GAINESVILLE, FL – Joe Biden may be getting a little tired of stories claiming that the campaign is trying to shut him up.
Washington reporters traveling with the loquacious long-time senator over the past few days noted the tight stump speeches, the lack of reporter access or question from the crowd, and the ubiquitous teleprompter – theorizing that Obama’s staff is trying desperately to minimize the damage that comes from Biden’s big mouth.
But in Florida today, Biden interrupted his speech to prove he’s the same old loose cannon he’s always been.
“I believe the possibilities for this country are absolutely amazing — and stop moving the prompter,” he said, abruptly addressing the teleprompter operator, who’d never before worked with Biden and, as one staffer joked, may have dislocated her wrist trying to keep up.
“There’s a prompter that I hardly ever read here. They don’t want you to know that. They put it up to make me sound disciplined, you know,” Biden continued as the crowd — and a few Biden staffers — laughed along with him.
The bravado isn’t backed up by the fact that Biden stuck almost entirely to the same speech he’s been giving for the last 3 days — but there were moments that proved his point.
An example: coming on stage after his introduction, Biden rambled his way through the traditional thank-you’s for local elected officials in remarks that bear reprinting in their entirety.
“I tell you what, I’m a proud University of Delaware alum, we, we won the national championship in our division a couple years ago. But I tell you what. I watched you all Saturday (applause), and I thought thank God, thank God we don’t play the Gators. A Delaware flag, alright man! You guys are on a roll. Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! And I want to tell you. I used the rain as an excuse to wear the hat, but the balder I get the more I love hats. I always loved hats.”
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Friday, February 20, 2009 at 12:47 pm
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