Biden’s world of gaffes
Did Obama make a mistake in his VP pick?
Joe Biden has been generating some “bad national headlines,” said Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post. He called one of running mate Barack Obama’s TV ads “terrible” and misstated the campaign’s positions on the AIG bailout and coal mining, among other gaffes. Maybe Biden's foreign policy experience doesn't outweigh his famous “shoot-from-the-hip” speaking style, after all.
The thing about Biden, said Christopher Beam in Slate, is that his frequent verbal blunders have made him virtually “gaffe-proof.” He has survived racially insensitive and factually incorrect gaffes that would ruin another politician’s career. His "gaffe immunity" won't protect him when he debates Sarah Palin, but until then he can “gaffe away.”
Well, Biden’s anti-coal gaffe, said The Wall Street Journal in an editorial, when Obama is in favor of “clean coal” plants, could cost his campaign in crucial swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. A gaffe is “when a politician accidentally tells the truth,” and Biden’s comment reveals the “politically unutterable truth” about liberal energy policy.
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
China looms large over India and Pakistan's latest violence
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Beijing may not have had troops on the ground, but as South Asia's two nuclear powers bared their teeth over Kashmir, China eyed opportunity in its own backyard
-
Where the new Pope Leo XIV stands on various issues
The Explainer The first American pontiff is expected to continue some of his predecessor's work
-
What's wrong with America's air traffic control systems?
Today's Big Question The radios and radar keep going out at Newark International
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy