How Smart Is Biden, Anyway?

As if referring to President FDR's famous 1929 TV speech on the stock market crash wasn't evidence enough of his lack of knowledge of social studies (In case you didn't know, FDR wasn't yet president, nor was television yet invented, in 1929)...he misspoke badly about the Constitution's description of the duties of the vice-president during last week's vice-presidential debate.

In this article, you can read what both Biden and Palin had to say about the position. The Constitution says this:

“The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.”

Here is Biden's lengthy quote:

"Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history. 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. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.

And the primary role of the vice president of the United States of America is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment when sought, and as vice president, to preside over the Senate, only in a time when in fact there's a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit.

The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he's part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive, and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous."

And here is Sarah Palin's more intelligent comment on the matter:

"Of course, we know what a vice president does. And that's not only to preside over the Senate and [I] will take that position very seriously also. I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chooses to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are."

And did anyone notice that the media doesn't notice Biden's rather frequent mistakes?