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)

When it became apparent the greedy and ruthless toddler would not give up the script without a fight, the vice-president reached into his pocket and pulled out his secret weapon: a mint! The tiny tyrant was so mesmerized by Biden’s stunning display of tactical diplomacy that Biden was easily able to snatch back the script and resume the proceedings safely.

Watch the action unfold in the clip from CNN below:

Biden writes:

The United States must also continue to do its part to reinforce Iraq’s progress. That is why we are not disengaging from Iraq — rather, the nature of our engagement is changing from a military to a civilian lead.

…Iraq’s security forces are not yet ready to operate fully on their own, and we must continue to support them. We must also help Iraq’s leaders with a range of challenges that lie ahead: conducting a census; further integrating Kurdish security forces into the Iraqi security forces; maintaining commitments to the Sons of Iraq, the Sunni groups that banded together against insurgents; resolving disputed internal boundaries and the future of the northern city of Kirkuk, which is claimed by both Arabs and Kurds; passing a hydrocarbon law that would distribute oil revenues and maximize the benefit to all Iraqis; stabilizing the economy through foreign investment, private sector development and new sources of revenue beyond oil; passing a fiscally responsible budget; and bringing to a close its post-Gulf war obligations to the United Nations.

And later, he recognizes of the sacrifice many US troops have already made in the war in Iraq, and emphasizes the importance of finishing the job there:

The Iraq war has cost our nation dearly, with the greatest price of all paid by the 4,430 heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Now it is in America’s fundamental interest to help preserve the gains Iraq has made, prevent the re-emergence of violent extremists and encourage Iraq to become a pivotal American ally in a strategically critical region, and a responsible regional actor in its own right.

Read the full piece from Vice President Biden here.

King brought up the rumor, and Biden seemed a bit exasperated just at the sound of it, saying “I tried” to squash the rumor. He said there was “never any serious talk” about the possibility, and that “even Bob [Woodward, who floated the possibility early] backed off a little bit on that.” He added that Clinton’s said to him in no uncertain terms she’s not interested in taking his job, and that President Barack Obama told Biden he fully expects him on the ticket come the 2012 election, and ultimately dismissed the idea as “a Washington parlor game.”

It was a game effort by Biden to quash speculation, but considering the rumor’s persistence (over two years running) to date, we’d bet we haven’t heard the last of it. Video of Biden’s denial below.

Biden looks straight into the camera and says:

“Mr. President, thank you. You’ve honored these guys, you’ve honored these women, you’ve honored these troops. And I’ve known you your entire eight years as president. I’ve never known a time when you didn’t CARE about happened. We disagreed on policy. But you deserve a lot of credit, Mr. President.”

Colbert quickly stuck his head in the shot and chimed in said “Mr. President, I never disagreed with your policy.” The moment in which Biden speaks of Bush begins around the 4:30 mark in the clip below:

Although Jon Stewart joked about needing to “watch the entire interview on the web, if you know what I mean,” it appears the exchange was unedited, and featured just a couple minor gaffes that Biden is known for.

The interview began with a joking bow between Biden and Stewart – mocking Pres. Barack Obama‘s actual bow in Japan that became a media story earlier this week. It sounded like the bow was pre-planned (Biden first bowed as he was introduced by Stewart before they did it again on set), but it still was a somewhat bold choice by the VP to joke about the issue.

The first observation from Stewart was how much Biden’s life has changed since the last time they spoke. “I’ve never driven in New York without the traffic,” joked Biden.

In the context of an accident as police were clearing the way for his motorcade earlier in the day, it seems a bit cringe-worthy. But reports are he only found out about the crash after his Daily Show appearance, and immediately called one of the injured police officers (no one was seriously injured) after he heard.

Stewart described the path a different way:

You won the election with Barack Obama. Your counterpart in the election, Sarah Palin, quits her job, starts Twittering and Facebooking. She writes a book, she then goes off to Oprah and Barbara Walters and you end up…here.

Much of the first part of the interview was about Recovery.gov and the transparency of the stimulus money. Although Biden got the URL right on first reference, the second time he discussed it he called the site Recovery.com. That site redirects to Recovery.org, which was started by the company Onvia “to bring unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability to recovery spending.”

Although there’s a helpful link to the correct site on the homepage, it isn’t the government-run site Biden was looking for. This isn’t his first run-in with URL problems when it comes to Recovery.gov – he forgot the URL in a February interview as well.

The majority of the interview was very policy-heavy – about jobs, bailouts, health care – and the VP came across very knowledgeable and comfortable. Also discussed: what Biden’s grandfather, Ambrose Finnegan, used to tell him.

>>>NEXT PAGE: The videos of the full interview.