biden got caught in a stunning photo with a female biker sitting on his lap.

The Associated Press snapped the shot at Cruisers Diner in Seaman, Ohio on Sunday.

Stunning? Stunning is when Rmoney sits down at a diner and tells a gay military veteran that he opposes same sex marriage and believes their spouses should be denied equal family benefits under the law. None of our DC media found this astounding ackward encounter "stunning" that I can recall.



The veteran has Romney's number:

Garon, an independent, was gleeful after the encounter, and was not impressed with Romney.

"You can't trust him. I saw it in his eyes," he said.

Romney's inability to connect with the average American is stunning. Joe Biden's ability to genuinely connect to the people is charming. Heartwarming even. Not that the DC media will ever spin that way. Some wacko wingnut might accuse them of being biased towards the Democrats instead of subservient to the Republicans.

[photo via B Bigelow]

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]

The Biden abides in Motor City

Joe Biden is a BFD in Detroit. The supporters were stacked up to the rafters at his public speech.

The dissenters outside his fundraiser formed a less impressive crowd.

Always find it somewhat amusing when the cons try to villify Joe. Of course I don't know him, but I can't think of another politician who projects more genuine empathy. His occasional awkward turn of the phrase only makes him all the more endearing. [More photos at the link.]

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]

Independents side with Biden

You know I hate polls but the only metric that really counts in measuring the results of last night's debate is if ti swayed Independents. The polling here is worth looking at because it shows Biden, wins hands down and any swaying that happened favored Obama. The numbers are also interesting in the breakdowns by party afiliation. Palin's fan club thought she was great. The rest of the world issued a collective -- Meh.

Meanwhile, Rasmussen reports Obama opened up a 10 point lead in New Hampshire, and is edging ahead in North Carolina, both traditionally dependable GOP states. Any debate bump won't show up in this poll of course, but the trajectory is clear. The Unstable/Unable duo is failing to sell their fake populism, no matter what the idiot pundits say on teevee.

[More posts daily at The Newshoggers and The Detroit News.]

Biden soars, Palin bores

I don't have a whole lot to say about the debate. I put up my requisite post debate analysis at Detroit News so all I'd add here is that Biden did great under difficult circumstances. He had to dance a fine line between shredding Palin on her still obvious ignorance and appearing too aggressive in doing so. I think he rose to the occassion admirably and managed to keep the focus on the top of the ticket rather than take the numerous cheap shots Palin offered up as targets.

Palin for her part managed to meet the sub-zero expectations of her perfomance but didn't manage to exceed them, not even by a subatomic particle. Her fan club will praise her as the winner, the rest of America will yawn at hearing the same talking points she's been pimping since the day McCain dragged her on stage. The only point that really resonated was her open admission that she wants the office of VP to accrue even more unlimited power than the wildest of Cheney's wet dreams. Low info voters probably won't pick up on that point, but if this debate changed anything, it will be to energize the Obama supporters to work even harder to prevent the disaster that a McCain administration would bring.

Bottom line, Biden came across as a serious candidate for a serious office at a critical time in our country. Palin came off as a vapid beauty queen with a fake, fixed smile and a badly hidden mean streak, running for Miss America. I don't think it will affect the polls much at all. It may reenergize the base for a while, but to the extent that the debate was any kind of game changer, it's that Palin showed she has nothing new to say and the media may start ignoring her and put the focus back on Obama and McCain, where it belongs. On those terms, it's a win for Obama.

[cross-posted to The Reaction]

[More posts daily at The Newshoggers and The Detroit News.]

Introducing Joe Biden

I managed to miss it live, but Ron has the video. He did good. He relied a little heavily on his notes but I doubt he had much time to prepare to be thrust back into the spotlight and after all the suspense, the pressure must have been intense.

Of course, the media will seize on the seven tables line, but I thought his best delivery was when he was talking about how we can't afford four more years of the same old slimy policies. He looked really genuine and comfortable with those lines. I'm feeling encouraged. Hopeful even.


[More posts daily at The Newshoggers and The Detroit News.]

Biden gets bad rap on plagiarism

So those accusations of plagiarism against Joe Biden, for a speech he made twenty years ago? Not really true. There's no evidence he actively tried to conceal the source. He credited the few paraphased bits he used dozens of times in a stump speeches, except on two occassions.

If this is all Rove has got to discredit him, it's going to be a long season for the GOP. I doubt they'll get this one to stick. [via]


[More posts daily at The Newshoggers and The Detroit News.]