Biden’s Debate Gaffes (& Lies) (Update 10/4) (Update 10/7 – now 27 items)

To atone for only catching one of Biden’s gaffes during the debate itself, I have decided to compile a comprehensive list.  And since there is no way of knowing what Joe actually meant to say, misstatements and outright falsehoods are included as well.

I’ll be updating this as I find new ones, and if you know of any that you don’t see here, please post it in the comments or email me.

At the bottom of this post is the list of ‘Joe Biden’s 14 Lies’ from the McCain camp.  I will mention some of those fourteen (11, to be exact), but some are just policy quibbles or are based on fundamental differences in policy (i.e., position on the Iraq war).

** UPDATE: The Campaign Spot at National Review Online is also tallying the gaffes and lies, but they include all of the McCain list plus Biden’s mention of McCain’s vote against the Violence Against Women Act — not sure why they count that; McCain did vote against it, regardless of the fact that much of it was later declared unconstitutional.  Not a lie or gaffe, just politics. **

** UPDATE: For those that may be visiting from the ‘other side of the aisle,’ so to speak, I make no claim to being fair and balanced — just fair.  If you see an item on my list (not McCain’s; see above) that you believe is wrong, let me know.  If you can show me that it is incorrect I will remove it. **

In no particular order (quotes are from CNN’s transcript):

1. Responding to an invitation to bash Vice President Cheney, Biden says, “The idea he doesn’t realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that’s the Executive Branch.”  Article I actually deals with the legislative, not the executive.  However, he is right that Article I discusses the VP’s powers — but they are defined with respect to the legislature, and there is no mention of the VP’s authority in Article II, counter to Biden’s argument (see number 2).
2. Biden further stated, “He has no authority relative to the Congress” — other than to vote in the Senate when there is a tie.  Article I, section 3, states that the VP is the President of the Senate.  He (or she) has no vote unless there is a tie, but holds that position regardless.  At various times in history, the President of the Senate has wielded signficant power by controlling procedure in the Senate.  Nowhere in the Constituion is the VP’s authority limited, or ‘defined’ other than this one mention of the VP’s role (which in any case contradicts Biden’s assertion that the VP has no authority in the legislature).  (See the video from Voice of Reason.)
3. “When we kicked — along with France, we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, I said and Barack said, ‘Move NATO forces in there.’”  Um, no. Complete fabrication (on both the Hezbollah-kicking and NATO counts).
4. “[W]e spend more money in three weeks on combat in Iraq than we spent on the entirety of the last seven years that we have been in Afghanistan building that country.”  Again, no [10/5, fixed the link].  The totals are $661.1 billion in Iraq versus $177.5 billion in Afghanistan.  Biden inflates the difference by a factor of twenty.
5. “Look, all you have to do is go down Union Street with me in Wilmington [and] go to Katie’s Restaurant or walk into Home Depot with me.”  (CNN’s transcripts says ‘or,’ but Biden clearly says ‘and’ in the video.)  While there was a Katie’s in Wilmington, it has been closed for over twenty years (read down through the comments at the link for details).  It also was not on Union Street. (Also just mentioned on Hot Air; Michelle Malkin mentions it, and has a great ‘Joe Depot’ photoshop to boot.)
6. “Ahmadinejad does not control the security apparatus in Iran. The theocracy controls the security apparatus.”  The theocrats in Iran certainly have a great deal of power, but using that to say Ahmadinejad does not is pretty, well, stupid.  Furthermore, how dumb is the argument that talking to Ahmadinejad does not matter because of this?  Pretty dumb.
7. “This is simply not true about Barack Obama. He did not say sit down with Ahmadinejad.”  Blatant lie.  Now with video! (Thanks and nice job to Voice of Reason).
8. “Our friends and allies have been saying, Gwen, ‘Sit down. Talk. Talk. Talk.’ Our friends and allies have been saying that, five secretaries of state, three of them Republicans. And John McCain has said he would go along with an agreement, but he wouldn’t sit down.”  Biden tries to pull an Obama by deliberately conflating low-level diplomatic contacts with presidential-level talks.  It sounded contrived when Obama did it, too.
9. “So you’re going to have to place — replace a $12,000 plan with a $5,000 check you just give to the insurance company. I call that the ‘Ultimate Bridge to Nowhere.’”  Biden’s first (and only) laugh line of the evening.  It also grossly misrepresents McCain’s plan.  Palin explained it well, and Ramesh Ponnuru makes the point that wages will rise to offset at least some of the difference.  (See also number 7 on McCain’s list of Biden lies.)  (A better explanation of how Biden is wrong; h/t The Corner)
10. “[T]wo years ago Barack Obama warned about the sub prime mortgage crisis.”  Obama claimed this in his debate too.  Prove it.  I have tried to research this, but all I have been able to come up with is an Obama advisor warning against ‘over-regulating subprime mortgages,’ and criticism of Obama’s plan with regard to the subprime mess.  It is easy for Obama to claim, but I won’t believe it until I see some proof beyond the word of Obama or Biden.
    • UPDATE (10/5/08): [deleted for being incorrect]
    • UPDATE (10/6/08): Obama sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson in March of 2007, in which he addressed the rising defaults by low-income individuals on subprime mortgages.  Obama’s primary concerns in the letter are preventing foreclosures and attacking ‘predatory lending practices.’  I thought at first that this letter must be the ‘warning’ Biden referenced (in the now-deleted update to this item on 10/5), but Rick pointed out in the comments to this post that, in the presidential debate, Obama had mentioned both this specific letter and the still-unknown warning in 2006.  So still no source for this mysterious warning other than the self-serving claims of the Obama campaign.
11. “The cause is manmade. That’s the cause. That’s why the polar icecap is melting.”  I originally thought that Biden had explicitly said that global warming was 100% manmade, however it is still clear that was his meaning, especially because his answer was a rejection of Palin saying that man was not the exclusive cause.  Even global warming stalwarts only claim that man is most of the cause, not 100%.
    • UPDATE (10/7) (h/t Rick):  In addition to Biden’s claims about global warming being strictly manmade, he is also wrong about global warming being the sole cause of the changes in polar ice.  The actual scientific evidence indicates that not all of the recent change in the polar ice are attributable to global warming.
12. “She imposed a windfall profits tax up there in Alaska. That’s what Barack Obama and I want to do.”  Blatant mischaracterization lie.  Palin adjusted the severance tax; there was no new/increased windfall-profits tax.  (See number 8 on McCain’s list; comprehensive explanation here.)  Also, it appears that much of the preexisting Alaskan oil and gas windfall tax was repealed while Palin was governor (PDF link).
13. “[O]ur commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan.”  Although Palin misstated his name (it is McKiernan, not McClellan), Biden misstates his position.  Gen. McKiernan has said that he does not want to use the word surge because it is too tied to Iraq, and that the exact programs in Iraq would not be directly transferable to Afghanistan because of differences in the countries (naturally), but he still advocates a surge.  Just by a different name.
    • Biden then quoted Gen. McKiernan as saying, “we need more troops. We need government-building. We need to spend more money on the infrastructure in Afghanistan.”  So, like Gen. McKiernan, Biden appears to be for the surge as long as it isn’t called the surge.
14. Other items from McCain’s list that I have not otherwise mentioned:  Number 1, mischaracterization of McCain’s votes on taxes.
15. Number 3, Biden’s brand-new support for offshore drilling.
16. Number 5, Biden’s ever-shifting position on clean coal, which even Ifill dinged him on at the debate.  (Also at Hot Air.)
17. Number 10, Biden misrepresented McCain’s position on regulation of the financial sector.
18. Number 12, Biden erroneously set the cutoff at $250,000, rather than $200,000, for Obama’s tax increases.
19. Number 13, the bailout plan only meets two of Obama’s four principles, not all four as Biden stated.
20. Number 14, American’s did not, contrary to what Biden says, pay more taxes under Reagan than they would under Obama
21. “Pakistan already has nuclear weapons. Pakistan already has deployed nuclear weapons. Pakistan’s weapons can already hit Israel and the Mediterranean.” It would take an ICBM, so probably not.  The longest-ranged weapon Pakistan has would only reach about halfway to Israel.  (h/t Ace)
22. “John McCain voted against a Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty that every Republican has supported.”  Every Republican except John McCain and 49 of his Republican colleagues in the Senate, that is.
23. “We do support making sure that committed couples in a same-sex marriage are guaranteed the same constitutional benefits as it relates to their property rights, their rights of visitation, their rights to insurance, their rights of ownership as heterosexual couples do.”  Except that they are quite adamant that they don’t support same-sex marriage.  Oops.  In fact, in his next response Biden said, “No. Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage.”
24. Some further items, from FactCheck.org, which should have been included earlier (all items can be found at this link):  Biden’s claim that McCain refused to meet with leaders of Spain was incorrect; McCain only said that he would not make that decision in advance.
25. Biden also misstated the Iraqi budget surplus in his arguments about ending the war.  He said that the surplus was $80 billion, but that figure comes from an old estimate.  The actual number is currently $29 billion.
26. Biden’s claim that McCain would deregulated the health-care industry is a dishonest exaggeration of McCain’s statements regarding allowing the sale of health-care insurance across state lines.
27. I am reinserting number 6 from McCain’s list, because it is correct in stating that according to FactCheck.org Biden is exaggerating — according to their count, McCain voted against alternative energy 11 times, not 20.
28. I am also reinserting number 1 from McCain’s list:  Biden claimed that McCain voted the same way as Obama on the bill Palin claimed raised taxes on families making $42,000/year, but McCain did not vote at all on that bill.

I find it amusing (in a sad way) how many commentators are praising Biden’s performance because of his knowledge and grasp of detail.  It’s not too hard to grasp details when you pull them out of your own orifices.  The challenge comes later, when you have to remember those sort of ‘facts.’

Joe Biden’s 14 Lies

1. TAX VOTE: Biden said McCain voted “the exact same way” as Obama to increase taxes on Americans earning just $42,000, but McCain DID NOT VOTE THAT WAY.
2. AHMEDINIJAD MEETING: Joe Biden lied when he said that Barack Obama never said that he would sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran. Barack Obama did say specifically, and Joe Biden attacked him for it.
3. OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING: Biden said, “Drill we must.” But Biden has opposed offshore drilling and even compared offshore drilling to “raping” the Outer Continental Shelf.”
4. TROOP FUNDING: Joe Biden lied when he indicated that John McCain and Barack Obama voted the same way against funding the troops in the field. John McCain opposed a bill that included a timeline, that the President of the United States had already said he would veto regardless of it’s passage.
5. OPPOSING CLEAN COAL: Biden says he’s always been for clean coal, but he just told a voter that he is against clean coal and any new coal plants in America and has a record of voting against clean coal and coal in the U.S. Senate.
6. ALERNATIVE ENERGY VOTES: According to FactCheck.org, Biden is exaggerating and overstating John McCain’s record voting for alternative energy when he says he voted against it 23 times.
7. HEALTH INSURANCE: Biden falsely said McCain will raise taxes on people’s health insurance coverage — they get a tax credit to offset any tax hike. Independent fact checkers have confirmed this attack is false
8. OIL TAXES: Biden falsely said Palin supported a windfall profits tax in Alaska — she reformed the state tax and revenue system, it’s not a windfall profits tax.
9. AFGHANISTAN / GEN. MCKIERNAN COMMENTS: Biden said that top military commander in Iraq said the principles of the surge could not be applied to Afghanistan, but the commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force Gen. David D. McKiernan said that there were principles of the surge strategy, including working with tribes, that could be applied in Afghanistan.
10. REGULATION: Biden falsely said McCain weakened regulation — he actually called for more regulation on Fannie and Freddie.
11. IRAQ: When Joe Biden lied when he said that John McCain was “dead wrong on Iraq”, because Joe Biden shared the same vote to authorize the war and differed on the surge strategy where they John McCain has been proven right.
12. TAX INCREASES: Biden said Americans earning less than $250,000 wouldn’t see higher taxes, but the Obama-Biden tax plan would raise taxes on individuals making $200,000 or more.
13. BAILOUT: Biden said the economic rescue legislation matches the four principles that Obama laid out, but in reality it doesn’t meet two of the four principles that Obama outlined on Sept. 19, which were that it include an emergency economic stimulus package, and that it be part of “part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20.”
14. REAGAN TAX RATES: Biden is wrong in saying that under Obama, Americans won’t pay any more in taxes then they did under Reagan.

In the unlikely event that anyone from the McCain camp sees this – you’ve got some typos in there you ought to fix.  Like ‘alernative’ energy in number 6.

Where is the breakdown of Palin’s gaffes you ask?  Feel free to make your own — I know there were a few, but I seriously doubt she made up nearly as many of her answers as Biden did.

UPDATE (October 4, 2008 at 12:08):

Bird Dog is tracking the gaffes and lies as well, and he checks both candidates’ statements.