Washington Has Joe Biden become Americas gaffe-prone intemperate uncle?
That question arises because the vice president of the United States on Wednesday had what some pundits are calling a two-gaffe day.
To be fair, the first misspeaking occurred on Tuesday, during a speech at the 40th anniversary conference of the Legal Services Corp. When speaking about his son Beaus attempts to help members of the military straighten out problem loans, he referred to shylocks taking advantage of vulnerable service members.
This refers to Shylock in Shakespeares “Merchant of Venice,” a Jewish moneylender. In the play, the character is greedy and ruthless, and the name has come to be an anti-Semitic slur.
Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), complained about Mr. Bidens use of the S-word, saying it represents a medieval stereotype and an offensive characterization.
At the same time, Mr. Foxman praised Biden as a friend of the Jewish community and a tolerant individual. And on Wednesday, Biden apologized.
Abe Foxman has been a friend and advisor of mine for a long time. Hes correct, it was a poor choice of words, Biden said in a statement.
Then on Wednesday, Biden stepped in it again, using a term that some might consider offensive. Speaking at a rally for campaign finance reform in Iowa, he talked about meeting Lee Kuan Yew, former prime minister of Singapore, calling him the wisest man in the Orient.
The terms Orient and Oriental are anachronistic and offensive to many Asians, as they seem to refer to a past world of exotic mystery conjured up by Hollywood as opposed to real life.
This caused many pundits but particularly those on the right to characterize Biden as the nations slightly dotty uncle, somebody who will say whatever darn thing pops into his head. After all, in the past hes gotten in trouble for saying it helps to have an Indian accent when walking into a convenience store. Hes promoted shotguns over rifles as a means for self-defense and once referred to Barack Obama as the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.
Read more from the original source:
Joe Biden's two-gaffe day: Offensive or simple slips of the tongue? (+video)