Biden endorses Hillary for VP, kind of

Tired of all the Palin news?

All it took was a little nudge and Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden proved he could get himself back in the news-cycle by saying he was unqualified.  Well, that's how the McCain campaign is translating Senator Biden's words anyway.

Mr. Biden actually was being gracious when an attendee at an event in New Hampshire in a rambling almost nonsensical endorsement said he wasn't a fan of Hillary Clinton and thought Barack Obama made a wise move in selecting the Senator from Delaware.

Modesty?  Senator Biden?

Biden, who has yet to win the coveted Mr. Humility award, flashed a little modesty however by stating that Senator Clinton was not only qualified but could have been the better choice (see video below).

"Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America," Biden told the crowd. "Let's get that straight. She's a truly close personal friend; she is qualified to be president of the United States of America. She's easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America and, quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me, but she is first-rate."

Rapid response

Almost seconds after Biden uttered those words did the McCain campaign light up like a neon Christmas tree in Las Vegas and blast a transcript of his remarks out to the media to make some hay.

McCain spokesman Ben Porritt followed the transcript up with some words of his own.

“Barack Obama’s most important decision of this election and Biden - the candidate he selects suggests himself that he wasn’t the right man for the job and that Hillary Clinton would have been a better choice," Porritt said.  "Biden certainly has a credible viewpoint on this.”

No swift boat this year

The gracious Joe Biden lasted only so long, however.  When discussing Republican attack ads, Biden referenced the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign against John Kerry in 2004 and said he's not going to let that happen again.

"Swiftboating is not going to work this time, and the reason it's not is No. 1, I'm going to smack 'em right square in the chops," Biden said.