Biden's old friend now 'an angry man'
Posted: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 1:15 PM by Carrie Dann
From NBC's Ron Allen and NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
TAMPA, Fla. -- Turns out Joe Biden is not rusty.
In his first solo campaign appearance since Sept. 26, the Democratic vice presidential candidate came out swinging against the Republican ticket, criticizing its “outrageous inferences” about Barack Obama. And he said the questions from average Americans at last night’s debate showed that Americans are “looking for a steady hand, leadership, an optimist. Not an angry man lurching from one position to another.”
“They have chosen … to appeal to fear with a veiled question: ‘Who is the real Barack Obama?’” Biden said.
The root of the problem, he said, is that McCain hired to run his campaign “the very political manipulators” who attacked him in the 2000 primary. Now, he said, they’re attacking Obama “in the ugliest of ways,” and “relying on political stunts instead of offering real solutions.”
Biden wasn't done there. He accused Sarah Palin, who has said Obama "pals around" with 1960's domestic terrorist William Ayers, of raising "outrageous inferences." He called Palin's attacks "simply wrong," especially coming from a candidate for vice president.
So, if you had any doubts about which way the campaign is heading, the road ahead seems pretty clear.
Biden is in a unique position to criticize McCain. They've been friends for 33 years. So it got very personal when Biden, as he has before, reminded McCain of the rumors and innuendos he endured in South Carolina during the 2000 Republican primary. McCain was wrongly accused of fathering a black child, an explosive charge especially in some parts of the south. The McCains have a daughter they adopted from Bangladesh, who has dark skin. The charge helped to derail McCain's campaign.
Today, Biden was indignant, calling McCain's recent charges against Obama "odious" and "beyond disappointing." Pointing out that McCain's TV ads have taken a sharp tack towards the negative, he said, "When you vote with President Bush 90% of the time, I guess your best hope is to attack your opponent 100% of the time."
"You can't call yourself a maverick when all you've ever been is a sidekick," Biden added.
His old friend, Biden insists, sees he's losing and has become desperate.
