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Biden Does Not Reference ‘Crisis’ Guarantee, Attempts to Shift Focus to McCain
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ShareOctober 21, 2008 5:07 PM
ABC News’ Matthew Jaffe Reports: In the wake of his guarantee Sunday that Sen. Barack Obama., D-Ill., would be tested by an international crisis within his first six months in office, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., came to Colorado today, electing not to reference his weekend remarks and instead hit out at Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for focusing not on the economy but on tying Obama to former 60s terrorist Bill Ayers.
Appearing on CBS’ “The Early Show” Tuesday morning, McCain had defended robo-calls linking Obama to Ayers, telling Harry Smith that “listen to me, I’m the candidate – and this campaign is about the economy.”
Rather than follow-up on his “crisis” comments Sunday, Biden today jumped on McCain’s remarks.
“I say to my friend John McCain,” stated the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. “If he's really serious when he said this morning on one of the shows that this election is all about the economy, then I say, John, stop your ads. Bring down those robo-calls. If it's about the economy, argue about the economy, not about Barack Obama's character, not about these scurrilous ads. John, stop these calls!”
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have to stop this stuff, we really have to stop it,” Biden emphasized moments later. “We are one nation, under God, we are an indivisible country and that’s what we’ve got to speak to. The indivisible nation that Barack Obama and I want to serve. And folks, that’s why Barack Obama and I are so confident we can get through these tough times.”
The McCain campaign highlighted Biden’s decision not to follow up on his “crisis” comments as "a startling admission".
“It is clear by his failure to address the controversy stirred by his recent comments that Joe Biden stands by those remarks,” McCain spokesman Ben Porritt said in a statement.
But Biden’s focus at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley was on tying McCain to Bush, as the six-term senator added a new riff to his “if it walks like a duck” line linking the Republican president to their current nominee.
“If it looks like a Bush, if it sounds like a Bush, if it votes like a Bush, it is a Bush economic philosophy,” he said.
Biden outlined an Obama administration’s first two priorities, telling the crowd of 3,875 that Democrats had boiled it down to a bumper sticker.
“We've got it down to a simple bumper sticker, folks,” he said. “It’s real simple. We're going to restore the middle class and regain our respect in the world.”
To emphasize that Obama is ready to be commander-in-chief, Biden touted Sunday’s endorsement from Colin Powell, noting that he had just spoke to the former Secretary of State an hour before taking the stage in Greeley.
“He has one simple message: ‘Joe, win! Win! Win!’”
In order to win, Biden urged Colorado voters to vote early, cautioning supporters that although the Democratic ticket is leading in the polls, it is votes that really matter.
“Things are feeling awful good right now, but I want to remind you: polls and endorsements do not determine the outcome of an election. Votes do.”
October 21, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (112)
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Biden knows he slipped up. That was sort of playing into McCain's storyline right there. I suspect voters will pass on it, however.
Posted by: matt | Oct 21, 2008 5:14:03 PM
I love Joe Biden!
Posted by: hang | Oct 21, 2008 5:23:20 PM
Don't forget that Sen. Biden also stated that Sen. Obama has a "spine of steel". Intellegent people will find the speech and read it for themselves.
Posted by: PMW | Oct 21, 2008 5:23:24 PM
The Sec. of homeland Security has said the samething that Sen. Biden said about the possibility of an incedent happening during the transition of a new administratoin, So why havn't the McCain campaign jumped on Chertoff for saying the same thing?
Posted by: Jams490 | Oct 21, 2008 5:24:35 PM
Biden knows he made a gaffe. Today he is doing what he should always be doing which is attack McCain.
Posted by: Karen | Oct 21, 2008 5:29:19 PM
Today Palin apologized for her "pro-America" comment. Everybody gaffes.
Posted by: Karen | Oct 21, 2008 5:30:22 PM
ABC-All Barack Channel
Posted by: sam | Oct 21, 2008 5:32:47 PM
"argue about the economy, not about Barack Obama's character"
haha, Joe Biden is afraid to talk about Barack Obama's character. He's also afraid to talk about national security. and he's afraid to talk about Barack Obama's judgement. Basically, what the Obama campaign is saying is, the less we talk about, the more likely we're going to win, because the more we talk about, the more likely John McCain is going to win.
Posted by: Obamacrat for McCain | Oct 21, 2008 5:34:02 PM
PMW - Biden said first that obama was not ready to be president, just a few weeks before he got the call to be #2.
Posted by: sam | Oct 21, 2008 5:35:38 PM
Hey Joe here's a bumper sticker for ya -"It's real simple: test Obama's mettle, he won't know what to do."
Posted by: no obama | Oct 21, 2008 5:36:05 PM
TJ, THE CLINTONITE: Oh ya, it is a fact also that Obama has more foreign affairs status than Bush or Regean had because they were just Governors of their state and did not serve on the Senate.
Posted by: becky | Oct 21, 2008 5:37:05 PM
What's the difference between the McCain/Palin campaign and the KKK? Lipstick.
Posted by: hamishdad | Oct 21, 2008 5:40:57 PM
The McCain campaign thinks they have an issue here. Good luck with this "crisis" thing - I'm sure it will work as well as Ayers and ACORN and Sam the Plummer and every other stupid thing you've used.
Posted by: rbyanes | Oct 21, 2008 5:41:28 PM
Amazing Biden says Obama is not ready during primaries, and now repeats it again.
Clinton clearly stated Obama is not ready.
If his own party believes he is not ready then OMG wake up America before it is too late.
Thank you Biden and Hillary for your honesty.
Posted by: jlp | Oct 21, 2008 5:43:54 PM
Hey, let’s bring on Armageddon by electing a total Newbie.
"Mark my words," the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. "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. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."
The worst of it: Biden assumes that Obama's response to whatever crisis their administration provokes will not be perceived by the American people as the correct response. "It's not gonna be apparent that we're right," he said.
Posted by: Joe Six-Term Strikes Again | Oct 21, 2008 5:46:04 PM
Barack Obama is out of touch with hard-working, tax-paying Americans. He wonders why he's not winning 95%-5% since he's promising 95% of all workers a tax cut. I'll tell you why, Senator. Hard-working, tax-paying Americans are already PO'd by the fact that they pay taxes while their neighbors don't. We're incensed that Barack Obama proposes that we pay taxes while not only do our neighbors don't pay taxes, they get the check from the government that we wrote it in the first place!
Posted by: Clintonites for McCain | Oct 21, 2008 5:47:35 PM
In his case the time served in the Senate is very limited as he has been running for President since day. Obama,at this time,does not have the experience to be President. I can not see how people can deny that including Biden, Powell and others. It hard to look into the future for anyone including Obama or McCain but I would have likely thrown by vote to Obama in 8 years but now.
Posted by: William | Oct 21, 2008 5:49:43 PM
Looks like more 'the sky is falling' tactics.. and I'm sure it will hook a few more suckers..
Fortunately, the guy in the White House won't be subject to knee-jerk reactionary responses and running around like a chicken with his head cut off.
Posted by: Concerned American | Oct 21, 2008 5:51:31 PM
it's all bologne
a last ditch attempt ...actually there may be one more "last ditch" attempt
these are just the last throws of a falling slimey empire known as the GOP ...that is going to have to get it's character back... if it can.
throw these right wing nut cases to the curb and realize that we are no longer a right of center nation.
Posted by: dl | Oct 21, 2008 5:52:53 PM
-- Obama,at this time,does not have the experience to be President. --
The primary duty of the President is to uphold the laws of the land, and I'm fairly certain he is way more qualified to do that job than most. Given the way the current numnuts in office has handled that duty, it will be refreshing to have someone who has actually read the Constitution in office.
Posted by: Concerned American | Oct 21, 2008 5:53:11 PM
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