Sense on Cents

With all due respect to the office of the Vice Presidency, have we ever had an individual occupying that office who blows more hot air than Joe Biden? Does Joe have any appreciation when he makes ridiculous comments that he cheapens the office and simultaneously lessens any remaining credibility he may possess?

Over the weekend, Biden spoke on the economy in an attempt to deflect increasing criticism of the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress. As the Wall Street Journal highlights in writing Calls Grow to Increase Stimulus Spending, Biden aggressively put forth that the Obama administration:

“misread how bad the economy was” and didn’t foresee unemployment levels nearing double digits.

Is Joe for real? How does Joe reconcile this statement with his comments last December when the Democrats were lobbying heavily for their initial $700+ billion Stimulus Bill?

As ABC News reported at that time, Biden: U.S. Economy in Danger of ‘Absolutely Tanking’:

Vice President-Elect Joe Biden said the U.S. economy is in danger of “absolutely tanking” and will need a second stimulus package in the $600-billion to $700-billion range.

“The economy is in much worse shape than we thought it was in,” Biden told me during an exclusive interview– his first since becoming vice president-elect–  to air this Sunday on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

“There is no short run other than keeping the economy from absolutely tanking. That’s the only short run,” Biden told me.

So is Joe acknowledging that he and Barack misread the economy even after promoting that it was ‘absolutely tanking’ last December?

I think Joe has taken political pandering to a whole new level with his comments over the weeknd and, once again, raised real questions as to his sense of judgment. Well, Joe did offer us all an opportunity to question his judgment this past March. As Yahoo Finance reported, Biden: This Is ‘Life’ and ‘Death’:

He at once bleached the politics out discussion of the president’s agenda, while linking it directly to the Democrats’ political futures.

“Folks this is the real deal, this ain’t politics. This is life and death for a lot of people,” he said, referring to programs in the stimulus package and the budget proposal.

Minutes later he said getting the president’s agenda passed would “change the political climate.”

“It will have every single pundit out there, even the ones who are covering this today, saying, ‘You know, these guys not only came up with an idea, whether we like it or not, they moved and they passed it,’” Biden said. “And we are willing to win or lose – win or lose – upon the soundness of our judgment.”

While we may never fully appreciate which way the wind blows with Joe, we assuredly know that it will likely be hot.

I do appreciate Joe offering us all the opportunity to question the soundness of his judgment. His ‘misreading’ of the economy is serious reason to question his judgment across a whole host of issues.

LD