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Oh, That Joe! (No. 23 in a Series) -- Biden Tells Looney Gym His Grandkids Better Get Him a Room With a View

October 09, 2008 2:57 PM

Speaking at the Looney Complex gymnasium Thursday on the campus of Missouri Western State University, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said he hopes his grandkids become rich so he can spend his final days in a room with a view.

"Look, rich people, God love 'em, they're patriotic folks," Biden said in St. Joseph, Mo. "I hope my grandchildren end up being rich people so I get a window with a view when they put me in the home."

The 65-year-old Delaware lawmaker, one of the least wealthy members of the Senate, recently came under fierce GOP criticism for saying that rich people should pay higher taxes because "it's time to be patriotic." He and his wife Jill have five grandchildren: their son Hunter's kids Naomi, Finnegan, and Maisy and Beau's kids Natalie and Hunter.

On Wednesday in Ft. Myers, Fla., the loquacious Blue Hen brought the elder Hunter out on stage to joke about who has custody of the youngest Bidens.

"He doesn't like me saying this, but I joke with he and his wife -- who I consider my daughter -- Kathleen, they have temporary custody of my three grandchildren," Biden said. "They're mine! They happen to be their children, but they're my grandchildren."

"Y'all get that," added Biden, pointing to some elderly members of the south Florida crowd. "Y'all know that one, right?"

Another favorite Biden line is his staple stump statement that he is the fourth-most senior senator, but there are 39 others older than him.

But before Biden ends up in his retirement room with a view, he hopes to enjoy the view from the Oval Office, should he and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., get elected this November. And to that end, Biden, Thursday, made a big push for middle-class voters.

"Look, all kidding aside," Biden said after his retirement joke. "Wealthy people do well when? When the middle class does well. Poor folks do better when? When the middle class does well."

"When the middle class fails," he warned. "America fails."

- Matthew Jaffe

October 9, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (163)

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Sharon and Dan,

So what are we supposed to do with that information?

Of what relevance are those idle allegations to a hurting economy and a hurting People.

Posted by: Dare Nigeria | Oct 10, 2008 9:08:38 AM

When the middle class fails .... it will be at his and Comrade Obamas' hands! With all the talk about McCains age coming from the left stage, what happens when Biden goes off the deep end talking to a World leader and Demencia slips to the front? WW3? I hope his grand kids steal him blind and put him in a shopping cart. This way he can say he has a mobile home!! God love 'em!!

Posted by: commrat72 | Oct 10, 2008 7:35:25 AM

"Biden got a sweetheart deal on his 4 million compound for less than half price and they hired his son as a lobbyist making millions. The media doesn't highlight this."

Wanna know why the media doesn't highlight this Dan? Because it's not true, that's why.

Posted by: sharon | Oct 10, 2008 6:40:15 AM

Biden has taken more money from credit card company MBNA than anyone.

Biden got a sweetheart deal on his 4 million compound for less than half price and they hired his son as a lobbyist making millions.


The media doesn't highlight this.

Posted by: Dan | Oct 10, 2008 2:30:17 AM

Biden has a 4 million dollar compound in delaware he got from the credit card industry.

Biden is the senator from MBNA.

Biden's son is a multi millionaire lobbyist.

Who is biden kidding his compound which he got a sweet heart deal on from the executives at the company that hired his son.


Biden has a lot of money. So his 4 million dollar compound is not enough to retire on.

Biden is saying he needs his rich grandkids to get him a view.

So without his rich grandkids he couldn't be put in a home.


Isn't the media great they have made Biden who has a 4 million dollar compound out to be a middle class joe.

Posted by: Dan | Oct 10, 2008 2:28:33 AM

Why does Biden always lie? It's chronic really. Why try to paint yourself as the oldest guy in the Senate and you're not, or talk about resturants that aren't there, or Presidents that weren't in office during the depression on TV when TV wasn't invented....Biden has made more gaffes than either McCain or Palin, but press usually ignores it.

Posted by: Hope, Change, Hate, Nobama '08 | Oct 9, 2008 11:18:58 PM

The last Democrat in the White House, President Bill Clinton, managed to balance the federal budget. In May 2000, the President announced that the United States would pay off $216 billion in debt thas year, bringing to $355 billion the amount of the nation's debt paid down in the three years since the Clinton administration balanced the budget and began running surpluses.

Posted by: keaton | Oct 9, 2008 7:28:53 PM
-----------------------
Unfortunately Clinton's last budget, fy 2001, ended with a $32B budget deficit instead of an expected surplus due to the popping of the dot.com bubble and an 8 month recession.

One thing to remember. Was the main criticism of Bush's budget was he was spending too much or too little?

In every case, in every year, the Dems requested much, much more to be spent, not less. If Bush had followed the Dem recommendations the current debt would be a whole lot higher.

With Obama actually saying he will fund his programs with actual spending cuts,
other than the Defense budget, have you ever heard any Dem request either a spending freeze or, horror of all horrors, an actual spending cut?

But then again Dems have always given strong support for our military.

Posted by: Dave in lv | Oct 9, 2008 9:14:55 PM

The talking point or more appropriately the meta-meme of 2006 was change & corruption. Not checks and balances.

Posted by: Ryan C | Oct 9, 2008 8:11:19

Actually Ryan it was both plus a few other themes as well like ending the funding of the Iraq war. I'm not sure if your selective memory is because you don't remember, you weren't aware because of your young age or you just spout the Dem party line.

As for my support of a new GOP talking point, I didn't even know there was one re: this issue.

Posted by: Dave in lv | Oct 9, 2008 8:58:18 PM

Ryan,

Deleware is weird. I went to Rutgers and I never, ever, hear anyone referred to as "Scarlet Knight" except the athletes.

Posted by: Mike | Oct 9, 2008 8:40:55 PM

I can't believe people are still talking about Ayres and Annenberg. The McCain campaign already came out saying that they don't care about Ayres, but were just playing their supporters for rubes.

You know its one thing to be played, but its entirely another to get played and told to your face that you are getting played and still stick around for it.

"Thank you Mr. McCain, may I please have another".

Gawd how pitiful.

Posted by: Mike | Oct 9, 2008 8:34:48 PM

Sorry I think he is rich he has great health care a big house travels the world and dam good pay I'm paying him more than I ever made he can get a room with a view he gets his full pay after he retiers the rest of us don't get a dam thing maybe our ss if were lucky.

Posted by: Bishop | Oct 9, 2008 8:28:25 PM

"In 2006 was the deficit or national debt the Dem rallying point?

No, the talking point was we shouldn't have ONE party control both Congress as well as the White House."

Dave in lv makes up history to support the new GOP talking point that having the same party in control is suddenly dangerous when its no the Republican party. Ironically of course pointing to how much they screwed up this country as an example of why 1 party rule is bad.

The talking point or more appropriately the meta-meme of 2006 was change & corruption. Not checks and balances.

Posted by: Ryan C | Oct 9, 2008 8:11:19 PM

In 2006 was the deficit or national debt the Dem rallying point?

No, the talking point was we shouldn't have ONE party control both Congress as well as the White House. Why, many said it was downright unconstitutional to have one party control 2 branches of government.

We NEED to have CHECKS and BALANCES to have our country work well. We CAN'T have the same party run both branches.

Why THEN they would be able to stack the Supreme Court and control ALL THREE branches of government!!!!

Have you heard any Dems continue with this logic the last two years?

It was SO very important to them the last election.

Posted by: Dave in lv | Oct 9, 2008 8:03:01 PM

The last Democrat in the White House, President Bill Clinton, managed to balance the federal budget. In May 2000, the President announced that the United States would pay off $216 billion in debt thas year, bringing to $355 billion the amount of the nation's debt paid down in the three years since the Clinton administration balanced the budget and began running surpluses.

And then the Republicans took over the helm, with George W. Bush as President. John McCain has been the cheerleader of 8 eight years of Bush budgets.

This Republican administration has been able, in eight years time, to DOUBLE our nation's national debt.

What it means: 8 years of a Republican economic policy has cost our country (= the American tax payers) some 5,000,000,000,000 dollars.

Please try to think about such hard facts and numbers this before you'll vote in November.

Posted by: keaton | Oct 9, 2008 7:28:53 PM

The Annenberg Foundation, a charitable family trust, was created on July 1, 1989 by media magnate and former Ambassador to the Court of St. James's Walter H. Annenberg.

Currently, The Foundation has a priority on granting funds for reform of elementary and secondary public school systems. The Foundation oversaw the funding of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge.

The current president, chairman and sole director of the Foundation is Leonore Annenberg, widow of Ambassador Annenberg, and a former United States Chief of Protocol.

It was Walter Annenberg who introduced President Reagan to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and the Reagans often celebrated New Year's Eve with the Annenbergs.

Leonore Annenberg was named by President Ronald Reagan as the State Department's Chief of Protocol.

Posted by: Annenberg | Oct 9, 2008 7:15:44 PM

Biden needs to learn to shut his mouth. We can call him the mouth of the south. Real southerners get real offended when we are talked down to by someone who goes out of their way to say Y'all. Is he on crack? Someone might want to tell the idiot that Florida that people come to Florida to retire. Not all are the stupid country people you feel you need to talk down to. Y'all can go back home now Joe!

Posted by: ubu1991 | Oct 9, 2008 7:10:45 PM

Here's some food for thought, folks.

Our national debt broke $10 trillion on September 30. Nobody paid any attention.

10 trillion? How much is that anyway?

Well, our country has not existed for a trillion seconds.

Western civilization has not been around a trillion seconds.

One trillion seconds ago – 31,688 years – Neanderthals stalked the plains of Europe.

Our national debt today is (already a lot) more than 10,000,000,000,000 dollars.

OK. Sounds like a Total Disaster.

Now check what it was when the Republicans took over America in 2000.

Posted by: weezer | Oct 9, 2008 7:09:23 PM

"Are you watching the stock market?"

Not closely. It keeps falling without any help from me. They are very nervous about something. The stock market is watching the campaign and keeps falling as Obama's electoral count inches up. I think it is voting with its feet on an Obama presidency.

As for having coffee with an old hippie, my wife does that every morning. But you see, some of us believed in civil rights and peace. Others believed they could bomb the US into submission because their rich upper class parents wouldn't listen to them any other way. The rest of us moved on with our lives, raised a family and became contributors.

Ayers? He became an educator so he could carry on with the cause, no regrets, no apologies. You have to give him credit for consistency.

Obama experienced none of that. He sought it out. He looked for the radicals. And he found them. And then he lied about it to the American public.

Obama lied about his association with Ayers. He lied about his church and his pastor. If there was no fire, why all the smoke from his campaign? Why all the obstruction of the CAC records and his Harvard records?

Why does Obama cheat to win?

Posted by: len | Oct 9, 2008 6:58:36 PM

When the Democrats win, America loses.

Posted by: Zank | Oct 9, 2008 6:54:40 PM

When using wiki it helps if you go to the original source.

Posted by: Ryan C | Oct 9, 2008 6:20:51 PM

Some of the sources for Wikipedia include:

Algebra Plan Adds Politics to the Teaching Equation

Schools Are Pawns In a Political Game

Minutes, Budget Bare School Council's Political Agenda

It appears Chicago was successful in adding a left wing political agenda throughout its school curriculum.

Still can't read or write but they sure know who to vote for.

Posted by: Dave in lv | Oct 9, 2008 6:52:43 PM

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