Joe Biden got a little too excited when introducing President Barack Obama to sign the historic health care reform bill yesterday and accidentally let an f-bomb slip.
“This is a big f—ing deal,” said the vice president, forgetting that his microphone was both on and live.
Not surprisingly, the genuine slip-up sent the media into a frenzy. News programs and the blogosphere were on fire, both criticizing and analyzing the politician. So much so that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs took to Twitter to address the situation, posting “And yes Mr. Vice President, you’re right . . .”
Biden has never claimed to be anything more than just your average Joe. His political strategy was always to remind the American people that he rides the Amtrak to work. So, why is the media surprised that the “politician next door” isn’t exactly a professional performer when it comes to a live mic?
The comment showed genuine investment in health care reform from the politician, a sincere belief in the bill, so why is the media so quick to judge? Sure, the language wasn’t exactly appropriate, but it’s refreshing to see a politician invested in his projects for reasons other than reelection. Biden deserves kudos for his outburst; it’s fair to say he couldn’t have been more accurate in describing what many Americans who support reform felt &-&- finally, they were seeing “change we can believe in” translated into action.
As a society, we tend to liken celebrities to ourselves, often reading the “Celebrities, they’re just like us!” tabloids, but then criticizing other public figures when we come to find out that, in fact, they are just like us. If we’re going to hold people to standards, they need to be the same across the board.
Biden isn’t a perfect person, or even a seasoned, polished politician. But he never pretended to be, either. Regardless, the media will jump at the chance to make a story about his slip-up. Meanwhile, “gotcha” journalists will continue to keep an even closer eye on the always cool Obama because of his “rock star” presence and almost performer-like personality (teleprompter or not), with little to no margin for error.
The media needs to drop the double standards and instead focus on more important issues, such explaining the confusion surrounding what health care reform means for the country rather than harping on its victors.
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