Biden Interviewed on Meet the Press
Vice President Joe Biden went on Meet the Press Sunday. The good news is that he believes that they have the votes in the Senate to pass the New Start treaty regardless of Senator Mitch McConnell’s partisan stand. Biden also explained the why and how the Middle Class tax cut deal was made:
By the — we did go to the mat. We did go to the mat. We went through every — I went into a total of 130 races out there campaigning for Democrats . Every single race I made this case. Here’s what happened. We got to the end, we couldn’t get it done, and we had to make a decision: Were we going to let the middle -class tax cuts expire? Let me remind everybody, the House passed middle -class tax cut only. It got to the United States Senate , we supported that provision, and the Senate could not pass it. So now we’re left with, do we let those folks who are going to bed tonight staring at a ceiling wondering whether they’re going to be in that same bed next month, or those two million people who already lost their unemployment insurance this month, seven million more losing it next month, and economic uncertainty occur? Life is a matter of really tough choices.
Vice President Biden also talked about his role as “negotiator-in-chief”:
Well, by the way, you know, every — I, I, I get asked that a lot lately since this worked. That’s been my role from the beginning. For example, I’ve repeated — I’ve met with — I, I’m the guy that’s gone up on the important issues to the House , and I’m the guy that goes — I’m vice president of the United States . They know when I speak, I speak for the president. So last year, everybody said, ” God , you — you know, if Rahm Emanuel were here, he would have been the one going up to the House and the House caucus.” Not true. It would have been me, whether he were here or not. Just like it was last year. On three important occasions, I was the guy that went to the House to try to sell them, and in two cases sold them, on what to do. And look, I have — one of the things that matters in this town, and you know it as well as I do, your word matters. There’s not a single Democrat or Republican who’s ever worked with me that will not look you in the eye and say, ” Biden has never, ever, ever broken his word.” So that’s why I’m able to go up there. I don’t always succeed, but I like these guys, they’re my friends. I’ve got — a lot of these Republicans are my friends.
You can read or watch the entire Meet the Press episode here.
Tags: Vice President Joe Biden
I just read the Biden part of the transcript. Biden was challenged a lot harder than I expected, but still was allowed to get away with some slippery answers. It was cool they showed the archived video where Biden said the upper income cuts were a black and white issue. But when Biden asserted he did “go to the mat” for the House middle class tax cut bill, he tried to back it up by explaining that he campaigned for Democrats, which I found lame and evasive. The weekend the Senate rejected the House bill, Biden was out undermining it by lobbying for The Deal, and Obama was in Afghanistan. Not exactly “on the mat.”
I think if Obama and Biden had used their combined Senatorial expertise they could have found seven votes in the Senate. Although their pre-capitulation would have made it a harder task than it needed to be.
Right before the Senate vote on The Deal Obama held a little-known but revealing meeting with liberal economists – not to get meaningful input from them, but to try to smooth over the fait accompli:
Apparently Obama failed to convince these very smart people that The Deal was a good idea.
So now I am getting a clear picture of a President and a Vice President who will say to our faces that they are fighting for one thing, but are working for something else behind our back. It is the beginning of a very serious credibility problem.
Biden is the ‘King of Spin.’ Ole’ ‘Shovel Ready’ Joe touted the vast greatness of the Stimulus program for creating jobs, jobs, jobs, while the unemployment rate climbed like a Madagascar Lemur.
He then had to be grabbed by Obama (kicking and screaming, no less) to be the WH ‘point man’ as a congressional liaison to ‘sell’ dog crap to the Democrats.
Now, sounding like a conservative economist from the Manhattan Institute, Biden lays out his reasoning behind Obama’s great fiscal policy of tax cuts for the wealthy, even though he (they) loathe them.
Biden hates this role. He wants to be the VP who gets to enjoy all of the fruits of being VP. He was heard on microphone at the Blair House HCR Summit early last year saying: “Being VP is like being a grandparent…you get all of the good stuff without having to be responsible for the kids.” He’s proven that with all of his visits to every national and global sporting event known to man the last two years (Philly playoffs/World Series, Olympics, World Cup Soccer, UD games, and other ‘fun’ events). No wonder why he’s perturbed by the inconvenience of playing ‘point man’ for his boss.
At least Biden looks comfortable and professional when he’s ‘spinning.’ Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs look woefully weak when they try to ‘stay on message’ for the WH.