Two days in…..
And Vice-President Biden has already managed to produce one of his patented faux pas. From Fox News:
Biden was to swear in senior executive staff at a White House ceremony after having already given the oath to newly confirmed Cabinet secretaries. When Obama reminded him that he had only done the one group and hadn’t done the second yet, Biden quipped, “My memory is not as good as Chief Justice Roberts.”
It was a relatively good natured jab, and I will grant that Biden is (for the most part) one of the more joival figures in Washington. However, his good nature can also lead to him being a bit loose lipped at times. I think the remark was uncalled for, particularly since the Chief Justice was good enough to come over to the White House to re-administer the oath to avoid any legal confusion. I stated from the very beginning that the Obama camp was taking a calculated risk by bringing Biden is as their consummate insider to balance out Obama’s inexperience, given his long history of gaffes. Time will tell if his actions lead to embarrassment such as was Spiro Agnew in the Nixon administration.
