Couric strikes again - asks Palin impossible question

In fact, fellow Senator John Kerry – who was on the same helicopter – joked about it after the incident stating, "“We were going to send Biden out to fight the Taliban with snowballs, but we didn’t have to do it…Other than getting a little cold, it was fine.”

Shot at (while shaving)

Biden also claimed during a debate last year that he was "shot at" while in Iraq.

"You take all the troops out – you better have helicopters ready to take those 3,000 civilians inside the Green Zone, where I have been seven times and shot at," he told the crowd attending the debate.

After the debate, he "clarified" his statement as reported by the Washington, DC political newspaper "The Hill."

“Biden said the incident happened in the morning while he and at least one other senator were shaving. Although he said it shook the building, he wasn’t rattled enough to duck and cover. ‘No one got up and ran from the room—it wasn’t that kind of thing,’ he said. ‘…It’s not like I had someone holding a gun to my head.’ Thinking about it now, he said, a more accurate comment would have been: ‘I was near where a shot landed.’”

He got away with that?

Why does Joe Biden seem to get a free pass?

Democratic strategist Chris Lehane told The Vote he wears a coat of teflon for a number of reasons.  Lehane says Biden likes the press and the press likes him and that extends into media coverage.

"He is a good guy whose good guy nature buys him an awful lot of goodwill," Lehane says.  "That's complimented by the fact that he appreciates the truest way to the fourth estate's heart – access and showing them you like them."

Lehane says some extra goodwill exists because some reporters believe he was unfairly treated in the 1988 presidential campaign.  And when Biden screws up – he does it in the right way.

"His gaffes usually do not play into a larger negative storyline that would cause harm to the ticket," Lehane explained.   "He is not doing or saying things that would be seen as arrogant, elitist or inexperienced, which is where the ticket would be vulnerable."

Unfair to Palin?

Why doesn't Palin get the same treatment then?

Republican strategist Trent Duffy explained to The Vote that its because she's an unknown commodity – she's brand new.

"Every time she offers an initial position or has a slightly different take on something it will be magnified," Duffy explains.  "That’s just reality and that’s the risk of a new candidate, the reward of course is the energy she’s bringing to the campaign, so it’s a tradeoff."

Duffy's right.  By claiming to read all of the newspapers – every single one – that is definitely a different take on something.

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