According to the report:

“29.3% of South Carolinian adults could not “accurately identify who the current vice president—Joe Biden—is. Almost one-quarter (23 percent) couldn’t remember who the vice president is; 3.3 percent supplied the incorrect name; and 3 percent named Dick Cheney.”

Biden has often had to deal with significant percentages of the American public being unaware he is the Vice President. In 2010, a Pew Research Poll found that 41% of Americans could not identify Biden as Vice President.

(h/t Daily Caller)

RELATED: President Obama: ‘Ask Osama Bin Laden Whether I Engage In Appeasement’

Biden praised the president for having a “backbone like ramrod” before giving a point-by-point recollection of everything that happened in the final day before Obama gave the SEAL team its orders.

“The President, he went around the table with all the senior people including the Chiefs of Staff. He said, I have to make this decision what is your opinion. He started with the National Security adviser, the Secretary of State and he ended with me. Every single person in that room hedged their bet, except Leon Panetta. Leon said GO. Everyone else said 49, 51, this…

It got to me. Joe what do you think? I said ‘You know I didn’t know we have so many economists around the table. We owe the man a direct answer. Mr. President my suggestion is don’t go. We have to do two more things to see if he’s there.’”

Biden said that Obama left that night promising to make a decision, and the next morning returned to the White House and made the order official. Biden credited Obama for understanding everything that was at stake when he gave the order, and took the opportunity to dispute a common Obama talking point.

RELATED: Jon Stewart Reviews The State Of The Union: ‘You Opened With I Killed Bin Laden?!’

“This guy doesn’t lead from behind. He just leads. And that’s clear.”

Watch the video below, courtesy of Fox Nation:

h/t Fox Nation

Biden was giving a speech on jobs at an event in New Hampshire when he began discussing all of the outsourcing that is plaguing America. Bringing up call centers, he began talking about how you can always tell the person on the other end isn’t American. He began imitating a regular call, clearly adopting some kind of accent for a few words, when you can see him stop, collect himself, and go back to his regular voice. Whew! Saved!

Really though, the worst part of this clip is when Biden changes the subject to the Discover Card call center guy “Nancy.” Come on, Mr. Vice President. The character’s name is clearly Peggy.

Watch the clip below:

(h/t Weazel Zippers via Fox Nation)

RELATED: Why Won’t Black People Let Newt Gingrich Help Them?

Stephanopoulos first asked Biden to respond to Gingrich’s summation of the President’s State of the Union address. “The President gave a forceful defense of his record and agenda,” Stephanopoulos said. ”His challengers were out with their response right away. Newt Gingrich said it’s time to confront the truth about the President. He said he’ll always prefer a Food Stamp economy to a paycheck economy, and call it fair. Your response?”

“It’s hard to respond to Newt with those kind of ridiculous statements,” Biden began. “The fact is that for 23 months, people have been getting — the private sector’s been hiring people. The President talked about what we do think is fair. It’s fair to give the middle class a fighting shot here. To bring home jobs, incentiveize so that Americans can work here. We have a different priority set than Newt Gingrich, and apparently our Republican colleagues, have. We think it’s fair to focus on the people who built the country, who create the productivity. The people who need the jobs, who will go out and do a good job. There’s a reason why the in-sourcing is coming back. Our workers are the most productive workers in the world. We should do everything we can to deal with that.”

“Do you think the former Speaker is playing racial politics when he’s calling President Obama a Food Stamp president?” Stephanopoulos asked.

“It’s hard to tell,” Biden said, with a pause. “I’m not being facetious. It’s hard to tell what Newt means. He says a lot.”

Biden’s response was of a piece with the Obama administration’s modus operandi on issues of economics and race, which has been to reinforce the idea that Barack Obama is everyone’s president, and to avoid calling out so-called racial dogwhistles. The President and his political team are (probably rightly) convinced that in any discussion of divisive racial politics, President Obama will be painted as the one doing the dividing.

The difference here is that Gingrich’s Food Stamps bit isn’t a dogwhistle, it’s a loud-and-proud bugle call. He defends the term using faulty statistics (more people were added to the Food Stamp rolls under President Bush than under President Obama, and the number is now declining), but Gingrich peeled back the mask on that defense when he singled out black people as being “satisfied with Food Stamps,” and of having no work ethic, other than for criminality. While the President may be wisely avoiding a political fight that could damage him, at a certain point, that consideration ought to be outweighed by the resentment that Gingrich is sowing toward the urban poor.

Here’s the clip, from ABC News:

Whether or not Biden’s next next step is to Hollywood will presumably be decided by Simon Cowell.

Just kidding. In all seriousness, Biden will be appearing on the show next Monday at 7am PST and will spend his time answering questions from college kids and aspiring college kids. Students are invited to submit their questions to Seacrest’s Facebook page.

Now the only trick is finding a way to wake college kids up at 7am on a Monday morning.

From RyanSeacrest.com:

“Over the years Ryan Seacrest has had the privilege of interviewing several major political figures including: President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Former President Bill Clinton, Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa and Former Senator Ted Kennedy.

On Monday, January 23, ‘On Air with Ryan Seacrest’ will welcome special guest Vice President of the United States Joe Biden.

At 7:00am PST, the Vice President will join the top-rated, Los Angeles morning drive radio show to answer questions from college students submitted via Ryan’s Facebook page.

The Vice President has been touring the nation holding Town Hall meetings in an effort to discuss the administration’s efforts to educate students on how to make college more affordable and student debt more manageable. The Vice President told students in Florida, ‘A college education is almost a prerequisite or a ticket to the middle class. It’s also a prerequisite if we’re going to lead this world again.’

Are you a struggling student with a question for the Vice President? Do have questions about the economy, jobs, or financial aid? The Vice President wants to hear from you!”

(h/t Politico)

RELATED: Joe Scarborough: The Press Favored Obama By A Longshot Over Hillary

The New York Times‘ Bill Keller was on hand to defend candidate Rick Perry‘s suit-wearing abilities (I actually think he tends to wear his collar too high. Thoughts?), later opining that the White House must be getting a chuckle with the way the GOP candidates have, as he sees it, gone from accusing Obama of being a socialist to accusing Mitt Romney of being a capitalist.

Keller also thought Obama would be well-advised to bring Clinton on as his running mate this year, despite obstacles like, oh, Obama and Clinton and Biden (oh my). “But other than those little speed bumps…” he joked. “Look, it’s the one thing, I think, that the Democrats could do to nearly guarantee Obama re-election. It would generate enough excitement that they might actually have some coattails and help out a little bit with the Senate and House. And it would position Clinton as their heir apparent for 2016, assuming she wants to run.”

Have a look, courtesy of MSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

RELATED: Jake Tapper And Jay Carney Get Into It Over Briefing Protocol, Bestiality Evoked Again

Real Clear Politics transcribed the oft-times tense back-and-forth between Carney and Tapper:

Carney: “I think it is important — I know you’ve written about this — to understand what most Americans I think know, which is that we didn’t invade Afghanistan, we did not send U.S. military personnel into Afghanistan because the Taliban were in power. They had been in power. We sent — we went into Afghanistan because al-Qaeda had launched an attack against the United States from Afghanistan.

“And what the vice president was reflecting is that, and this is related to the reconciliation process that I was just discussing, is that the Taliban per se, while we are fighting them, it is not the elimination, the elimination of the Taliban is not the issue here. The objective that the president laid out when he laid out his Afghanistan strategy made clear that the number one principle here is to disrupt, dismantle and ultimately to defeat al-Qaeda, as well as help stabilize Afghanistan. And that’s what we’re doing.

“Part of that process is our support for the Afghan-led reconciliation talks. The conditions for reconciliation for the Taliban are very clear. But reconciliation has to be a part of the long-term process in Afghanistan if Afghanistan is going to evolve into a peaceful country.”

Tapper: “I understand that. Obviously, there isn’t much of an al-Qaeda presence in Afghanistan. Leon Panetta, when he was CIA director, told me a year or two ago that there are fewer than 100 al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. We’ve been devoting a great deal of blood and treasure, focused almost entirely on defeating Taliban insurgents, Taliban fighters. I understand that ultimately that there is going to have to be some sort of reconciliation. I just wonder if the language was regrettable at all?”

Carney: “It’s only regrettable when taken out of context that I just explained. It’s regrettable to present it out of context because it is a simple fact that we went into Afghanistan because of the attack on the United States on September 11, 2001. We are there now to ultimately defeat al-Qaeda, to stabilize Afghanistan and stabilize it in part so that al-Qaeda or other terrorists who have as their aim attacks on the United States cannot establish a foothold again in that country. So what is also completely clear is that Afghanistan’s future has to include within it reconciliation, and that is why we support the Afghan government-led effort there.”

Watch the contentious exchange below via CSPAN:

(h/t RCP)

RELATED: A-Paul-calypse Now: Ron Paul Trails Newt Gingrich By 1 Point In New Iowa Poll

Compared to the way in which Vice President Biden discussed war, Maddow noted, Republicans were much more comfortable with the idea. “Even Jon Huntsman says that he would like to start a war with Iran, a preemptive war,” she noted, “Vice President Cheney even said we should have dropped a bomb on Iran last week.” The comments made her visit to Washington “striking,” she explained, comparing Republican ideas to the Vice President’s “pride.”

In her comments, though, Maddow made sure to note that there was one Republican who was not parroting this message. “Ron Paul is the only Republican presidential candidate who dissents from that view, who doesn’t say, ‘Let’s start another war.’” This explained, she noted, the “counter-intuitive, politically incorrect angle” in which the fact that “no one in the Beltway takes him seriously” doesn’t seem to matter, since “the latest PPP poll says Ron Paul is only one point away in Iowa.”

The clip via MSNBC below:

Watch the video below, courtesy of NBC News:

(H/T National Confidential)

Since then, though, the chair of the standing committee on correspondents has said that no complaint has been filed.

I’ve already registered my objection over the content of Mattera’s question and his misogynist attitude toward Biden’s staff.

In his Fox and Friends appearance, Mattera brought up a Washington Post fact check of the figures that VP Biden has been using in speeches, figures that were given to him by the City of Flint, that shows discrepancies between the city’s figures and FBI stats. FactCheck.org also ran the numbers against FBI and State Police stats, and concluded that while Biden “misrepresented the extent of the city’s crime problem — flagrantly so, in the case of rapes,” the crime problem in Flint “is real.” Biden’s central point, that drastic cuts to law enforcement carry with them the risk of increases in violent crime, is a valid one.

Mattera and Doocy also claim that the “Senate Gallery and the Vice President’s office” are investigating Mattera, which is a bit of an overstatement. The Hill reports that Biden’s office “contacted the standing committee of correspondents, which oversees the gallery, regarding whether Mattera broke the rules by ambushing him.”

Heather Rothman, who chairs the standing committee on correspondents, confirmed that the Vice President’s office contacted her about the matter, and that “It’s being discussed.”

This evening, though, Rothman told Mediaite, “No formal complaint was submitted, and the Executive Committee has no plans to meet at this time.”

Dave Weigel, who would know, pointed out that Mattera didn’t break any rules, and based on my limited experience covering the Hill, I agree. It’s clear, and always was, that Mattera wouldn’t have his credentials pulled over this, and Biden’s office didn’t even filed a complaint against Mattera. Now, if he were to suddenly have his credentials yanked for some other, unrelated violation (like eligibility), that would smack of retaliation.

To the extent that the committee was “discussing” this, though, it was likely to figure out a way to make as small a deal as possible out of this. Credentialing decisions have nothing to do with who you are, or who you work for, but rather, do you fit all of the checkboxes. They’re not in the business of settling muddy ethical quandaries. There’s no indication that they ever “investigated” Mattera, beyond that.

Mattera told Mediaite Managing Editor Colby Hall that he hasn’t been contacted by the committee. “The press galleries are made up of reasonable people. They know Biden’s complaint is absurd on its face. I violated nothing. Having said that, I’m happy to teach a seminar to the drones in the media on how to approach and ask politicians questions. I’ll even do it for free because the economy is so bad right now.”

I’ve said, many times, that I have no problem with reporters pushing the limits (within certain boundaries) to get access they otherwise wouldn’t. Hell, I was probably among the first reporters to be rousted by then-Sen. Obama’s Secret Service detail for sneaking past a checkpoint to get some video of the view from that ostentatious Denver podium, and even though everybody at the White House knows I’m a flaming liberal, I still get a dirty look every time I ambush whatever White House official is wrapping up a standup with an important reporter. Whoever you are, the scrappy little guy is, at best, an annoyance to politicians whose job it is to push their message, and avoid being thrown off it.

When it comes to pushing through barriers to a free press, I’m right there with Mattera, and whether he sticks the landing or not, he deserves credit for moxie. The starstruck fan act is part of Mattera’s consistent MO, and as Weigel points out, probably wasn’t necessary. I asked Mattera if he thought Biden would have responded without the subterfuge, and he told me it was “Inconsequential because it begs the question that there was something inappropriate in what I did. There wasn’t.”

That’s debatable, though. The use of the false pretense, when absolutely necessary, is ethically sound, but should be avoided, if possible, because it can give the unfair impression that the subject is necessarily evasive. In Biden’s case, he barely missed a beat in answering Mattera’s question, if a bit forcefully. Still, it was a very minor deception, one that Mattera likely planned in advance, and couldn’t easily abandon at the last second. I wouldn’t have done it, but I reserve the right to when the Cain administration takes over.

I also don’t blame Mattera for feeling a bit persecuted here, but even though he didn’t break the rules, I don’t think Biden’s office was off-base in contacting the standing committee. I’ve worked in the White House, the Hill, and the Eisenhower Executive Building, and the Capitol complex is a much more difficult environment to control, from a security standpoint. That anyone, especially someone with a strongly adversarial attitude, would use a false pretense to get so close to the Vice President is bound to set off some alarm bells.

Mattera dismisses that idea. “This exchange took place in a Senate building where you have to clear security to even get in, as you know,” he told me, via email. “The attention should be on Biden’s retaliation, not over some petty picture, as some are making this out to be.”

Again, there was never any indication that a complaint was filed, or that anyone was investigating anything, or that there has been, or will be, any “retaliation,” but if the situation were reversed, and Vice President Bachmann’s office was calling the standing committee about me, I’d probably feel the same way.

Mattera also told us that he thinks someone actually did take a picture of him with the Vice President, but he doesn’t know who it was. If the mystery photog is reading this, let us know. “I’d love to get it autographed by Uncle Joe!” Mattera said, characteristically.

The comments from Jason Mattera in this article were obtained before Rothman issued her statement.

Here’s the clip of Mattera’s interview, from Fox and Friends:

“A journalist can’t take pictures with the Vice President?” Mattera asked. “I actually think it’s unethical,” King responded, “…At a public place, to say, come pose with me, I’m your buddy, then ask a question. Do you think that’s fair?”

Mattera defended himself by saying he was wearing his media badge and that he got the Vice President to give a honest, gut reaction. “I asked the question that no other people in the media asked. Let’s not kid ourselves. This selective outrage is kind of funny because CBS, ABC have been doing undercover sting operations. Heck, Mike Wallace won Emmys and Peabodys for ambush journalism and it was heralded…but in a public place with hordes of media around, I ask ‘Do you regret your rape reference’ and oh my gosh — this is a confrontation!”

RELATED: Joe Biden Schools Right Wing Ambush Journo On Rape Comments: ‘Don’t Screw Around With Me’

Mattera actually got King to concede that Vice President Biden knew he was fair game to be asked a question by a journalist in being out-and-about in the Hart Building. “The Vice President worked in that building as a senator for 36 years, so he knows the risks he’s facing, so any complaint I would view as whining, frankly,” “I can give him a tissue,” Mattera snarked.

Say what you will about the pugnacious conservative writer, and he is no fan of Mediaite, but give Mattera props for not being afraid to mix it up with King and defending himself ably about his question to the vice president. I’m sure that if a liberal reporter — or for arguments sake, Borat had gotten the opportunity to question Vice President Dick Cheney in an unorthodox manner about Valerie Plame or his Energy Task Force, many media commentators would most likely be giving high-fives all around.

Watch King’s interview with Mattera below:

The President’s speech announcing the plan to push for houses to be better insulated to use less energy in the winter months permitted Stewart to make a number of clever “caulk” jokes (see what he did there?), but mostly got Stewart to back the plan. Except for when President Obama noted that the federal government would not micromanaging the money, but giving it to the states. Stewart compared the idea to giving money to teenagers and leaving the house for the weekend, ordering them to weatherize the house: “you’ll come home to kegs all over the house and your daughter wearing your wife’s wedding dress.”

RELATED: Jon Stewart Talks Tough To GOP Base: ‘Your Candidates Aren’t The Problem – It’s You’

So who would be left to make sure the states didn’t squander the money? Vice President Joe Biden, apparently, who spoke sternly about the need to keep the money well-spent… while having some sort of bizarre dirt on his forehead. “It’s either Ash Wednesday,” Stewart joked, “or Biden’s been making s’mores with his lighter.” Stewart also found that the Vice President’s words didn’t even seem to dissuade people in his home state of Delaware from squandering the cash. “Joe Biden couldn’t control fraudulent activity in his own state– a state so small you could weatherize it!” Stewart concluded.

The segment via Comedy Central below:

RELATED: Joe Biden Schools Right Wing Ambush Journo On Rape Comments: ‘Don’t Screw Around With Me’

“Here’s what my point is,” explained Biden. “It is a fact, ever since I wrote the crime bill twenty years ago, we’ve put to rest the notion that if you have more cops, there’s less crime. When you drastically cut the number of police in cities, which is happening all across America, crime goes up. That is a fact. Now, they either are going to figure out how to help those cities the way we want to help them or some other way, but if they don’t get help, crime is going to continue to go up. it’s that simple. It’s not an ideological point, it’s not a political point, it’s just a physical reality.”

Watch Crowley’s interview with Biden below via CNN:

The topic, loosely, that the panel discussed were comments by the Vice President suggesting crime rates would go up if the Obama jobs bill was not passed, because police officers would have to be fired and criminals would be out on the streets. Panelists Charles Payne and Ben Stein were interrupted in their discussion of why crime rates today were so low (Stein arguing because prison population has skyrocketed) by McDowell, who had a point to make.

While President Obama was out claiming “folks are rewarded for saying irresponsible things to win elections,” she argued, “lecturing and hectoring (?),” while “Numb Nuts [is] on the campaign trail talking out of his backside.” Charles Gasparino tried to make the point in a more modified way, calling Biden “off his rocker,” while Cavuto tried to regain control of the panel and Adam Lashinsky interjected, “I object to calling the Vice President a ‘numb nut,’ just to state that for the record.”

This kind of language is prima facie unacceptable in political discourse, clearly, but the video is still something of a marvel, as the rest of the panel tries to initially understand what just happened and then distance themselves from it in some sort of dignified fashion.

The segment via Fox News below:

The clip, which aired this afternoon on Wolf Blitzer‘s The Situation Room, is sure to get attention for its optimism and Biden-iness, but there’s another part of this clip that could be even bigger.

Really, what’s Biden supposed to say, anyway? He’s a heartbeat away from the job now, and hopes to be for five more years. Telling Crowley “I’m in probably the best shape I’ve been in in my life” is pretty much what you’d expect him to say.

What might get some play from opponents of this administration, though, is what Biden calls his “one focus.” (from CNN’s The Situation Room)

“My one focus now is getting the President re-elected,” Biden told Crowley, then underscored it again, saying “Let’s get the president t re-elected.”

Now, from a neutral or liberal perspective, this makes perfect sense, since if President Obama isn’t reelected, Mitt Romney will ruin the country. To opponents, though, this is the kind of remark that they can seize upon as evidence that creating jobs isn’t Biden’s main focus. It’s also a neat little antidote to the oft-quoted Republican sentiment that their number one priority has always been to defeat the President.

The difference is, of course, that the President wants to beat the Republicans by growing the economy and creating jobs, whereas the Republicans want to break the President by voting against everything he supports, even things they have supported in the recent past. The trick is not to let electoral politics completely overtake governing politics.

Still, it’s a tasty little gafflet, and I’m surprised that Drudge missed it. Have at it, Newsbusters.

Mattera underscored his concern for women by complaining to Cavuto about the contempt shown to him by Biden’s “press chick,” and continued to mislead about Biden’s remarks, saying the VP accused Republicans of being “pro-rape.”

Cavuto opened the segment by playing the clip of Mattera’s ambush of Biden, including his false allegation that Biden had used “a rape reference to describe Republican opposition to the President’s bill.”

Biden quickly, forcefully corrected Mattera, saying that he has been referencing various crime statistics, including rape, as possible consequences of failing to pass the portion of the American Jobs Act that puts laid-off police back on the job. There’s a fair argument to be made that Biden’s remarks have been overly manipulative, at times, or heavy-handed, but he never tried to conflate opposition to the bill with rape.

After playing the clip, Cavuto asked Mattera how the encounter ended. “Well, his press chick said, ‘who are you with,’  as I was shoved by people in the group,” Mattera responded,  ”and I said Human Events.”

Mattera went on to say that Mr. Biden had been “suggesting that the Republican party is pro rape,” and that Biden “said he wished his critics were rape victims,” neither of which is remotely true. On the first count, Biden’s suggestion is, at worst, that Republicans are blind to the consequences of draconian austerity measures, and on the latter, he did express a wish that opponents of the measure who call it a temporary fix could empathize with those who would be hardest hit by a cop shortage. “I wish these guys that thought it was temporary,” Biden said,  ”I wish they had some notion what it’s like to be on the other side of a gun or a 200 pound man standing over you telling you to submit. Folks, it matters. It matters!”

Mattera then explained to Cavuto how he managed to get so close to the Vice President, by pretending to be a fan who wanted to pose for a picture with Biden. That’s part of Mattera’s consistent MO, to pretend he’s a fan of his subject. Cavuto then asked Mattera what the VP’s staff said to him after the encounter.

“Only, who are you with?” Mattera replied, adding, “With contempt. as though I had no right to ask this type of question. It is a legitimate, straightforward question.”

That’s where Mattera gets it wrong. As I’ve said on many occasions, I have no problem with so-called “ambush interviews” per se, and in fact, Mattera’s creativity and resourcefulness in gaining access are commendable. What earned him the contempt of Biden’s “press chick” was the fact that his question, as usual, revealed him to be a bad-faith actor. Mattera would have you believe that it has something to do with him being a conservative, but Human Events already has a White House reporter, one who does ask questions in good faith, and doesn’t embed lies in them. His name is John Gizzi, and he has earned the respect of his colleagues, and this White House. Mattera could learn a thing or two from him, as I have.

Here’s the clip, from Fox News’ Your World with Neil Cavuto:

With all the talk of the 99%, the 53%, 47%, and 1%, does anyone know where they fall, exactly?

In a fun, yet informative, little time-waster, we give you The Wall Street Journal’s “What Percent Are You?” tool. Enter your household income, hit the “Rank Me” button, and see where you end up. It’s simple, it’s kind of hokey, and it probably has some flaws that critics on both sides will certainly bring up. But it’s got its charms.

Interested to see where celebrities, athletes, and others in the public eye rank before entering your own salary? We ran a few already:

An average magician ($158,000, according to Job site indeed.com): 90%

“It’s not temporary when that 911 call comes in and the woman is being raped and the cop shows up in time to prevent the rape,” Biden said. “It’s not temporary to the guy whose store is being held up and there’s a gun pointed to his head, and the cop shows up and he is not killed.”

Predictably, Biden caught some backlash for the comment. The London Telegraph’s Tim Stanley said that this latest gaffe should be the impetus for replacing Biden with Hillary Clinton on the 2012 ticket. “There’s a case for saying that Biden brings Irish toughness to a White House that often seems effete,” Stanley wrote. “But he has also contributed to its image of incompetence.”

Undeterred, Biden went to Flint, Michigan, and brought up the rape statistics again, drawing a correlation between the dwindling number of police officers and the rising murder and rape rates, using statistics given to him by the Flint police department:

“In 2008, when Flint had 265 sworn officers on their police force, there were 35 murders and 91 rapes in this city. In 2010, when Flint had only 144 police officers, the murder rate climbed to 65 and rapes, just to pick two categories, climbed to 229. In 2011, you now only have 125 shields. God only knows what the numbers’ll be this year for Flint if we don’t rectify it.”

After his talk, Biden was asked to pose for a picture with what appeared to be a fan. It turned out that the “fan” was ambusher Jason Mattera, who turned on the Vice President and launched into a line of questioning about Biden’s use of the “rape” term in his speech before being launched into a wall by his handlers:

Mattera has been told to “get a life” by a member of Congress and even caused Bill O’Reilly to come to Al Franken‘s defense. Our own Tommy Christopher has a running feud with him.

Still, no matter which way you lean, there are two things that stick out here:

1. Biden’s comments aren’t really that big of a gaffe. Yes, he does put his foot in his mouth fairly often, but the points that he made weren’t that crazy. He was basically showing that as you cut police, crime goes up. Murder and rape are two issues that lead many crime reports. Biden has to make as compelling a case as possible to gain support for the job bill, and bringing up two harrowing sets of numbers helps the cause.

2. Jason Mattera’s ambush interviews don’t work if he gets schooled by the person asking him questions. In the Al Franken ambush, he didn’t let Franken answer, so he essentially shot himself in the foot. Here, he lets Biden answer and gets shut down by the statistics being thrown in his face. It’s not that the idea of the ambush interview is bad, and Mattera has to be at least given credit for getting close enough to these politicians to be able to ask the questions in the first place, but these things don’t work if you’re just going to make the subject look better when it’s through.

Enjoy the video of the confrontation — and the ensuing discussion — courtesy of CNN:

While the item isn’t marketed as a beer cooler– “Need to keep your soda cold? The Vice President’s got you covered. Literally,” boasts the product description– it is clearly a party item, and as it is “made in the USA,” he probably helping spur job creation somewhere. The idea seems to have sprung out of the framed “beer summit” of 2009 between President Obama, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department, and the Vice President. Explains ABC News:

Campaign staffers across the country have been on a messaging blitz about the new swag. @OFA_NC, the handle for Obama’s North Carolina operation, boasted that buyers could even have their “very own beverage summit,” referring to the so-called White House Beer Summit of July 2009.

President Obama and Biden then hosted Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. for beer and conversation after a high-profile spat about racial profiling.

Obama drank a Bud Light, while Biden opted for a non-alcoholic Buckler. Both drank from glass mugs, not cans.

One person who would be proud? The Onion‘s Vice President Joe Biden– the guy who keeps dragging old armchairs off the street into the White House appears to constantly be attempting to get people to “chill out” and enjoy their lives more.

“But you didn’t finalize a bill, Mr. Vice President,” Curry countered. “No. Hey! There’s no way to finalize a bill,” Biden replied. “It’s very clear these guys have no intention. When we put this bill together, we put together elements of a bill that they had always supported. When have Republicans been against tax cuts for small businesses? When have they been against working on infrastructure? When have they been against giving veterans a break? We put this bill after hundreds of hours of negotiations on debt and many other things with the Republicans the last two years.”

Curry followed up Biden’s response by pointing to the economic suffering in the country, and asking if there wasn’t a “moral obligation” for President Obama and the Republicans in Congress to come to some kind of agreement on jobs before the next election.

“Absolutely, positively Ann!” exclaimed Biden. “We have done everything. we bent over backwards. we had basically a deal on cutting the debt. they could not sell it to their own members. they made it clear under no circumstances are they prepared to pay for anything that we need to do now, so we don’t raise the debt further, in order to help people to have jobs. This is crazy!”

Curry finished the interview by provocatively asking if Biden would be replaced as the Vice Presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket.

“There’s never been a question about that,” Biden chuckled. “The president’s made that clear and hardly anybody is raising it anymore. I guess it’s parlor game talk but the parlor is even bare down here now.”

Watch the Vice President’s interview below via NBC:

While some in the mainstream and conservative media see absolution for the Bush administration in Biden’s comment, “The buck stops here” seems to be a fairer paraphrase.

In the portion of his interview with Florida’s WLRN that’s getting all the attention, Biden did break with the Obama administration’s consistent framing of this election as a “choice election” between competing visions of America, versus a referendum on the economy.

“There’s a lot of people in Florida with good reason to be upset, because they’ve lost jobs. Even though 50-some percent of the American people think the economy tanked because of the last administration, that’s not relevant. What’s relevant is we’re in charge. And right now, we are the ones in charge and it’s gotten better but it hasn’t gotten good enough and in states like Florida it’s become even more stagnant because of the real estate market. And so I don’t blame them for being mad. We’re in charge — so they’re angry.”

Later in the interview, though, Biden gets back on the “choice” reservation. Employing a favorite of his, quote from former Boston Mayor Kevin White, Biden said, “‘Don’t compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative.’ And that’s what’s going to happen here. Right now, understandably, totally legitimate, this is a referendum on Obama and Biden and the nature of the state of the economy. It’s soon going to be a choice.”

Biden went on to argue that the President’s jobs bill would be the pivot point for that choice.

Here’s a clip of the relevant portion. The full audio is here.

Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked about the Vice President’s remarks at Thursday’s White House briefing, and from the phrasing of the question, it’s clear that Biden’s meaning is being lost:(transcript via email from The White House)

Q The Vice President gave a radio interview this morning. He says it’s not relevant to blame the Bush administration for the current economic problems, and said, “What’s relevant is we are in charge.” Does the President agree with that, that this administration owns the economy, owns the blame for it?

MR. CARNEY: That’s not what the President said — I mean the Vice President said. He didn’t say that the blame for it is owned. But what he absolutely said is that most Americans want their elected officials in Washington — all of them want their elected officials in Washington to act to improve the situation. That’s what this President and this Vice President have been doing since the day they were sworn in, and what they will continue to do.

As a political matter, I mean — well, as a matter of basic fact, they’re in power and they are responsible for taking actions to improve the economy. That is indisputable and something that the President and the Vice President believe very strongly. It is also true that Americans understand, as data show, that the dramatic economic crisis that we’ve experienced dug a very deep hole that will take — and will take a long time to climb out of. And I think Americans understand that.

Q The Vice President also said it’s totally legitimate that the election will be a referendum on Obama and Biden and the nature and the state of the economy. Do you agree it will be a referendum on the President?

MR. CARNEY: I think, again, what he said is that it will be — it’s legitimate, and I think every elected official who’s running for office in 2012 will run on his or her record. And this President and Vice President will run on their record of saving the American economy from a great depression, of reversing the kind of dramatic contraction in the economy and dramatic job loss that we saw, and beginning to build a foundation for the kind of competitive economy that we absolutely must have in the 21st century for us to succeed and for America to continue to be the kind of America that we want it to be.

Q So just to put a final point on it, the President is — he’s okay if this election is a referendum on his progress on the economy?

MR. CARNEY: The President fully expects that when people cast their ballots in November of 2012, that they will be making their decisions based on their assessment of his record, what he’s done, what he’s accomplished, and obviously comparing that and what his vision is for the future — which is critical as well — for where he wants to take the country going forward, and comparing that to whoever is the candidate for the Republican Party. So the answer is, yes. It’s more than that, but, yes.

House Speaker John Boehner and Vice President Joe Biden shared a nice moment moment while they waited on the President’s arrival last night, and because they didn’t know the mics were live, we are privy to their very real and pretty cute pre-show chatter. Apparently Boehner shot a pretty good round of golf during his vacation!

The two greeted one another with an actually pretty aggressive hug, and a laugh about Boehner’s barbarian status. ”We’ve got a heck of a lot of work to do,” began Biden before Boehner interrupted, eager to share news of his “round of the decade” with the ever-friendly VP. “That’s incredible!” exclaimed Biden, not seeming to mind the change of topic.

It is a little disconcerting to hear these two joking so casually about golf while Americans watching at home waited to hear what Obama’s speech might mean for them, but it’s probably a good sign that these two can get along.

Watch for yourself below:

(h/t TPM)

There may be some truth to what Beckel said. His Mumbai remark is superficially similar to some insensitive remarks that then-Senator Joe Biden made about Indian-Americans, and although Biden’s remarks were widely-reported, he obviously didn’t pay much of a political price for them. On the other hand, conservative provocateur Ann Coulter also took a swipe at Jindal’s nationality that barely registered, certainly not with conservatives.

In Beckel’s case, his status as a “Fox News Liberal” won’t likely afford him much cover on the left, but he’s similarly unlikely to pay much of a price for this. Unlike other organizations that fire or suspend people for inflammatory remarks, Fox News has already staked out a live-and-don’t-fire position on this kind of thing with their defense of Juan Williams. Time will tell if The Five‘s audience agrees.

I’m also generally not in favor of speech-related firings, but a remark like this merits an explanation, an apology, and some provocative discussion. Also, Beckel needs to stop saying that being a liberal has anything to do with this kind of thing. He obviously hasn’t read the updated handbook.

Here’s the clip, from Fox’s The Five:

(h/t)

Transcript: (via MRC)

It’s a fight literally for our right to exist. Don’t misunderstand what this is. Don’t misunderstand- not a joke, not a joke, not an applause line. You are the only folks keeping the barbarians from the gates. You are the only non-governmental power. The only one who has the power and capacity to stop this onslaught. Ladies and gentleman, that’s why they want you so badly. The middle class is under attack because labor is under the most direct assault in generations. You know, to state simply what I stated two years ago at some of your national conventions, the other side has declared war on labors house and it’s about time we stand up!

Newsbusters‘ Tom Blumer correctly details the lack of coverage, but misses the point (deliberately or not) of Biden’s “Barbarians” reference (while also promoting the lie that Hoffa was “threatening” anyone):

Biden’s statement is in an important aspect more problematic than the more widely (but not sufficiently widely) noted “son of a b*tches” comment made by Teamsters President James Hoffa Jr. in Detroit yesterday at a Labor Day event President Obama keynoted. While Hoffa was threatening and hateful, he was at least in theory speaking only for Big Labor (though Obama has essentially adopted it by not condemning it). In Cincinnati, Biden, who was elected to serve all citizens of the country, personally characterized a large plurality of those he is supposed to be serving with a word which means “savage, primitive, uncivilized persons.” Biden’s “barbarians”comment has received very light establishment press coverage…

For crying out loud, Hoffa is not a “junior!”

Was Biden really characterizing “a large plurality of those he is supposed to be serving” as “savage, primitive, uncivilized persons?”

Clearly, the answer is no on both counts. First of all, he’s clearly referring, as Hoffa was, to elected officials (“You are the only non-governmental power” is the subtle tip-off), not to ordinary citizens.

Secondly, Biden’s use of the word “barbarians,” apt though it may be for some in Congress, is a clear reference to the corporate raiders in the film “Barbarians at the Gate.” In the post-Citizens United world of unlimited corporate contributions, it’s an apt metaphor for workers’ struggle with Koch-funded, anti-labor politicians like Gov. Scott Walker.

For liberals like Crooks and Liars‘ Kenneth Quinnell, Biden’s speech was under-covered for an entirely different reason:

On Labor Day, despite all the focus on Jimmy Hoffa’s comments, it was actually Vice President Joe Biden whose speech was the most important one of the day. He gave the type of speech that labor supporters have long wanted to hear from the White House. The speech was fiery and was an accurate portrayal of the struggle that labor faces in the United States. The problem is we should’ve heard this speech from the president and it should’ve been given years ago and been matched with significant action.

Biden really did get fired up, and barbarianism aside, conservatives are as unlikely to enjoy it for that reason as liberals are likely to eat it up. If the mainstream media were to cover “Barbarians at the Gate”-gate, as conservatives would like, that would inevitably lead to a discussion of the merits of Biden’s core message. That’s a conversation that liberals would welcome, and that would make conservatives be a little more careful about what they wish for.

Here’s video of more of Biden’s speech, followed by his remarks as prepared for delivery. As you can see, the Vice President went off-script quite a bit, including his “Barbarians” riff:

Transcript of remarks as prepared for delivery: (via email from The Office of the Vice President)

REMARKS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT, AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY,

AT CINCINNATI AFL-CIO LABOR DAY PICNIC

Coney Island

Cincinnati, Ohio

It’s great to be back in Cincinnati, and especially out here at Coney Island.

You know, we’ve been through a lot of fights together, ever since you got me elected in 1972: Stopping the spread of right-to-work laws. Preserving the prevailing wage and worker safety standards and pension protections. Increasing the minimum wage, not gutting it. Strengthening Social Security and Medicare when the other side wanted privatization and vouchers to let them wither on the vine.

But this is a different kind of fight. A fight for the very heart and soul of the labor movement. A fight for the right to exist. It’s more like the fights of my grandfather’s era – to create the National Labor Relations Board, pass the Fair Labor Standards Act, and create unemployment insurance.

It’s more like the fights of my great-grandfather’s day, when workers risked their lives to stand up for basic working conditions and the very right to organize.
We’ve lost some battles along the way, too. But we’ve won when we’ve stayed together.

We’ve won when we placed the middle class above all.

We’ve won, when we’ve amassed our collective will and strength to defeat those who try to stymie American progress.

And we will win this fight the same way: together. Because, this, ladies and gentlemen–this is the fight of our life. Like you guys, the president and I know Labor Day is not about a day—it’s about a life.

It’s about the rights too many people take for granted today – basic things like the forty-hour week and the minimum wage. Today is about remembering that none of those rights would exist if folks like you hadn’t stood up and fought for them. Inch by inch, unions remade our country over the last century. You made it fairer, you made it stronger, more just, and in the process you built the middle class.

I’ll say that again, because it bears repeating: The middle class as we know it would not exist but for organized labor. And, what’s more, the battles labor won raised the standard of living not just for labor—but for all Americans. And, in the process, you built the middle class.

And right now, the middle class is under attack, because labor is under the most direct assault in generations, in your lifetimes. The other side has declared war on labor’s house.

Across the country, from here in Ohio, to Wisconsin and Florida, they’re reopening fights we thought were settled a long time ago.

Governors are rolling back collective bargaining rights. They’re trying to pass paycheck deception laws and pushing for right to work for less laws. And in Washington, the new Republican House majority is going after Davis-Bacon, going after Project Labor Agreements, going after the Department of Labor and the protections workers need in the workplace.

The same guys who came up with subprime mortgages, derivatives, and credit default swaps are the same guys who further cut taxes for the super-wealthy, shifting the burden to ordinary people.

They’re same guys who tried to privatize Social Security and now want to voucherize Medicare.

The result of their actions for the previous eight years, before we took office, not only weakened labor but thrust our country into the deepest recession we’ve ever had short of a Depression.

By the time they left, 8 million people lost their jobs, and we went from a budget surplus to one hemorrhaging debt. And, now, in the irony of all ironies, they are using their failed economic policy and excesses to justify taking away your right to bargain for safe work conditions, a livable wage, and decent health care—rather than acknowledge their excesses and begin to pay their fair share.

It’s absurd. They not only want you—but they want your children and your parents—to pay the price for their folly. It’s a scam.

What we’re fighting for is what my great-grandfather’s generation fought for, my grandfather’s generation, and my father’s fought for. They fought for the right to be heard. They fought for social justice and economic justice.

They stood up for a fundamental American promise – we know it as the American Dream. If you work hard, play by the rules, love your country, there’s nothing you cannot achieve. That every American who does that is entitled to a decent job, live in a safe neighborhood, send your kids to college – and have some savings in the bank when you retire.

And that’s what our generation—that’s what all of you—that’s what Barack and I are fighting for.

That’s why we appointed the daughter of a Teamster, a Congresswoman with a strong pro-labor record, as Secretary of Labor.

That’s why we fought to put thousands of auto workers back to work, making a decent wage, right here in Ohio.

That’s why we put people on the National Labor Relations Board who are there are to protect the rights of workers—not strip the rights of workers.

That’s why we fought so hard to pass the Affordable Care Act, ensuring decent health care for every American.

That’s why we’re cracking down on worker misclassification, so employers can’t avoid paying taxes and deny workers benefits and protections.

That’s why we oppose a plan to ultimately make Medicare a voucher program.

That’s why we continue to provide unemployment insurance to those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

That’s why we’re encouraging Project Labor Agreements on government construction projects.

That’s why we cut the payroll tax, saving the average American family a thousand dollars a year in taxes.

That’s why we passed the Recovery Act, to save and create jobs—tens of thousands of them right here in Ohio.

But we need to do more to ensure that our children’s generation will grow as we did. Their future rests on our growth and competitiveness. In order to grow and compete, we need better education, more innovation, and stronger infrastructure—and our opponents are attacking every one of these initiatives.
They want to cut infrastructure by 30%; cut investment in renewable energy by 70%; and cut education by 25%.

But here’s what we want to do. Help with tuition so you can afford to send your kids to college. Invest in research and development so America can create whole new industries and capture the jobs of tomorrow as America has always done. Improve our infrastructure so we can rebuild our roads and bridges – and build the transportation systems and communications systems we’ll need to win the future in order to stay #1 in the world.
We need to give our people the chance to keep showing the world what you and I already know: American workers can out-build, out-think, and out-work anyone else on earth.

Folks, you and I both know that a lot of Americans are still hurting and hurting badly. Millions still unemployed. And millions more underemployed and with stagnant wages.

You know, my dad used to tell me that a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about dignity—respect –your place in the community. It’s about your ability to hold your head high, and to look your children in the eye and say “everything’s going to be OK.” That’s what a job is.

Labor, it’s time to stand up. It’s time to say we’ve had enough. It’s time to demand your place back at the table, in a position of respect, as equals. It’s time to turn the tide, in Wisconsin, in Pennsylvania, in Florida, everywhere the basic right to bargain fairly is under attack. And it seems to me that’s exactly what you’re doing here in Ohio. Standing up, along with one million, three-hundred-thousand of your fellow Buckeyes who signed a petition demanding a referendum on Senate Bill 5.

The tide is turning, because Americans, union and non-union, are beginning to understand just what these guys are about.

It is basically about the American Dream—that if you work hard, play by the rules, love this country, there’s nothing you cannot achieve.

You’ve helped build that dream, and you’re the lifeblood that will sustain that dream.

Folks—those other guys see the world differently than we do. They have different priorities. They have a different vision.

But it’s not only the vision that’s different—they just have a different value set than you and me and President Obama. We’re not only about building a better infrastructure, providing educational opportunities, and promoting innovative ideas that will keep us the most prosperous country in the world in the 21st Century—we know it’s about more than that.

It’s about dignity. It’s about respect. And, above all, it’s about basic fairness. That’s what America stands for all around the world—fairness. And that is what we must demand at home.

An ancient Greek philosopher Sophocles, once said, “Without labor nothing prospers.”
We know that America will not prosper without you. And, together, we will make sure it does.

So, I ask you to join me in this fight. Will you stand with me? Will you join forces to do what unions have done for a century now: secure fundamental rights and spark American progress?

Folks—no one ever gave it to us—our grandfathers and grandmothers fought for it, our parents fought for it, and we’ve got to fight for it. Fight to keep the American Dream alive.

We’re not going to let anyone roll back the clock.

Thank you all. God bless you, and may God protect our troops. Thank you, and have a great Labor Day!

After Bolling’s exhaustive (and exhausting) run down of every element of the story (President Obama’s reaction, Vice President Biden’s concurrent speech, Debbie Wasserman-Schwartz’s Fox & Friends appearance, etc.) he asked Beckel his thoughts and Beckel said that, while he wouldn’t have used those words, he agreed with Hoffa’s basic intent. However, as the segment continued, he seemed to get more and more annoyed until he asked his co-hosts how they felt about continuously calling the President a “socialist,” an insult he called disgraceful and disgusting. Bolling tried to counter, asking if Beckel knew the definition of “socialism” and soon voices were raised with Beckel ordering him to answer whether or not he thought Obama was a socialist.

Things got so tense that, at the end of the next segment on the possible postal service crisis, Bolling made sure to remind the audience that he and Bob were friends no matter how it appeared. Beckel responded by making a joke under his breath.

Watch the clip from Fox News below:

For viewers unfamiliar with AAF, it might have been helpful to mention that Holtz-Eakin was chief economic adviser to Sen. John McCain‘s presidential campaign.

Amanpour introduced the other guests in a way that would help to inform viewers about their points of view, if any, calling Paul Krugman a “columnist for the New York Times,” Carol Lee a reporter “who covers the White House for the Wall Street Journal,” and identifying Jared Bernstein as a former adviser to Vice President Joe Biden.

But Douglas Holtz-Eakin was introduced as “former director of the Congressional Budget Office, and he’s now president of the American Action Forum,” making no mention of Holtz-Eakin’s connection to the McCain campaign. Viewers who were unaware that AAF is a conservative 501(c)(3) organization (likely most of them) would probably infer that a former head of the non-partisan CBO is just a regular economist with no ax to grind. And who doesn’t like getting a little American Action now and then?

Ironically, conservative watchdog Newsbusters finds “liberal bias” in an exchange between Amanpour and Holtz-Eakin that would have made a lot more sense had Amanpour disclosed Holtz-Eakin’s background. He makes the ridiculous charge that the Compromiser-in-Chief is “ideologically inflexible,” and Amanpour weakly challenges him:

Transcript:

AMANPOUR: Well, Doug, can he be bold for the very reasons that poll just suggested, it’s — it’s not possible?

HOLTZ-EAKIN: Well, the question is, can he show some ideological flexibility, which he has not shown so far? He showed a little leg this week by rolling back a very expensive rule with the EPA. That was important.

AMANPOUR: Do you think that’s true, that he hasn’t shown flexibility, since he’s — he’s sort of come completely to the Republican end of the debate?

HOLTZ-EAKIN: But what we’ve seen is again and again the same playbook, which is we want to focus on near-term stimulus. And if you look at measures, like the budget deficit, if the economy is at full employment, that’s still rising in 2011. That playbook’s been in place. It’s not working. It didn’t work in the ’60s and ’70s, when we used, again and again, to use stimulus to fine-tune the economy.

So he needs to go to a different playbook, which says we have to have a fundamental change toward a growth philosophy. We need to have some permanent changes, like a lower corporate rate, tax repatriations for our business community. And he actually does have to show some respect for the business community. He needs small, medium and large businesses not to be the target of sort of class warfare rhetoric, but to be the focus of his policies.

Coming from a straight down-the-middle CBO economist, that’s pretty damning stuff, and that’s what Amanpour’s audience was led to believe they were getting, not a Republican shill-for-hire.

Amusingly, Newsbusters doubles down on the deception, diverging from This Week‘s transcript to include that shiny CBO credential after his name, and also never identifying him as a former McCain adviser and president of a conservative PAC. As an unabashedly conservative website, I expect nothing less, but from a legitimate news organization like ABC News, we should all expect more.

This story has been updated to reflect the fact that Newsbusters did not alter This Week‘s transcript in their story. Although the story doesn’t source the transcript, author Noel Sheppard, via email, says he used his own transcription.

But Romney harshly condemned the VP’s initial comments, and expected Biden would have to apologize (even though the clarification from Biden’s office came two days ago).

“His statement shocks the conscience. His lack of understanding of brutality, of forced sterilizations, of forced abortions, is simply unacceptable. It is reprehensible and astonishing.”

Watch the video of Romney’s remarks here, courtesy of CNN:

During a speech Sunday at Chengdu’s Sichuan University, Biden told those gathered that “your policy has been one which I fully understand — I’m not second-guessing — of one child per family,” before going on to list benefits of implementing such a system. Well, count Smith among the many who are disturbed by Biden’s statements:

This is just exposing what this administration has been doing from day one. Just like the eight years of the Clinton administration, and that is to enable dictatorship, to enable forced abortion and forced sterilization. Let’s not forget that at the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal, forced abortion was properly construed to be a crime against humanity. It is no less a crime against humanity today and there is our Vice President saying that he fully understands the one child per couple policy which has made brothers and sisters illegal in China.

Smith shared a particularly horrifying anecdote regarding forced abortions, highlighting how Biden’s remarks go against his work aimed at helping women who have been victims of violence.

Ingraham had some advice for Biden, a fellow Roman Catholic. (We’re pretty big on guilt and confession, in case you weren’t aware):

We’re reading the stories about how China is working with GE and there’s this joint venture to build planes, and oh isn’t this great, it’s helping American businesses. We hear about all of those stories. What about the stories about the black sites? The reeducation camps? And the people whose houses have been burned down because they violated the one-child policy. Where are those stories? Mr. Vice President, I hope you get to confession.

Check out the segment, courtesy of The Laura Ingraham Show:

During his tour across Asia, the vice president stopped in Mongolia, calling it a “shining example for nations in transition,” as well as “a close friend and partner of the United States.”

And then, somehow, the following picture was taken. I wonder if Biden can actually wrestle…