Fresh off his big win negotiating the country away from the fiscal cliff, Vice President Joe Biden posed and schmoozed with new and returning senators on Thursday, ceremonially re-enacting for the cameras their earlier swearing in. And it was clearly "the Biden show in the Old Senate Chamber," says Rachel Rose Hartman at Yahoo News. In his role as president of the Senate, the vice president "turned himself into a one-man welcoming committee for the newly elected senators in the way only Biden could accomplish." And what a show it was, says David Weigel at Slate. If you watch the entire 86-minute event (or watch Talking Point Memo's much-shorter highlights reel below), you'll see that "Biden's 'gaffe-prone nature' is actually evidence of him being a fairly normal, goofy person, with a sense of humor that hits at least 60 percent of the time." Here are some of the best (and weirdest) lines Biden deployed for the lawmakers and their families:
"Spread your legs — you're gonna be frisked!"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?Today's Big Quesiton
-
Mary Poppins tour: 'humdinger' of a show kicks off at Bristol HippodromeThe Week Recommends Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers are 'true triple threats' as Mary and Bert in 'timeless' production
-
Jaguar's stalled rebrandIn the spotlight Critics and car lovers are baffled by the luxury car company's 'complete reset'
