When Joe Biden Speaks
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"I
mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate
and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a
storybook, man." –Joe Biden, referring to Barack Obama at the
beginning of the 2008 Democratic primary campaign, Jan. 31, 2007
"A successful dump!"
--Joe Biden, explaining his whereabouts (dropping deadwood at the dump)
to the reporters outside his home, Wilmington, Del., Aug. 20, 2008
"His mom lived in Long
Island
for ten years or so. God rest her soul. And- although, she's- wait-
your mom's still- your mom's still alive. Your dad passed. God bless
her soul." --Joe Biden, on the mother of Irish Prime Minister
Brian Cowen, who is very much alive, Washington, D.C., March 17, 2010
"You cannot go to a 7-11
or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.... I'm not
joking." --Joe Biden, in a private remark to an Indian-American
man caught on C-SPAN, June, 2006
"When the stock market
crashed,
Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about
the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what
happened." –Joe Biden, apparently unaware that FDR wasn't
president when the stock market crashed in 1929 and that only
experimental TV sets were in use at that time, interview with Katie
Couric, Sept. 22, 2008 (Watch video clip)
"
Look, John's last economic plan does
nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it
happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs."
--Joe Biden, Athens, Ohio, Oct. 15, 2008
"
Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see ya."
–-Joe Biden, to Missouri state Sen. Chuck Graham, who is in a
wheelchair, Columbia, Missouri, Sept. 12, 2008 (Watch video clip)
"
This is a big fucking deal!"
--Joe Biden, caught on an open mic congratulating President Barack
Obama during the health care signing ceremony, Washington, D.C., March
23, 2010 (Watch video clip)
“
Isn’t it a b*tch? This vice president
thing?”
--Joe Biden, empathizing with a student at Harvard University who
identified himself as the student body's vice president, drawing laughs
from the audience. Biden added: “That was a joke, that was a joke. Best
decision I ever made. I’m joking. That was a joke.” (Oct. 2, 2014)
"
Folks, I can tell you I've known
eight presidents, three of them intimately." --Joe Biden, Aug.
22, 2012
“
Look
at what they [Republicans] value, and look at their budget. And look
what they're proposing. [Romney] said in the first 100 days, he's going
to let the big banks write their own rules -- unchain Wall Street.
They're going to put y'all back in chains." --Joe Biden,
speaking to a largely African-American audience in Danville, Va., Aug.
14, 2012
"
My mother believed and my father
believed that if I wanted to be president of the United States, I could
be, I could be Vice President!" --Joe Biden, campaigning in
Youngstown, Ohio, May 16, 2012
"I guess what I'm trying
to say
without boring you too long at breakfast—and you all look dull as hell,
I might add. The dullest audience I have ever spoken to. Just sitting
there, staring at me. Pretend you like me!" --Joe Biden,
teasing a crowd of Turkish-American and Azerbaijani-American Obama
donors, April 27, 2012
"I promise you, the
president has a big stick."(Joe Biden, citing Theodore
Roosevelt's famous quote, "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will
go far.") (April 26, 2012)
"His mom lived in Long
Island
for ten years or so. God rest her soul. And- although, she's- wait-
your mom's still- your mom's still alive. Your dad passed. God bless
her soul." --Joe Biden, on the mother of Irish Prime Minister
Brian Cowen, who is very much alive, Washington, D.C., March 17, 2010
"I wouldn't go anywhere in
confined places now. … When one person sneezes it goes all the way
through the aircraft. That's me. I would not be, at this point, if they
had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway."
--Joe Biden, providing handy tips to protect against the swine flu and
freaking us out, "Today Show" interview, April 30, 2009
"An hour late, oh give me
a f**king break."
–Joe Biden, caught on a live mic speaking to a former Senate colleague
after arriving on Amtrak at Union Station in Washington, D.C., March
13, 2009 (Watch video clip)
"You know, I'm
embarrassed. Do
you know the Web site number? I should have it in front of me and I
don't. I'm actually embarrassed." –Joe Biden, speaking to an
aide standing out of view during an interview on CBS' "Early Show," in
the midst of encouraging viewers to visit a government-run Web site
that tracks stimulus spending, Feb. 25, 2009
"If we do everything
right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there's still a 30% chance
we're going to get it wrong." --Joe
Biden, speaking to members of the House Democratic caucus who were
gathered in Williamsburg, Va., for their annual retreat, Feb. 6, 2009
"Am I doing this again?
For the senior staff? My memory is not as good as Chief Justice
Roberts'." --Joe
Biden, mocking Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts' botched effort
to swear in Barack Obama as Biden was set to swear in White House
senior staff one day after the Inauguration snafu, Washington, D.C.,
Jan. 21, 2009
"Jill and I had the great
honor of standing on that stage, looking across at one of the great
justices, Justice Stewart."
–Joe Biden, mistakenly referring to Justice John Paul Stevens, who
swore him in as vice president, Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2009 (Watch
video clip)
