April 30, 2009
Did Joe Biden say something wrong?

Posted at 4:34 pm, in: Uncategorized
Tags: Joe Biden, Pig Flu, The Other McCain

I watched The Today Showwith anticipation and excitment, this morning. Joe Biden was going to be a guest. When you hear that, you know that you’re going to hear something that Biden wasn’t supposed to say or some foolish gaffe. Of course, the Veep didn’t disappoint.

It’s funny because I knew as he said the words that there was going to be a call for clarification. In his desperation not to isolate Mexico and correctly identify the country as a top place to avoid, he warned Americans to stay away from all airplanes and mass transit systems. And, of course, has since issued a statment through a spokeperson to calrify what he meant:

On the Today Show this morning the Vice President was asked what he would tell a family member who was considering air travel to Mexico this week. The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the Administration is giving to all Americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico. If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways. This is the advice the Vice President has given family members who are traveling by commercial airline this week. As the President said just last night, every American should take the same steps you would take to prevent any other flu: keep your hands washed; cover your mouth when you cough; stay home from work if you’re sick; and keep your children home from school if they’re sick.

In short, instead of insulting Mexico, the VP insulted the airline industry and public transportation (so much for the environment!). In this clip, though, he shows his lack of undersanding of the people this administration supposedly represents. Do you know how many of the poor rely on mass transit to get to and from work? To get to and from their child’s daycare? To get their children to and from school? They don’t have the luxury of avoiding mass transit. I’m sure the adoring masses won’t pick up on that, though. He basically told the poor they are destined to be infected and die (based on what they claim to believe about this virus).

I’m not sure this flu is really the big deal everyone is making it out to be. Yes, people have died. People die every year from the common flu, too. It doesn’t dominate our press coverage. The number of confirmed deaths is not as high as was first reported. Have Americans become so weak they can’t handle a cough and sore throat? I’ve had both for about a week. Calm down, people! I’m guessing that I don’t have Pig Flu. Colds are common when the temperature is bouncing with a thirty-five degree difference from one day to the next. As any good American citizen should do, though, I have been washing my hands regularly, coughing into my elbow, and avoiding confined spaces. For good measure, I’ve also been avoiding Meixco, Mexicans, and pigs.

Back to Biden. He didn’t really say anything wrong, as far as I’m concerned. I was waiting for the next, “I remember hearing George Washington on the radio when the World Trade Center was hit,” kind of quote I have come to look forward to. Instead, he gave his honest opinion on what he would tell his own family members, which wasn’t that surprising. I just wish he was more willing to consider restricting entry at our borders (we can start with the Mexican border).

The only reason there’s even a fuss is because this administration prides itself on not offending anyone. This is why the emphasis on not calling it Swine Flu, it offends the pork industry. We can’t call it Mexican Flu or restrict travel to and from Mexico because it might offend Mexico. And, you can’t tell people to avoid airplanes and public transportation because it offends the transportation industry.

This is the problem when you cater to special interest groups. While playing to one group, you’re always bound to offend another. Good thing Obama has proved to be quite deft at apologizing when trotting the globe as our Apologizer-in-Chief. Looks like that skill will be put to good use.

As The Other McCain has noted, this will all be forgotten in a couple of weeks. One thing is for sure, RSM is correct when he states, “Turning an ordinary virus into a Code Orange national-security threat is political gold for Obama.” And, it has the added bonus for the administration of distracting the public.