Joe Biden's crack about wife Jill? No problem, Nancy Pelosi says

DENVER -- So which stumble at today's Democratic lovefest in Springfield, Ill., will live on the longest -- Barack Obama introducing his running mate pick as "the next president," or the Joe Biden crack about his wife that has not been universally well received?

If it's the latter, at least Biden gets a pass on it from the highest-ranking woman in the history of U.S. politics -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi had barely arrived in Denver this afternoon before she was holding court at a small luncheon with the media at the city's historic Brown Palace Hotel.

As the session wrapped up, and she was offering the expected prediction that the about-to-begin Democratic National Convention would "achieve its purpose" of sealing any overt cracks in party unity, a pesky reporter asked if Biden's attempt at humor about his mate might exacerbate efforts to get all of Hillary Clinton's hard-core backers on the bandwagon.

Here's what Biden had said in his debut as the presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee:

"Ladies and gentlemen, my wife Jill, who you'll meet soon, is drop dead gorgeous. My wife Jill, who you'll meet soon, she also has her doctorate degree, which is a problem. But all kidding aside ..."

Pelosi, who had spent much of the lunch depicting an America in dire straits after eight years of a Republican administration, didn't miss a beat: "Lighten up," she said. "We've got a planet to save."

She added that if Biden found his wife beautiful, "That's A-OK."

But what about the PhD part of Biden's comment? That's what sparked reaction in the blogosphere, including an item by Adele Stan on Huffington Post headlined: "Careful Joe! 'Smart Women" Jokes a Dicey Game."

Of the "gorgeous" remark, Stan opined: "Nothing wrong with that. Who wouldn't want to be described as such by his or her partner?"

But of the doctorate addendum, she wrote: "It was obviously a failed attempt at humor. Or perhaps I'm just a humorless feminist. Either way, one can only hope this isn't a harbinger of gaffes to come."

Clinton's name came up a couple of times at the Pelosi gathering. The speaker was asked... 

... if she thought Clinton's more "ardent" supporters might have a problem with Obama's selection of a "65-year-old white guy" who's served in the Senate since 1973.

Pelosi chose to focus on the latter part of that formulation, and variations of her response presumably will predominate when other leading Democrats are asked about categorizations of Biden as a political "insider."

"He has experience in Washington, but he is not of Washington," she said.

Reiterating the point, she added: Just because you're experienced doesn't mean you're stuck in the status quo of Washington, D.C."

-- Don Frederick

Photo credit: Associated Press

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Comments

[VJ Machiavelli]

Well, I see that Nancy Pelosi has arrived aboard "WITHDRAWAL TWO" Joe is on "APPEASEMENT ONE" traveling to Denver via "THE CHANGE ROUTE". This is a new fly path over America. It is the Obama version of "CHANGE" 35 years of a Washington insider.

VJ machiavelli
http://www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com

[Christian Prophet]

I seriously doubt Biden would have picked Obama for his ticket had he, not Obama, won the nomination. Read:

http://christianprophecy.blogspot.com/

[coolrepublica]

Nancy Pelosi, hypocrite in chief. If McCain had made that joke (which I think is funny) he would have declared that McCain wants women to go back to the stone ages or medieval ages or something stupid like that.

Well they knew what they were getting with Biden. They can't act surprise when he says what comes in his head. Ironically, when McCain says what comes in his head they call him a loose canon. When Biden says the same, it's refreshing. Politics will never cease to make me laugh.

[ara]

Find something newsworthy, PLEASE. Don't let the 24 hour newscycle, which has sunk tv journalism, sink online newspapers as well. American brain cells die everyday because of it.

[ssjackson]

She is a drop dead gorgeous lady, and the PhD, puts her way ahead of him...why didn't Obama do the smart thing and ask her?

ssj
reno

[liberal in louisiana]

game. set. match. mccain is the next president.

let me get this right, obama had 3 months to think about this decision... and a northeastern elitiist is the best he could do.

i expect biden to bring the same energy and momentum he brought to his own presidential campaign... none.

no midwestern or western swing states for you, mr. obama.

hillary '12 !

[Tom]

There are many reasons not to like Joe Biden, but sexism isn't among them. If he was in any way threatened by her doctorate, he simply wouldn't have mentioned it. The fact that he DID mention, suggests he considers it an asset. The joke was un-funny, but was not denigrating, I think.

[Mary Porter]

Good lord, this headline made me think there was something else going on. I watched Biden's speech live, and didn't hear any "crack" about Jill.

It is true that stresses can arise when partners have careers that pull them in different directions. My husband and I have sometimes had to choose whether to move or stay put, when graduate school, children, and career opportunities. Biden's proud acknowledgement of his wife's achievement seemed very real and loving to me. It validate my personal value, that real couples actually can work through changes to stay together.

[Nunu]

I'm a woman, with a PhD, and I find the joke funny. But then I am no feminist either...

[richard handelsman]

I'm sure that those who have lost relatives in Iraq or Afghanistan, lost their pensions, their health insurance, or their houses are carefully scanning the hawk-eyed media for any candidate's verbal solecisms. The "race card", how many houses has McCain, and now, "the next President" and a wife with a PhD: these certainly deserve more verbiage, outrage, and attention than a mere trillion dollar deficit.

[Stephen]

Another non~news issue ment to distract you from reality.

[jon]

It's really amazing how the Media jumps on anything a Dem says.
McCain flubs, and flops daily, and other than his *house* thing, the Media ignores it.
When is the Media going to scrutinize McCain???
Smart, pragmatic choice by Obama, which can help with Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, etc.

(See, now, Jon, you'e revealing you only read the Democratic items. If you did read the McCain ones, you'd find McCain supporters are like you, they think only their guy gets the scrutiny by The Ticket. We are an equal opportunity offender.)

[SWMIssouri]

American's need to unpucker. A husband has every right to tease his wife...at least he didn't call her a C*nt like McBush did.

[Gail]

Well, here's one for my personal record book, since this is the first (and probably the last) time I have ever seconded anything said by Nancy Pelosi. But, yes, anyone taking offense at Biden's obvious good humor (and evident pride) in his wife's beauty and brain should indeed lighten up!

[Hellbinder]

You democrats are just incredible.

Biden has made obvious Racial, ethnic, sexist statemets multiple times. The guy is obviously an actual Racist. If not in practice obviously in thought. Yet you clowns give him and everyone else in your party pass after pass. All the while that fool that you have as the head the DNC makes one slanderous statement after then next accusing republicans of being racists. Biden even made an obvious racial slur against Obama himself. Again not *directly* but you can obviously tell what his thinking is. The stuff just slips out of him

You people are a joke, you have no ethics at all.

[Beverly]

He didn't say president, he said a man who would be PRESENT! Who's running your site anyways, the GOP?

[Tom]

Please, Mr. Frederick, don't get caught up in this nonsense.

[W.]

I'm with ara. Find something newsworthy.

[Leslie]

McCain '08
Hillary '12

Obama - motivational speaker for trinity church

[LeeND]

Barack,
So much for the “change” part of your platform, and so much for party unity. In my opinion and has I’ve opined “Obama can’t win in November without Hillary as VP or McCain croaking”. As I find your choice for VP divisive and ego stroking I must withdraw my support and with my little soap box, effort against your ticket. If I wanted another “me before country and party, my shit don’t stink, I I me me mine mine” President then you’d be my choice. The Democrats have shot ourselves in the foot again, all hail the brain dead supper delegates that didn’t talk some measure of sense to you and fell for your slight of hand “change platform”.

LeeND

[artknarf]

The media fixation on, "gaffes" is tiresome, is it really fitting that the election of what is called, "the most important position in the world" is handled like entertainment news? These so-called gaffes, are using just a bad joke, a misstatement, something taken out of context, or just being wrong. But there are not often, if ever, anything of substantive importance.

Instead of gaffees, and "gottchas!" here is an idea, the media can focus on things that matter to voters.

Since some issues are obviously of interest to voters why not research the issue and then ask questions framed in the most pertinent way to the lives of most voters. I am sure that most voters would appreciate the media to ask and articulate about health-care, and to not just take what the candidates say, or not just what a corporate health care person or someone very sympathetic to the industry, but people that are experts and are on the side of universal health care and can speak intelligently about it. use the research to state the choices and how universal health care could benefit the overwhelming majority of voters.

Like-wise with energy, and the environment and the over-consumption of oil. we should not get only the line from the candidates, which usually sounds like it was written by an industry speech writer(hint, it probably was) no we should get the research, and we should get views from people from other viewpoints, how about some environmental engineers, and some liberal energy specialists instead of simply the people with vested interests, people that stand to make billions. The next time a candidate says we should drill more offshore , how about some scientists and Greenpeace members to refute that?

And when we hear about "tax-cuts" why is there never an honest assessment of the tax-cuts? with the deficit spending and the big cuts in capital gains taxes (that were already too low) under Bush, the huge debt of war and the war department (now half of the federal budget), the policy of creating this big debt while enriching all the war contractors and related industries with hand-outs, and cutting the taxes for people on capital gains and making more than 250,000 a year, is essentially taxing the 95% of the people to pay for the profits of the top 5%.

And we should ask the candidates about those polices, and we should hear not the ideologue talking points about the "freedom to do what you want with your money" but the reality that when we hear about tax-cuts it is almost always is referring to tax cuts that benefit the wealthy disproportionally, and often as not, such as with capital gains tax cuts, is something that never helps that overwhelming majority of Americans. there are huge subsides and contracts that go to corporations while the US has the worst, most inequitable health care system in the world. in most of the world health care is considered a basic universal right. but in the US we do not have that right, what we do have is the right to drive around with a gun anywhere we want to go, and we can put a cigarette in our mouth, light up the delicious "torch of freedom" and get cancer and die from tobacco like over 400,000 other americans a year.

the reality right now, is that the debt created by enriching the richest, is a debt that will have to be paid, and it will be paid by cuts in services, opportunities and programs that serve the vast majority of the public. health care, education, infrastructure, etc.

the candidates often talk about the trouble with social security, which is pretty interesting since there is no trouble with social security. the government is always dipping into the social security surplus when it is surplus. when there is not a surplus, it is so obvious to be stupid as what to do and can be done and is perfectly legal , normal, and doable. simply take money in the budgets and apply it to social security. and if you need some more money, reduce those contracts and subsides for bombs, and increase the taxes on capital gains, the top 1% , and corporations (although most probably wont even bother to pay, they don't now as it is, so you might want to re-think the laws on corporations, get rid of their "fictionalized person hood status that gives them more rights than a normal real person, make them accountable to the country and community, repeal the Taft-Hartley act, and overturn the ridiculous notion that money is free speech)

Of course when we talk about corporations we are talking about international dictatorial giants with great powers that subvert the laws and wills of the people of democratic countries. The WTO is one of the ways that the corporations are able to dictate their will. The WTO , of which the US is essentially the engine(there are more super wealthy huge corporations based in the US than anywhere else-and yet we don't have universal health care in this rich rich country) although the WTO will and has ruled against the US forcing the repeal of Congressional enacted environmental laws and farm subsidies because the WTO deemed these to be unfair trade barriers. essentially the WTO helps facilitate the growth and spread of a facilitate corporate international power that represses and destroys the lives of people and their countries and the environment in ways that are immoral, and without pause violate the rights of sovereign states including the constituion of the United States.

When a candidate says something that is a "gaffe" fine, poke some fun about it, but please consider the importance of the position of President of the United States, and consider that the American people were under the impression that the media was there to vet the candidates for them, to investigate, to research, to question, to ask "why" and not to act like a vacant Fliberty Jibit.

[Justice]

You need to clean your ears Beverly, he clearly said "the next president..." which he corrected right away by saying "the next vice-president". Maybe there was no need for the correction. Obama is not fit to be president.

[Marc Hussein Hamlin]

Just another non-issue meant to distract us from the real issues that face our great nation. Joe Biden was obviously complimenting his wife, yet the PC police are having a field day. Get a life!

Obama/Biden '08/'12

[Johnny Fairplay]

Ok, I'm a Republican voting for McCain, but I've got to agree with some of the Dems here: is this the best the LA Times can do for election coverage? An article about a stupid little attempt at humor? C'mon, that line isn't going to sway voters one way or the other.

There are plenty of other things about Biden that you could report on that do impact the way people vote, such as concerns over his own lack-luster bid for nomination, and views that, with over half his life being spent in Washington, he represents about as much change as stonehenge does.

A little more meat in the reporting, please.

[MN Fats]

Nunu sez:

I'm a woman, with a PhD, and I find the joke funny. But then I am no feminist either...

Posted by: Nunu

What does that mean- "No feminist either"?
What part of "feminism" are you rejecting? What's your general age bracket? I'd be curious to know how that would all fit together.

[McCain/Palin]

The only gaffe made which was stupid and irrelevant too was Biden saying Obama America! It was kind of funny though!