Joe Biden Is A Liar

Joe Biden is a liar.

Not in the every-politician-is-a-liar sense, but in the worms-from-the-bowels-of-hell sense. Oh, one could try to soft peddle the fact by claiming he's just a fibber. Or one could wink like you do about that crazy uncle with the lazy eye who is "prone to exaggerate." But one would be ignoring the clear fact: when somebody intentionally and repeatedly distorts facts, even to the point of stating the polar opposite of said facts, that person has lied. It doesn't matter if that person speaks with authority and confidence, he is still a liar. And Joe Biden, dear and undear readers, is a liar.

This shouldn't surprise anyone. I mean, this is a guy with the audacity to lie about the greatest tragedy of his life, the death of his first wife and daughter, for political gain, so he isn't exactly a powdered wig away from being George Washington. But in the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate he demonstrated an uncanny ability to lie by Pinocchioing virtually every topic. Here is a saddening sampling courtesy of Steve Thomas through alt.news-media:

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 specifically say that, 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 only opposed a bill that included a timeline that the President of the United States had already said he would veto regardless of its 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: 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 [which was a "war resolution" -- another Biden lie] and differed on the surge strategy where 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 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.

And then there were some of the shaky lies that are, at best, debatable. For example, Biden pretended to be a constitutional expert when he attacked Dick Cheny during the debate saying, "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." However, if you actually read the Constitution you will find that the vice president is indeed mentioned in Article I, but that Article is actually about the Legislative Branch (as Cheny claimed) and identifies that Vice President as part of the legislative branch by acting as "the President of the Senate." So either Biden lied, expecting that the American people would never actually hear about it, or he's currently reading at about a third grade level.

At one point in the debate "say it ain't so" Joe said, "Drill we must, but it will take 10 years for one drop of oil to come out of any of the wells that are going to begun to be drilled." But that is simply not true. The current Alaskan Pipeline took 2 years, 2 months and 4 days from ground breaking to completion and covers 800 miles over vast mountain ranges. An ANWR pipeline would only cover 75 miles. So unless they plan on sending the current congress to Alaska to do the work, it will not take 10 years to draw oil from this energy rich, desolate piece of unused real estate.

Biden also echoed Obama's claim that the junior senator from Illinois warned about the subprime mortgage crisis two years ago. This may or may not be a lie. We're all still anxiously waiting for the Obama camp to provide proof of that warning.

Now I'm not the biggest Karl Rove fan, but I have to give him a hockey-mom like shout out on this one. If the media actually does its job and exposes Biden's avalanche of lies throughout the debate, it could have a major impact on the election. But, alas, I'm sure they are far to busy wondering what magazines Sarah Palin does or does not read.