It’s funny how some things happen. Joe Biden’s greatest virtue may be his tendency to go off script.
Last May, in the heat of President Obama’s reelection efforts, Biden went on “Meet the Press” and said he was “comfortable” with same-sex marriage. Obama had not at that point announced his support for gay marriage, and the vice president’s endorsement left the campaign lurching to clarify the administration’s position.
The following week, Obama acknowledged he had decided to make an announcement endorsing gay marriage before the election, but Biden’s comments forced his hand early.
Biden at the time said he apologized to the president for putting him in that position, but in the Rolling Stone interview, Biden said Obama couldn’t have been happier.
“I got blowback from everybody but the president,” Biden said. “I walked in that Monday, he had a big grin on his face, he put his arms around me and said, ‘Well, Joe, God love you, you say what you think.’ I knew he agreed with me. It wasn’t like he was in a different place.”
I wonder what would or wouldn’t have happened if Biden had taken the official line on that question. It seems like it was a seminal moment. Ever since, there has been a flood of progress on gay rights issues.
Okay, Joe, time to talk about gun control…
I love Old Handsome Joe!
We can has?
Biden Said to Suggest Keystone Opposition in Impromptu Chat
Except for his Draconian stance on drugs, I like Biden a lot.
I like this reprieve, when we can all acknowledge how effective it can be for people in positions of power to make straightforward statements that advocate for a position, even when they can’t control every member of their party or compel the passage of any legislation. I’m enjoying this moment when we seem to recognize the importance and possibility of “changing the conversation” or influencing public opinion.
Soon enough, I’ll start to hear again infuriating arguments about how the President of the US is powerless, how he’ll make himself weaker by coming out in favor of positions that have broad public support, how there’s no pragmatic answer to the question “what do you want him to do?”. But for now, when the political risk is safely behind us, we can acknowledge the positive effect that truth-telling can have without conceding that this hints at any general principle for the future.
Nate Silver has demonstrated that there hasn’t actually been any alteration in the public opinion trend from the President’s answer in the interview.
As would be expected, given the demonstrated falsehood of the bully pulpit myth.
I know that not everyone loves Krugman, but I really enjoyed today’s piece about the babbling barons of bubbleism.
Krugman was was almost universally liked on the left when he was criticizing Bush. The problem was that he started applying the same standards to the Obama campaign and administration.
At this point, whether you like him or not, the reality is his economic analysis and predictions over the past 7 years or so have been stellar.
Joe just went off script again over the stopping the Pipeline. What are the odds President acts on it?
http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/05/biden-said-what-about-keystone-xl
As a native Nebraskan and family still living there, the potential to endanger my people’s water supply infuriates me.
clearly it’s time for GLAAD to give bill clinton another award.