You likely won't see this as news in the mainstream media, but rest assured that if Palin had made this kind of gaffe it would have been front page news.

When asked about the role of the vice presidency, Palin agreed that the vice presidency is a flexible position, and covers both the executive and legislative branches (since the VP is also the president of the senate).

Biden disagreed by criticizing Cheney as "the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history." I'll let historians debate that point, but he backed that up by saying:

He has -- he has -- the idea he doesn't realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that's the executive -- he works in the executive branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.

First of all, Article I describes the legislative branch - as McCain's website says, "otherwise known as the branch in which Joe Biden has served for the last 36 years." The executive branch is described in Article II. Second, the ONLY duty ascribed to the vice president (other than counting the electoral college votes) is given in Article I as the president of the Senate, which indicates that he does indeed have a major role in the legislative branch. Some framers actually refused to sign the Constitution because they felt that the vice president's dual roles was a violation of the goal of separation of powers!

Rest assured, if Palin had screwed up like that, it would be covered far and wide, as proof-positive that she is unfit for the vice presidency. (More history on the power and role of the vice president can be found at senate.gov.)

The second gaffe, which is really more of an outright lie, was when Biden claimed that "This is simply not true about Barack Obama. He did not say sit down with Ahmadinejad." Obama himself tried to lie about this at the first presidential debate, as I mentioned last week.

This is so easily provably false that it's ridiculous. Here's just one video:



John McCain's site has a full report on Obama's statements in this regard, including quoting from interviews and press conferences:

Harry Smith: "You said, 'I will talk to so and so and Hugo Chavez and etc., etc.'"

Obama: "Exactly, and without preconditions." (CBS' "The Early Show," 10/15/07)

Obama: "There has been no confusion. I have been absolutely clear on this. I will meet not just with our friends but with our enemies. I will meet without preconditions." (CNN's "The Situation Room," 2/4/08)

If you don't believe all of this, how about Obama's website, even today?

Diplomacy: Obama supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions.

Look, this should be no surprise to anyone who followed the primary process. Obama said repeatedly, unwaveringly, that he would meet with these leaders, personally, without preconditions. And Biden himself called this dangerous.

Biden: "Would I make a blanket commitment to meet unconditionally with the leaders of each of those countries within the first year I was elected president? Absolutely positively no." (Remarks At The National Press Club, Washington, DC, 8/1/07)

Clinton: "I thought that was irresponsible and, frankly, naive to say that you would commit to meeting with, you know, Chavez and Castro and others within the first year." (ABC News,' "Good Morning America," 7/25/07)

I'd love for some Obama supporters to try to defend this. But there's simply no way that you can. Not only was his original position dangerous and naive, but now he's making outright lies about it to try to win the election.

If all of that isn't enough for you, McCain's site details a list of 14 lies Joe Biden made during the debate. Topics include tax votes, offshore drilling, troop funding, clean coal, alternative energy, health insurance, oil taxes, General McKiernan's comments, regulation, and more. On just about every topic covered in the debate, really, Biden resorted to distortions and lies.

More of the same!

Labels: politics