Biden’s Smile, the Likability Factor and Judgment (Gosh, I always thought Biden’s smile was kind of creepy)

“Biden’s smile, while a mile-wide, somehow always reminds me of Mack the Knife or a gameshow host.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/opinion/22brooks.html?hp

EXCERPT

Honesty. Biden’s most notorious feature is his mouth. But in his youth, he had a stutter. As a freshman in high school he was exempted from public speaking because of his disability, and was ridiculed by teachers and peers. His nickname was Dash, because of his inability to finish a sentence.

He developed an odd smile as a way to relax his facial muscles (it still shows up while he’s speaking today) and he’s spent his adulthood making up for any comments that may have gone unmade during his youth.

Today, Biden’s conversational style is tiresome to some, but it has one outstanding feature. He is direct. No matter who you are, he tells you exactly what he thinks, before he tells it to you a second, third and fourth time.

Presidents need someone who will be relentlessly direct. Obama, who attracts worshippers, not just staff members, needs that more than most.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-silverstein/its-biden—-ho-hum_b_120780.html

EXCERPT

Yes, Biden is a steady hand–I was going to say in the Cheney mold though I immediately realized how ridiculous it was for anyone to believe Cheney was being added to the 2000 Republican ticket to add a note of rigor and stability. Biden will certainly add more gravitas to the ticket than Cheney did. But man is he ever old and tired. And I never trust a politician from Delaware who has a perpetual suntan. He also looks like he just had his face “enhanced” by a surgeon’s knife. Biden’s smile, while a mile-wide, somehow always reminds me of Mack the Knife or a gameshow host. And does he ever love to hear the sound of his own voice!

http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/08/23/hello-biden-bye-bye-change/

EXCERPT

Obama seems to be throwing in the towel on his argument that his judgment trumps any of the experience or expertise that other candidates might have. And if the point is that Biden provides so much more knowledge because of his experience on the Foreign Relations Committee, what about this 2007 quote from Senator Obama?

First, he said, I’m on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where I serve with a number of Senators who are widely regarded as leading experts on foreign policy — and I can tell you that I know as much about foreign policy at this point as most of them.

Perhaps someone could ask Senator Obama if Joe Biden was included in that sweeping bit of arrogance?

“RNC Launches Barack Obama Ad – Democrats Featured” including Biden

“Joe Biden On Barack Obama”

Hat Tip: hillwillwin08 at Hillary Clinton Forum