The heated battle on the campaign trail is showing no signs of letting up, with Congressman Paul Ryan adopting some of Mitt Romney's language in attacking the president last night, saying that Obama is running an election "based on anger and division."
The intensity of the campaign has increased since Vice President Biden told a crowd in Virginia that Republicans would put them all "back in chains."
The statement has received fierce backlash from the Romney campaign. Just last night, Rudy Giuliani delivered a blistering attack against Biden's competence, telling CNBC that the vice president is "just not very smart."
Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Rep. Emanuel Cleaver stops by Starting Point this morning to weigh in on criticism of Biden's remarks.
"It makes absolutely no sense that a little throwaway line is now being used to make Vice President Biden appear to be throwing out these words to somehow attract dumb African Americans who if they hear the words 'chains' are going to automatically vote for him and President Obama," Rep. Cleaver says.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertise with us | About us | Help | Advertising Practices
I doubt that VP Biden meant to offend anyone but I do believe that he was trying to appeal to a specific group and probably thought the comment was cool/cute/whatever. He even adjusted his accent when he said it in order to convey...well, something. Replay it. It was like he was trying to sound like a stereotypical black gospel preacher (we all know stereotyping is wrong). It’s sad that it actually did provoke the response he wanted. The larger point is that if a Republican had said the same exact thing and in the same way, everyone on Earth would have been screaming about it. If the offensive statement comes from someone you feel is on your side, you give them a bye. This is the typical double standard that so many of us have come to expect. The scary thing to me is that this guy, VP Biden, the one that repeatedly make "gaffes" over and over, is next in line to be President. That is just plain scary. I believe he is probably a good man with nothing but good intentions but any time he improvises, it’s a gaffe.