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George Washington, He Ain't 8/23/2008 11:01:58 PM
And the bottom line is that I personally do not care to have a Vice President who stereotypes people and who cannot separate fact from fiction.
Well, after leaving this entire nation in suspense for weeks on end, Presidential contender Barack Obama has finally selected his running mate; and I don’t know about my fellow Democrats, but I’m not exactly whirling giddily around the house, dancing on tables, clapping my hands, and shouting, “Hallelujah and praise Jesus, this country’s next VP is gonna be Joe Biden!”
Why? Well, for many reasons, one being that he looks like a Republican in disguise, but in order to keep this blog fairly short, I will concentrate on my main reason, which is how I do not care to vote for a Vice President who, unlike our first President George Washington, seems to believe that lying is perfectly acceptable and perhaps even commendable.
“Joe Biden is a liar?” you gasp. “Tell me it isn’t true.”
Oh, please spare me the theatrics.IfI told you it wasn’t true, then I would be lying; and since, unlike Joe Biden, I am not a liar, I cannot tell you it isn’t true.
“Okay,” you say, “so where’s your proof?”
You want proof? Okay, one, according to Jeffery Goldberg of The Atlantic (2008), Biden lied about John Kerry’s “being clueless on the subject of terrorism” (check out the story at the link below). Two, according to Thomas Lifson, of The American Thinker, Joe Biden obviously believes it’s acceptable to take the words of other people and pass them off as his own, which is but another form of lying. After all, not only did Biden commit plagiarism in delivering “almost word-for-word a speech given by British Labour politician Neil Kinnock,” an act that “killed his 1988 presidential campaign,” Biden also committed plagiarism while a student at Syracuse University Law School (Lifson, 2008).
And that reminds me of how I am continually telling my students that plagiarism is a serious infraction, one that will result in a failing grade in a course and, worse case scenario, expulsion from college; however, I guess I must stand corrected. After all, as Lifson quotes from a 1987 New York Times’ article: “An academic official said Mr. Biden . . . threw himself on the mercy of the board and promised not to repeat the offense. This, according to the official, persuaded the board to drop the matter and allow Mr. Biden to remain in law school” (Lifson, 2008).
A little aside here: I think that turn of events succinctly demonstrates what I’ve always maintained, which is how the rules are different for the “elite,” even in academe.
Additionally, as if Joe Biden’s being a liar isn’t enough to dampen my enthusiasm for Obama’s choice in VP, the man is also totally lacking in ethnic sensitivity.
“Ah, come on,” you say, “I want proof.”
You want proof? Then read the article by Rick Moran (link below), also of The American Thinker), wherein Moran relates how Biden insulted Indian-Americans in July of 2006 with this comment: “In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking” (Moran, 2008).
Then again, maybe I’m making a mountain out of a molehill since, to toss in a few more clichés, we all have skeletons in our closets and we all occasionally find our feet jammed securely in our mouths. Plus, most of us have lied on occasion. The reality, however, is that we, meaning you and I, are not running for Vice President of the United States of America, so most people don’t give a hoot how many skeletons are rattling around in the musty shadows of our closets, nor do they care how often we shove our smelly feet into our mouths. And the bottom line is that I personally do not care to have a Vice President who stereotypes people and who cannot separate fact from fiction. If a man is going to be in the second highest position of power in this country, that man should be sensitive to all ethic groups; and, even more important, he should speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help him God.
