July 20, 2009
Lileks: Biden's Tourettes reveals what his boss is really up to
Lileks has noticed something about Joe Biden's "Terrible Truths": He often ends up spilling the beans about what his boss really means.
The "gaffes," as we call unscripted thoughts, come delightfully often with Biden. The latest: Speaking before the AARP, Biden aarped up a peculiar formulation to explain the need to borrow 3.2 bejillion dollars in order to transform the American health care system, preferably by next week. He said people ask him "What are you talking about, you're telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt? The answer is yes, 'I'm telling you.'"
In Vietnam-era terms: we have to burn the hospital in order to save it. Even if that means losing the burn unit.
[...]
Iran. Earlier this month George Stephanopoulos asked Biden if the US would stand in the way of Israel decided it was time to take out Iran's nuke program. Said the Veep: "We cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do ... if they make a determination that they're existentially threatened and their survival is threatened by another country."
True. But wrong! The sensible thing is to say: "We are seriously concerned about Iran's nuclear ambitions, and strongly support serious efforts to be concerned, in coordination with allies whose serious efforts are concerned with -- hey, is that a mushroom cloud on CNN? Turn the sound up."
Everyone knows Iran will give up the bomb, but in their own way: by putting it on a rocket and waving safe journey, Allah-speed.
As the saying goes: If you love something, set it free. If the US isn't going to stop them, shouldn't Israel have the right to?But that's not the official line, so YANK went the collar.
Administration officials explained that the Vice President was using secret reverse-talking, and the allies remain committed to a sustained effort to frown and grip the podium while hoping there's no follow-up questions.
For more examples of the vice president's inadvertent truth telling, read the whole thing.
Posted by Mike Lief at July 20, 2009 12:49 AM
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