Mr. Arrogant or Mr. Awkward? Jury's Out...

I made the mistake of watching the whole of Joe Biden's keynote DNC speech at the gym tonight. How underwhelming! Forgiving the inadvertent (and repeated) stumbling and bumbling, the substance of the speech itself was just painfully awkward.

First, the theme of the evening was national security. CQ reports that one of the Democrat talking points was "stewardship of the armed forces." In line with this, I'm guessing, Biden threw in minor, trite, awkward mentions of the troops. The first was sandwiched, awkwardly disconnected, between his fawning adoration of Hillary Clinton and before the typical pandering to his home state delegation. The last was thrown in at the end, as if to say, "Oh, and did I mention I love the troops? What a great guy I am, Joe Biden! I love ya! Good night everybody!"

He also made some serious flubs. In the midst of a lengthy, awkward riff on how much he loves and hates John McCain, he referred to the Senator as a "Soldier."

"John McCain is my friend... The personal courage and heroism demonstrated by John still amazes me... [But] the choice in this election is clear. These times require more than a good Soldier; they require a wise leader."

A few things. First, as a lowly Soldier, I'd like to point out that John McCain was never a Soldier (though we certainly all wish the Army could claim a hero like him!). It's reminds one of the propaganda video shot of McCain by his communists captors while he was still recovering from his injuries after getting shot down. "What is your rank in the Army?" communist prison guard asks. "Lieutenant Commander in the Navy," McCain responded, emphasis his. If Joe Biden knew anything at all about the military, he'd know that there is a profound difference between an Army Soldier and a Navy Sailor. A Soldier would never (!) be called a Sailor and vice versa. Every Sailor wishes they were a Soldier, but we have different standards. I digress. Some Naval Officers even object to being called Sailors, but officially they are. Bottom line, Biden is ignorant.

The other very awkward comment, obviously ad-libbed as it's not in the prepared text of his speech, was when he bragged about Obama's political record. His points were inadvertently illuminative of Barry's slim list of accomplishments:

"Barack Obama could have done anything after college... but what did he choose to do? He went to Chicago, to the south side of Chicago... Because Barack Obama [Biden mispronounced it like the bama in 'Alabama'] made that choice, a hundred and fifty more children and parents have health care in Illinois. He fought to make that happen!"

Oh, well, you don't say! A whole hundred-fifty! And he fought for it! He could have followed it up by saying, "and we promise to fight for two-hundred-fifty more when we're in the White House!" That'd actually be the first promise from these hucksters I'd believe--nothing more.