Last night was one of the most interesting debates I have seen in a long time. It was entertaining because Sarah Palin dominated the debate and she won it decisively. Joe “Gaffe” Biden Loses the debate by a wide margin.
I love Joe- Lets stand up for Joe. In my opinion, he is the gift that keeps on giving. He is billed as the “smartest” person in the Senate.
How come Biden loses the debate? Well, he loses for several reasons, including the 16 gaffes. What are those gaffes? Here is the list.
1. TAX VOTE: Biden said McCain voted “the exact same way� as Obama to increase taxes on Americans earning just $42,000, but McCain DID NOT VOTE THAT WAY.
2. AHMEDINIJAD MEETING: Joe Biden lied when he said that Barack Obama never said that he would sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran. Barack Obama did say specifically, and Joe Biden attacked him for it.
3. OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING: Biden said, “Drill we must.� But Biden has opposed offshore drilling and even compared offshore drilling to “raping� the Outer Continental Shelf.�
4. TROOP FUNDING: Joe Biden lied when he indicated that John McCain and Barack Obama voted the same way against funding the troops in the field. John McCain opposed a bill that included a timeline, that the President of the United States had already said he would veto regardless of it’s passage.
5. OPPOSING CLEAN COAL: Biden says he’s always been for clean coal, but he just told a voter that he is against clean coal and any new coal plants in America and has a record of voting against clean coal and coal in the U.S. Senate.
6. ALERNATIVE ENERGY VOTES: According to FactCheck.org, Biden is exaggerating and overstating John McCain’s record voting for alternative energy when he says he voted against it 23 times.
7. HEALTH INSURANCE: Biden falsely said McCain will raise taxes on people’s health insurance coverage — they get a tax credit to offset any tax hike. Independent fact checkers have confirmed this attack is false
8. OIL TAXES: Biden falsely said Palin supported a windfall profits tax in Alaska — she reformed the state tax and revenue system, it’s not a windfall profits tax.
9. AFGHANISTAN / GEN. MCKIERNAN COMMENTS: Biden said that top military commander in Iraq said the principles of the surge could not be applied to Afghanistan, but the commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force Gen. David D. McKiernan said that there were principles of the surge strategy, including working with tribes, that could be applied in Afghanistan.
10. REGULATION: Biden falsely said McCain weakened regulation — he actually called for more regulation on Fannie and Freddie.
11. IRAQ: When Joe Biden lied when he said that John McCain was “dead wrong on Iraq�, because Joe Biden shared the same vote to authorize the war and differed on the surge strategy where they John McCain has been proven right.
12. TAX INCREASES: Biden said Americans earning less than $250,000 wouldn’t see higher taxes, but the Obama-Biden tax plan would raise taxes on individuals making $200,000 or more.
13. BAILOUT: Biden said the economic rescue legislation matches the four principles that Obama laid out, but in reality it doesn’t meet two of the four principles that Obama outlined on Sept. 19, which were that it include an emergency economic stimulus package, and that it be part of “part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20.�
14. REAGAN TAX RATES: Biden is wrong in saying that under Obama, Americans won’t pay any more in taxes then they did under Reagan.
And I just discovered a few others:
“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.”
“Look, all you have to do is go down Union Street with me in Wilmington or go to Katie’s Restaurant or walk into Home Depot with me where I spend a lot of time and you ask anybody in there whether or not the economic and foreign policy of this administration has made them better off in the last eight years.”
Uh Joey, Article I does not apply to the Vice President. Don’t you think, he should know by now?
Uh Joey – Katie’s Restaturant closed in the early 1990s. It does not exist.
Given the number of gaffes, Joe Biden loses the debate. I went to bed with 10 gaffes, now we are up to 16 – and still counting.
Feel free to comment and add to the number of Biden’s gaffes last night.
UPDATE: There are at least 22 Gaffes by Biden. Assuming 45 minutes of debate time for each candidate in this 90 minute debate, Gaffe Biden committed 1 gaffe every 2 minutes that he spoke.
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:00 am
Tina – I have a constitutional list (at least 5 gaffes there) on RightJuris, and Justin has a good list below. It would be interesting indeed to count them all. Biden is showing that he is a windbag – and keep in mind he was the one who started the “gotcha” in Supreme Court nominations – he led the fight against Bork – one of the greatest constitutional lawyers in history. Biden started the judicial litmus test where conservatives are voted in by slim margins, but the liberals get a free pass.
Oh yes – that bill about Violence against women that he mentioned? It was found unconstitutional in 2000.
Unfortunately, his constituents don’t check the facts and don’t care about them if they did.
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:00 am
I should say his supporters don’t care about the facts…
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:35 am
Yeah, Tim from Hedge was an original supporter of Biden. I dare not ask him about these gaffes.
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:45 am
MBT, hello. We are now up to 24 Biden gaffes.
WEST BANK ELECTIONS: Biden: President Bush insisted on elections in the West Bank, when I said, and others said, and Barack Obama said, ‘Big mistake. Hamas will win. You’ll legitimize them.’”
The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler notes that “Obama had been a senator for only a few days when the election took place, but if he made such statements, they did not appear in news reports or transcripts that are contained in the Nexis or Factiva databases.”
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:24 am
What about all the Palin lies/gaffes? Would it be possible to list those too?
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:31 am
Lets say each candidate gets 45 minutes of debate time.
Biden had 24 gaffes.
45/24 = 1 gaffe every 2 minutes of debate time.
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:04 am
Gov. Palin,
Who is Gen. McClellan????
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:17 am
Gov. Palin,
Please do not wink at me. that was extremely inappropriate.
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:58 am
Tina, it is refreshing to find someone who is willing to tell the truth. Joe Biden is without a doubt the biggest liar who ever lived. To see him struggle against the saintly, pure, figure of Sarah Palin for 90 minutes was a sight to behold. The mainstream media, which is dominated by the same liars who are in league with Biden and his evil cohorts, have had to bend over backwards to spin the debate into a victory for Biden, when just the opposite was true.
But the issue is larger than this. It is good versus evil.
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:41 am
This could be the highest VP debate since 1984.
45 million households. Highest narket was Baltimore.
Palin did well
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:43 am
Yup, I agree Edwards.
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:49 am
Typo – meant it could be 75 million viewers.
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Number 7 is wrong, but I think you already knew that.
McCain will tax employer provided healthcare benefits for the first time in history.
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Oh I found another one!
#2
Question: “[W]ould you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries?”
Obama: “I would. And the reason is this, that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them – which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration – is ridiculous.” (CNN/YouTube Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Charleston, SC, 7/23/07)
He said leader of Iran, not Ahmedinijad.
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I am trying to find more but some of them are so obtuse and poorly written it is difficult especially with no links to prove anything. It is a poorly done post with no intelligence.
#4
McCain did vote against a bill to fund troops that had a deadline and Obama voted for it, and when a bill without a timeline came to the table the votes reversed.
It really don’t seem that hard to understand.
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Let’s not go sillier than this silly season requires. Mr. Biden misrepresented facts and so did Ms. Palin. Factcheckdotorg.
October 3rd, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Tina, can you let us know how many gaffes Govenor Palin made? Then if you can, multiply it by the number of times she chose not to directly answer the questions posed by the moderator.
Palin deserves credit for telling something that many of us already knew about McCain: “He is the man we need to leave”, or maybe she was just letting us know she already has her eyes on the prize.
In the end, the punditry and spin does not change the fact that McCain isn’t doing any better in the polls, and that Palin’s bid for VP is nothing more than a farce.
Hopefully for the GOPs sake, next weeks town hall meeting/debate features questions close to your heart like:
(There’s no need to fact check the below statements, just chant “USA!, USA!, USA!” after reading them.)
Senator Osama…I mean Obama, is it true that you’re a ‘Muslin’?
Senator Obama, why do you want to teach sexual education to my child that is in kindergarden?
Senator Obama, thanks to Senator McCain’s ad, I now know that the CEO’s that have ripped off my poor old Caucasian grandmother, are snarky African-Americans that pretty much resemble you…How could I ever trust you with?
Senator McCain, you’re a true maverick, like those guys from Dukes of Hazzard, and a true American hero who knows how to win wars, like Vietnam. Do you wear boxer or briefs?
…if the questions are similar to the above, I guess the GOP won’t have to continue filing lawsuits to bar scores of newly registered voters the right to vote.
Don’t be too harsh, I’m trying to do my best to keep this web site afloat.
October 3rd, 2008 at 11:03 pm
#9 – Mockery, Mr. Philips?
The irony is; despite intending to make a little fun of Palin by intentionally going far, you’re actually pretty much right.
I’m with Tina on this one.
October 4th, 2008 at 5:21 am
So slightly under 70 million viewers if Drudge is right. Does not include several channels, such as PBs.
October 4th, 2008 at 5:22 am
Nobody has yet posted a single gaffe for Palin in 2 days that this thread has been up.
Do not include any names/pronunciations – these poor candidates utter how many words a day??
October 4th, 2008 at 5:24 am
Nobody has even argued that Biden won – nor even disputed the 22 gaffes.
We are now up to 25 gaffes.
October 4th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Biden won the debate. All of the ‘gaffes’ you stated have no validity because you’re apart of a website proclaiming that Palin won when every other credible news source and poll clearly shows Biden winning. I’m an independent voter, and I honestly have huge problems with both candidates right now, but your undying support for the right side is ridiculous.
October 4th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Um Hello?? Palin made no gaffes. That’s Tina’s whole point. It was a perfect debate. She destroyed Biden and made the pooor boy cry.
October 4th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
ummm…. first of all, the vice president is covered under article i of the constitution, describing the offices duties in relation to the senate, so… you obviously need to bone up on your constitutional knowledge before attacking Biden on that one.
On the surge. Perhaps you weren’t (as McCain has proven he isn’t) aware that the Anbar Awakening began a full year before the surge, and also the lack of violence in Baghdad has been linked (by nonpartisan sociologists and statisticians) to ethnic cleansing in Baghdad just previous to the Surge. Which is not to say that the surge has not had an effect, but it is just one of competing factors.
Also, if the surge is a success, then we can remove our troops now right? if not, the surge has not succeeded in all of its original intentions and running around talking about its success is quite like counting chickens while they are still eggs.
As for surge tactics in Afghanistan, McKiernan has definitely said no to that. You can say that there are some surge tactics, better relations with indigenous populations being the one, that he would use, but the surge is a strategy. As such, if we use tactics that that strategy uses, but not all of them, and in different ways, we have a new strategy.
Now, in all seriousness, the surge in Iraq has made it impossible to conduct the was in Afghanistan with any effectiveness at all.
As for your girl’s gaffs… do you really want a list?
we can start with claiming positions held by Karzai, Bush, the generals on the ground and, of course, Obama are reckless. the verbiage she is using now is that it should disqualify Obama from the presidency. Regardless that Bush, our current, and republican, president has noted the civilian deaths due to air strikes. Does this disqualify him? i am sure that many would be interested in that.
and these i’ll just copy and paste from factcheck.
Palin mistakenly claimed that troop levels in Iraq had returned to “pre-surge� levels. Levels are gradually coming down but current plans would have levels higher than pre-surge numbers through early next year, at least.
Palin repeated a false claim that Obama once voted in favor of higher taxes on “families� making as little as $42,000 a year. He did not. The budget bill in question called for an increase only on singles making that amount, but a family of four would not have been affected unless they made at least $90,000 a year.
Palin claimed McCain’s health care plan would be “budget neutral,â€? costing the government nothing. Independent budget experts estimate McCain’s plan would cost tens of billions each year, though details are too fuzzy to allow for exact estimates.
Palin wrongly claimed that “millions of small businesses� would see tax increases under Obama’s tax proposals.
Palin said, “We’re circulating about $700 billion a year into foreign countries” for imported oil, repeating an outdated figure often used by McCain. At oil prices current as of Sept. 30, imports are running at a rate of about $493 billion per year.
Palin threw out an old canard when she criticized Obama for voting for the 2005 energy bill and said, “that’s what gave those oil companies those big tax breaks.� It’s a false attack Sen. Hillary Clinton used against Obama in the primary, and McCain himself has hurled. It’s true that the bill gave some tax breaks to oil companies, but it also took away others. And according to the Congressional Research Service, the bill created a slight net increase in taxes for the oil industry.
this is from CBS (who i am sure you hate now, but who have been known to edit their interviews to make mccain et al look good. i can show you evidences if need be)
Sarah Palin: “Barack Obama had 94 opportunities to side on the people’s side and reduce taxes and 94 times he voted to increase taxes or not support a tax reduction. 94 times.”
The facts on this have been widely commented on since the Republican National Committee began using this erroneous fact in July of this year. Of the 94 votes, 23 did not increase taxes were votes against proposed cuts. Seven of the votes were offset votes, calling for taxes for some, but less taxes for others. Some measures had more than one vote, which compounds the number. According to non-partisan http://www.FactCheck.org, 53 of 94 votes were budget measures that had nothing to do with raising taxes.
Palin said: “As mayor every year I was in office I did reduce taxes.”
When she was mayor Sarah Palin successfully pushed for a referendum to raise local sales taxes to pay for a multi-use sports complex. In a Wasilla City Hall memo obtained by CBS News, Palin said it made sense to raise taxes because there was strong support for the hockey rink, the private sector had failed to step in and because it would be good to use government money to prevent social problems instead of spending money to try and fix them.
she got two for one on this one:
Palin claims,”We’re building a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline which is North America’s largest and most expensive infrastructure project ever”.
http://www.PolitiFact.com has examined this claim. While Palin’s proposed pipeline is the longest, it is not the most expensive infrastructure project.
The Alaska Pipeline was completed in 1977 at a cost of $8 billion. Adjusted for inflation, this would be at least 27-billion in 2007 dollars.
The pipeline that Palin refers to is expected to cost $26 billion, not $40 billion according to Transcanada.
so. since you were complaining you had no list of Palin gaffes, i thought i would give you one.
obviously none of these is as arduous to watch and horrendous as her fabled, and soon to be historic, “sentence to nowhere”, but they have a little cynical beauty in each of them as well.
October 5th, 2008 at 8:40 am
this whole article is a gaffe in the blogisphere!