Biden May Not be a Hockey Mom, But at Least He's Not Afraid to Say What He Thinks

Transcript from Joe Biden's appearance on Meet the Press this morning. Look, Biden is in many, many ways no progressive. But especially when you contrast him with what the GOP has given us, you look at this interview, and you just love his candor as well as his commitment to the principles of pluralism.


On Sarah Palin:

why--look, she had a great speech. But what was--her silence on the issues was deafening. She didn't mention a word about healthcare, a word about the environment, a word about the middle class. They never parted her lips. I mean, so I don't know where she is on those things.

On his coming debate with Palin:

I know Mitt Romney and know his positions, and I know Tom Ridge and I really respect them. And--but you know, I, I've debated an awful lot of tough, smart women. A woman who's a judge here in our superior court was one of my toughest opponents ever for the Senate. And there's a lot of very tough, smart women in the United States Senate I debate every day. So in that sense it's not new. But what is new is I have no idea what her policies are. I assume they're the same as John's. I just don't know.

On the three coming debates between Obama and McCain:

I think those debates that are going to take place, the three critical debates between the two nominees, are going to be the most watched debates in the history of American politics, and I think people are going to get everything they need out of those debates,

On McCain and Iraq:

The truth of the matter is, what do we do now? What's John McCain going to do when he's president? He says he will not sign on to a timeline, number one. Number two, he has no, no idea, no suggestion how he's going to deal with the neighbors. He has no idea how he's going to deal with Iraq. He has no idea how he's going to deal with Syria. He has no idea how he's going to deal with Turkey. We have laid out a clear plan.

More on McCain and Iraq, but this quote stands alone doesn't it?

And I, I, I just--now, John may have an idea. I've never heard it. I've never heard it.

On Abortion Rights. Look at the emphasis on pluralism. Does either GOP candidate even understand what he's saying here?

For me, as a Roman Catholic, I'm prepared to accept the teachings of my church. But let me tell you. There are an awful lot of people of great confessional faiths--Protestants, Jews, Muslims and others--who have a different view. They believe in God as strongly as I do. They're intensely as religious as I am religious. They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life--I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society.

Here's one Harrogate suspects Biden will drag out in his debate with Palin, if abortion rights come up at all. One would like to see her respond to this:

No, what I voted against curtailing the right, criminalizing abortion. I voted against telling everyone else in the country that they have to accept my religiously based view that it's a moment of conception