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Obama Dismisses Biden Comments on Being 'Tested' as 'Rhetorical Flourishes'

October 22, 2008 12:40 PM

RICHMOND, Va. -- Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., today dismissed comments by his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., that as a young, inexperienced president, he would be tested, as "rhetorical flourishes."

At a Seattle, Wash., fundraiser Sunday, Biden said, "Mark my words, it will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America ... Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."

Obama today said that Biden was merely making the same point that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made to Bloomberg News yesterday, that "any period of transition creates a greater vulnerability, meaning there's more likelihood of distraction. You have to be concerned it will create an operational opportunity for terrorists.'' The first World Trade Center attack came in the first year of Bill Clinton's presidency; the 9/11 attack came in the first year of George Bush's.

But when a reporter pointed out that Biden seemed to be speaking specifically about America's enemies testing Obama in particular, Obama said, "Joe sometimes engages in some rhetorical flourishes. But I think his core point was that the next administration is going to be tested. The next administration is going to inherit a whole host of really big problems."

The next president, Obama said, would need to send a "clear signal to the rest of the world that we are no longer about bluster and unilateralism and ideology, but about creating partnerships around the world."

The McCain campaign has been trying to make hay out of Biden's remarks, suggesting that Biden subconsciously gave voice to the concern that the enemies of the U.S. would be tempted to test the relatively inexperienced liberal candidate. "We don't want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and Americans are already fighting in two wars," McCain said Tuesday in Pennsylvania.

-- Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller

October 22, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (504)

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"What Biden meant was he has personal knowledge that the current president along with his racist FOREIGN counter parts PLAN to "GENERATE" a major "Test" for Barack"
-THE ORACLE

Ever notice how the looney left's TRADEMARK is causing huge catastrophies and blaming them on the concervatives?

"911 inside job",
"Bush is a LIAR"
"McCain is a LIAR"
"blah blah blah BLAH!"
.. this coming from the worlds biggest mob of liars.
,

Barney the puple politician (and ALL the libs in congress): "Fannie and Freddie are just ducky! Stop trying to thwart our wonderful anti-unfairness brain-child! It's working FINE!"

Oblamer: cut funds to troops, oppose the surge, secret meetings to try to IMPOSE a timeline AGAINST the generals' recommendations and behind America's back...
..the usual ploy, drone on and on about race and whine about it in books, then call any innocent remark from any typical white "racist".

septuple the size of government, multiply spending 10x, tax the hell out of the achievers, then claim that McCain's plan will tax 3x more while his has DRONED "no new taxes" even more than Reagan. Then pretend that his only tax cuts are against medicare.

Hey that's funny, it's the same MO of any convict. gee, I wonder why..
Could it be that's why the majority of prisons are filled with liberal Democrats

Posted by: zak | Oct 25, 2008 12:27:52 PM

LEONARD:

I like the way you partner the "very rich & the very stupid."

Well, there goes the neighborhood......

Frankly I think we should go back to the Monroe Doctrine..... but it ain't going to happen.


Just be very wary of a Democratic congress and a Democratic potus.

(there's an acronym worthy of the scrap pile; it sounds like an overboiled spud.)

Posted by: be careful who you wish for | Oct 24, 2008 7:26:20 PM

For Obama:

1. Why did you not tell us of your deep involvement with Acorn when, in facgt, you did?
2. How can you condone Acorn's involvement in tampering with our voter registration rolls?

Do you really NEED this illegally obtained roster to create your rise to potus?

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO MORALS?????

Posted by: truth to tell | Oct 24, 2008 7:18:52 PM

I love Joe Biden, but he does put his foot in his mouth from time to time. A foreign policy expert he is, indeed; a prophet, I think not. Obama could do little but make light of it...

This one awakened the right-wing core that McCain/Palin have been goosing into full voice. It's surprising that Obama's own Veep wielded the cattle prod, but the comments are vicious, ugly, and reveal the raw True Believers who are not going to disappear. Our new president may not face a "testing probe" from abroad (and if he does, I expect that he will pass the test with valor), but for protection from these guys, he should invest in a Popemobile.

Posted by: Robert | Oct 23, 2008 7:29:11 PM

Isn't there a story here? To tell the truth about who brought us to a position of this $700 billion bailout? Aren't you supposed to follow the money and see which politicians were benefitting personally from the deregulation of mortgage lending?

I have no doubt that if these facts had pointed to the Republican Party or to John McCain as the guilty parties, you'd see an senate investigation already into this matter, with the Democratic serving as regulars on this committee.

Instead, it was Senator Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, both Democrats, who denied that there were any problems, who refused Bush administration requests to set up a regulatory agency to watch over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and who were still pushing for these agencies to go even further in promoting subprime mortgage loans almost up to the minute they failed. Thus, we are where we are in this point of time.

Where is our ATTORNEY GENERAL on this matter??? Oh, yeah it involves DEMOCRATS and soon they think they will be in power, so this whole affair will be sweeped right under the rug!!!! That is, when the Obama admistration takes over!!!

Posted by: wantanswers | Oct 23, 2008 6:08:25 PM

Obama is an accomplished Liar.
Obama has secrets.
Is that not enough?

Posted by: carol | Oct 23, 2008 4:46:45 PM

This entire election has been about words being taken out of context. This is just another case of that. McCain just takes another jab at Obama even though it was meant for whomever is president. I am sorry I too respected McCain, however in his choice as VP I have lost that respect. I fear if his decision to choose her was so misguided then I have to ask what other misguided ideas could he have! Obama has been forthright in his answers, the lies about his religion, Ayers,Acorn etc. have all been checked into and yet McCain and some cannot let the issues drop. I truly believe that many that vote do vote on what they are told by others, hear on TV or the radio and that they do not do any research at all of any of the canidates. I have. I have gone to the Senate records and read how they each voted, I have gone to both their campaign sites and read and compared and added numbers and have come to one conclusion...Obama is the man this country needs as our new President. Will he be tested in the first year...heck yes, that is a given by the economy crisis. Not to mention we are in Iraq and Afghanistan so yes he will be tested and there may be more who knows. I just know that he is the man, and if anyone did do their homework they would see that too. Palin...says she has excutive experience, well I say thats great, but 2 years is not anything, compared to Obamas record. The I have one question though...and I keep trying to see why no one has asked her this or McCain. Sara Palin it has been made clear via the AIP that you were once a member,we know your husband once was too. In the video at their meeting they speak about you and how happy they are that they helped to get you elected. My question is 2 fold.
1. Why did you tell us that you had never been a member in the AIP when in fact you were?.
2. How can you endorse the AIP knowing what they believe in and what do you think it means to us a Americans?

Who knows maybe one day I will get the answers to these questions.

Posted by: Terri | Oct 23, 2008 4:30:33 PM

I like what our next commander chief said,'that Clinton and Bush was tested' or should I say that the american people were tested! PLEASE WAKE UP!

Posted by: anthony | Oct 23, 2008 3:52:46 PM

Joe said "they will test this young president just like they tested JFK" No one dares test McCain or Bush because they know what they will get. Obama lied when he said "they will test the next president" Nice pivot away from the truth. It is not racist to vote for the best man. I was hiding in a hallway with my class mates because they tested JFK. Practicing for the nuke strike. I do not want to go back to that with Ayers buddy.

Posted by: Democrat | Oct 23, 2008 9:27:39 AM

I have been a big supporter of John McCain my entire adult life. Now that I finally have the opportunity to vote for him, I find that I am unwilling to do so. It's kinda sad. The respect and admiration is still there. I just can't help promote him to his "level of incompetence". He feels he has been "tested" - he has'nt. At one of the debates he said he learned everything he knows about leadership from a Navy Chief - John must not have been listening.

Posted by: Old Republican | Oct 23, 2008 7:01:56 AM

how about a little fairness from the media, but that would mean you couldn't fix the election like you want it
no reports on how much obama mama spends on his suits, eh?
oh that's right, I forgot, osama, i mean obama is your darling. you wouldn't dare research anything in his background that the American people want or rather need to know.

To all you Americans out there, obama is not half as dangerous as the mainstream media is for this country.
some sources say that the media is in collusion with obama so that they can keep touting problems and boost their ratings.

why are the media and the democrats allied so closely? why is teh media a lapdog for any bleeding heart democrat? because they both dig up any problem they can and exaggerate it for the purpose of exploitation. the democrats like to gain power and money by using race, economics and other issues to gain power but they never fix problems, i.e. 11% approval rating for dem controlled congress. the media uses problems to pretend they are looking out for the public but they cause more problems than they report.

I quit the media because I had too many editors telling me what the issues were and how to write my stories on a slant to convince people of what they should think.

The media is institutionalized. they are all liberal. they seek to undermine our way of life and reshape it in their image.

beware of what will come of this bond. our freedom is lost and the media is responsible for collusion. They no longer seek to protect the people. only to brainwash us with propaganda.

try to give a liberal facts, they call you names and try to discredit you with lies.

It's time to consolidate and take action. all of you who know what I'm talking about know what you should do.
Soon the sons of liberty will rise up and there will be nothing the media or the democrats can do to stop us.

Execute the ultimate solution.

Posted by: obamamama090 | Oct 23, 2008 5:00:01 AM

McCain & Palin say they want to continue the tax breaks for the huge corporations because they will create more jobs & stop sending them out of the country. What about the past several years they have already had the tax breaks. Why haven't they created jobs & kept them here with these already in place? Do you think they will suddenly create new jobs if these tax breaks remain? Of course not. It will be business as usual. Make the most money possible & to hell with everyone else. The only people that support the Republican ideas are the very rich & the very stupid.

Posted by: Leonard T. | Oct 23, 2008 2:32:19 AM

Biden is correct. Just wait, America. We are in for a bumpier ride than ever if Obama is elected.

And you thought 911 was bad.

Posted by: Viv | Oct 23, 2008 2:02:48 AM

Obama is so pathetic and the media is covering for him. Can you imagine the relentless grilling McCain or any Republican would get if this was said about them?

Posted by: Mike D. | Oct 23, 2008 1:31:25 AM

"That last debate said it all. McCain’s eye rolling and "Gorelike" sighing was enough for me. The man is not in real control of himself."
Posted by: tendergroins | Oct 22, 2008 7:28:20 PM

McCain is just a regular human being. Yes, he rolled his eye - WHY? because he couldn't stand the guy next to him telling outward lies to the american people. That's exactly why Gore rolled his eye in 2000 when he stood next to Bush in those debates.
Well, what did we the voters did??? we went ahead and elected the less experienced guy - because he was cool. Look where that brought us in eight years.
Do we really want to do the same mistake again?

Obama and his team can say all they want that "McCain is same as Bush". But if you look closely its Obama who is more of the same as Bush.

He is less experienced and has no foreign affairs experience.
He choose an older guy who is more right/left that himself.
He is arrogant and has a lot of head weight.
His fellow right/left wingers almost worhship him.
He makes a lot of promises to his fellow right/left wingers which he will definetely not keep up to.
If you dare even speak a little against him, you will be branded unpatriotic/racist.

I can go on and on.........except the right/left I don't see much difference between W and O.

Posted by: Concerned Citizen | Oct 23, 2008 1:23:21 AM

"He shows even less knowledge of foreign policy than Palin"

Why, because he can't see Russia from his backyard in Chicago?! Give me a break!

Yes, foreign policy may not be his strongest issue, but that is why he RESPONSIBLY chose an experienced running mate, and will surround himself with tried and tested, experienced staff members when he makes it to the White House.

Posted by: Smiley | Oct 22, 2008 9:08:49 PM

Say good night GOP you made a real messe of this great home known as AMERICA now let some grown men attempt to clean it up ,an 8 year GOP house party will take lot to clean up!!!!!!!

Obama/Biden 08

Posted by: Lee from louisville | Oct 22, 2008 8:08:22 PM

Biden only spoke the truth. But as usual, Obama spins away saying he meant something entirely different. He espouses socialist beliefs, but is not a socialist. He says he will raise taxes, but we must not have heard him correctly. He shows even less knowledge of foreign policy than Palin, but we are supposed to believe our country will be safe in his hands. He doesn't have time to visit the troops while in Iraq, but has enough time to ask the Leaders in Iraq not to allow us to pull out our soldiers until after he is elected President. He says Ayers is just a guy in the neighborhood, but he writes a blurb for his book. To borrow his own phrase "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig."

Posted by: Katrina | Oct 22, 2008 8:00:12 PM

FOR THOSE WHO SAY THAT SARAH ISN'T QUALIFIED: I guess that they haven't been listening to Joe Biden. On top of his screwball comments, he'd sure make for a funny looking VP what with that foot constantly sticking out of his mouth.

Posted by: Ron | Oct 22, 2008 7:58:50 PM

Stupidity doesnt require qualifications. Good night.

Posted by: tendergroins | Oct 22, 2008 7:38:23 PM

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