Joe Biden talks about *that* VP debate moment
The great Joe is interviewed by Newsweek - and among other things, talks about his choked-up moment in the vice presidential debate:
“About that catch in his throat: in the moment, he ‘could picture Beau in the bed’ after the 1972 car accident that killed Biden’s first wife, Neilia, and their baby girl and critically injured his young sons. Now Beau, the 39-year-old attorney general of Delaware, was off to war, a judge advocate general traveling to obscure regions of Iraq, where the road isn’t exactly the safest place to be. The memory of being a single parent mixed with worries about Beau to create ‘a lot of bundled emotions. It surprised me. I was hoping nobody noticed.’ Only 70 million or so did.”
He also gives an interesting insight into Barack Obama’s character:
“Biden says Obama reminds him of Bill Clinton in his ‘confidence, cognitive ability, judgment’ and intellectual security - that he can listen and absorb advice without having to prove he’s the smartest person in the room, a critical leadership skill.
He says he experienced an ‘epiphany’ during a recent conference call on the bailout bill with Bob Rubin, Paul Volcker, Warren Buffett, Paul O’Neill, Joseph Stiglitz, Larry Summers and Laura Tyson. ‘He [Obama] comes on the call and says, ‘Well, folks, sorry I’m late. I’ve got four questions.’ He was in total frigging command! Here’s a 47-year-old guy in one of the most complicated economic dilemmas anyone has had to face since 1929 to ‘33. And it was like, ‘Bang! Bang! Bang!’ I called him afterward and said, ‘You sold me, sucker!’”
Tags: barack obama, Joe Biden