Vice President Joe Biden On Economy: ''You're a racist!''
by Ledge Slater, official DP stud intern
Tuesday, May 29th, 2012,
(WILMINGTON, DE) —Vice President Joe Biden again set the Obama campaign trail ablaze with a stunning pronouncement on the U.S. economy while on a week-long Memorial Day “vacation” near his home in Wilmington, Delaware, Tuesday.
Biden was exiting a wedding dress boutique with his daughter, Ashley, making last minute wedding preparations (Ashley is set to become Mrs. Howard Klein this Saturday) when the VP had an unplanned encounter with local WDEL reporter Amy Cherry. When asked by Cherry what he thought of recent reports that nearly half of U.S. households are receiving taxpayer benefits, Biden responded, “You’re a racist!”
Curiously struck by the Vice President’s reply, Cherry inquired what Biden meant by his “You’re a racist” answer, whereby Biden added, “Unbelievable. You’re freaking unbelievable. Typical Republican racist blather.”
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“I didn’t quite understand how racism has anything to do with the current report on federal household subsidies,” said Cherry after her brief run-in with Biden outside his Wilmington home. “But I’m beginning to feel guilty about asking (Biden) that question. I guess the economy is okay. And perhaps I am a racist, after all. How will I ever forgive myself?”
Back in Washington, Capitol Hill was abuzz once again over the latest Biden‒reporter exchange. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a longtime friend and former colleague of Biden, said the VP’s response is not surprising. “I’ve known Joe for years. He’s a great guy,” said Hatch to Duh Progressive Tuesday. “Why, just last week I asked him if he dented my car in the Capitol garage. He replied by telling me I was just a shill for big oil, car dent repairmen…and racism.”
Other colleagues of Biden’s are hailing the former Senator’s response as he struggles to keep his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, from further eroding his administration’s fragile lead in national polls. Said Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Tuesday, “I’ve read the transcripts of Biden’s comments to the reporter about the economy, and I don’t see where the confusion is. You have journalists asking the Vice President of the United States about the economy and how almost half of America receives federal aid in some way. How is that not a racist act and racist question, given who our President is...? That reporter should be ashamed.”
In a campaign season that has seen the White House defending its sluggish impact (at best) on the economy, Biden, much like the rest of his party, called out the best known retort to questions about his administration’s policies.
In order to stem the flow of negative PR from his most curious response –what some are deeming another “Biden gaffe”– the Vice President’s office issued a statement Tuesday defending his remarks to WDEL’s Cherry outside Wilmington.
Said Biden’s Senior Advisor and former 2008 Obama campaign manager David Plouffe in the press release Tuesday, “Vice President’s response to questions about the economy and federal dependency of American families was completely positive and appropriate… It is those who question the sense and wisdom of the Vice President’s response and the administration who will be proved out of touch with the American people, and of course, are racists, too.”
Concluded the release, “We wonder if the people who doubt the acumen of the Vice President’s opinion on the racist reporter from Wilmington have their own racial prejudices as well.”
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