Biden talks Irish poetry, gets in a dig at Obama's teleprompters at Air Force Academy

On Tuesday, he did the economic recovery thing, touting the environmentally friendly jobs that President Obama's $787-billion stimulus package is creating.

Then, as the Ticket reported Tuesday, Vice President Biden stopped for lunch at M&D's Cafe in Denver, where owner Mack Shead ordered for him -- plates of barbecued catfish, fried green tomatoes, corn bread and lemonade.

Dessert came at the beginning of the meal, and it must have been sweet -- when Biden walked in, the lunchtime crowd broke into applause. He doesn't usually get that in Washington.

On leaving the restaurant, Biden walked across the street, where Willie Stull, 27, according to the Associated Press, told him "I got your back." Biden replied, "Good to know." 

Biden might have been thinking about Stull today when he gave the commencement address at the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo. Or maybe those folks in Colorado just worry about their backs.

In any event, telling the cadets that "this is your moment to bend history to the service of a better day," Biden told the graduates, "You will carry our skies and beyond on your backs ... I promise you ... we will have your back -- that is a guarantee."

He quoted Seamus Heaney in urging the Air Force's next generation to use the most of the opportunity, noting that while Senate colleagues used to tease him about his habit of quoting Irish poets all the time, he actually quoted them not because they were Irish but because they were the best.

Then, not content to leave without a jaunty ad lib, Biden noted that heavy winds were gusting through the ceremonies. One of his two teleprompters had toppled over. Alluding to the jokes of Obama's reliance on the speech-facilitators, Biden added, "What I am going to tell the president when I tell him his teleprompter is broken. What will he do then."

-- Johanna Neuman

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Comments

[Demondeac]

I just graduated from Wake Forest...we heard the SAME speech! I feel bad for the new service men and women though. They don't deserve the boredom.

[A_COL]

Can you believe that Joe "5 Deferment" Biden has the nerve to be the graduation speaker at a Service Academy! There is something incongruous about allowing a “draft dodger” to lecture future Military Officers at their Air Force commissioning as if he were a “role model.” Of course, Joe did demonstrated his Military Expertise by the way he skillfully avoided any brush with armed conflict during his youth when he successfully dodged the draft and Vietnam (he and Dick Cheney did everything short of maiming themselves which neither had the guts to do – I guess it’s a prerequisite for the VP job). By comparison, Biden makes "W" look like a war hero! (For the record, Bush flying antique Air National Guard Convair F-102s was probably in more danger than I was during an extended CIB-earning tour in Vietnam!)

That said, I listened to his speech with anticipation as I was confident he would commit some “world-class” gaffs to provide comic relief. Joe "5-deferment" is the reason every American should pray every evening for Obama's good health! He will go down in history as the dumbest and most inept vice president of all times; by contrast he makes Palin look smart and Dan Quayle absolutely brilliant.

It appears President Obama has already assigned Biden the role of designated "butt of jokes" for the late night comedians -- a role for which he is eminently well qualified and ideally suited. The Obama challenge will be "Hidin Biden" for four years!

[izi]

Are you kidding? Biden's not taking a shot at Obama, he's alluding to Obama's joke from the White House Correspondants Dinner where Obama said he wishes Biden would stay ON the teleprompter more if he began relying on it less himself. Biden's making fun of himself, not the President.

Need to sharpen that sense of humor.

[leftypower]

Demondeac: Did they post government-backed job training opportunities at the dorm or student center? That would have been cool. I remember the days of job fairs on campus, but I wasn't one of those pursuing a career in business, law, consulting or medicine. Unfortunately, the NCAA wasn't established to help the writers, actors, historians, etc. who all went to college to get a job

[Pom Pom Girl]

Get To Know Joe Biden
Since Joe Biden has been selected by Obama to oversee the implementation of the Stimulus plan, I thought it would be good to refresh our collective memories on Joe Biden.

In September 1987, Joe Biden's Presidential campaign ran into problems when he plagiarized a speech by Neil Kinnock, who was then-leader of the British Labour Party.

It was also discovered that, when he was a law student at Syracuse Law School, he had plagiarized a law review article. While the then-dean of the law school, as well as Biden's former professor, played down the seriousness of the incident, they did find Biden drew "chunks of heavy legal prose directly from" the article in question. Biden said it was unintentional due to his not knowing the proper rules of citation, (after 4 years of college one should know the rules of citation) and Biden was permitted to retake the course after receiving a grade of F, which was later dropped from his record.

When questioned by a New Hampshire resident about his grades in law school, Biden had inaccurately recalled graduating in the "top half" of his class when he actually graduated 76th from a class of 85, and he also falsely stated that he had received a full scholarship, and had earned three degrees. The truth is that he had received two majors, History and Political Science, and a single B.A degree, as well as a half scholarship based on financial need, not academic achievement .

When he was confronted with these truths, Biden withdrew from the nomination race on September 23, 1987, saying his candidacy had been overrun by "the exaggerated shadow" of his past mistakes.

He has since revealed his own bunker hideaways location, made racist remarks on Indian 7eleven owners in his distrect and even called Obama clean cut articulate etc..
When you get to know him you'll know why those in his district less than kindly refer to him as slow joe.

[ZayTonday]

Joe could use a teleprompter himself.

[barnowl]

Joe Biden received five student draft deferments during his college years -- the exact same reasons as VP Cheney. He eventually was rejected later for asthma, despite his superior records in high school sport.
wiki answers
Same as W jumping the line to get into TANG and then failing to meet obligations.

[James Guglielmino]

Oh, I don't know why Biden should be taking a leadership role in avoiding addressing any members of the armed forces. Maybe when he lies us into a war as Cheaty (sic) did, you can begin complaining about his not having served. Somehow, I suspect that our nation would be in far, FAR safer hands with Biden than it has been with Cheaty for the last 8 years. As for shrub being in more danger flying older airplanes....I think not. Well, maybe in his case, he was. I mean, when you fly with a hangover from doing coke all night, flying can be dangerous. for sure...
Now that I've had my fun, I will acknowledge that Biden has not demonstrated sterling leadership up to now, in his role of Vice President, though I thought it was awfully amusing that he told us about Cheaty's bunker. Kind of reminded me of Hitler. Having said that, neither did Harry Truman. In the old days, before Cheaty, Vice Presidents did about what Biden does. In the horrible case where they had to step up, they often did. Think of Teddy Roosevelt and for that matter, Truman.

[Mark]

Pom Pom Girl,

How dare Biden call Obama clean cut and articulate! For shame!

[Curt]

I watched the clip. This could be another example of Joe's foot-in-mouth problem. But based on his sarcastic tone, do you think he might have been actually making fun of critics who make a big deal of teleprompter use; there was more than a little irony in his delivery, I think, for it to be deprecating at the president's expense. "What will he do?" This was a weak attempt at satire.