Biden's supreme challenge: no gaffes

Or when he announced last week that President Roosevelt went on TV following the stock market crash of 1929. The problem was FDR wasn't President and TV wasn't available yet.

With other gaffes, he appears to honestly think he's saying the right thing, only to find out that he wasn't. Like when he announced that he and Obama were against clean coal.

“We’re not supporting clean coal,” Biden said. "No coal plants here in America."

The problem? Obama mentioned his support of clean coal in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National convention.

The little engine

You have to credit the McCain campaign. Try as they would to get some focus on almost - at one point - daily foibles by Biden, none of them got any play. Sarah Palin was just too much for the media to ignore. Both when she was a superstar and when the star was falling.

So, the Republican campaign tried again today. This time launching a new ad focusing on Joe Biden's frequent misstatements.

Ready to lead?

"What might Joe Biden say at tonight's debate?" the announcer asks. "Anything's possible."

Then the commercial cuts to a highlight reel of some of Biden's fumbles.

• "I think I probably have a much higher I.Q. than you do" he says to a reporter.

• "You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent," he said to another reporter.

• "Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am. It might have been a better pick than me," he said at a town hall meeting.

Time to be part of the deal

The announcer then asks, "And what might he say about his vote to raise taxes on those making just $42,000 a year?"

"It's time to be patriotic, Kate, time to jump in, time to be part of the deal," Biden says in a recent television interview.

Ready to gaffe?

After a reference to the "Stand up, Chuck" moment, the ad concludes with "Ready to gaffe? Yes. Ready to lead? No."

How to stop Biden from screwing up tonight?

How to stop Biden 101

Democratic strategist Chris Lehane told The Vote that Biden needs to focus -- not on Palin but on the viewers.

"Biden's challenge is not to prove he is smarter, better positioned to serve or more experienced than Palin - as that risks looking patronizing or sending the exact wrong message to working class voters who get turned off by Democrats who appear to be looking down their nose at working families," he said.

His goal is to ignore Palin and focus on connecting with voters sitting in their living rooms by making clear he is indeed one of them - an uncommon, common man," Lehane adds.

Electroshock therapy

GOP operative Rob Stutzman enjoyed talking to The Vote about the propensity of a Biden gaffe: "My guess is they’ll have electrodes hooked up to Biden’s 20 pound cufflinks so they can shock him if he starts praising Hillary or discussing his favorite his favorite ice cream from the dining car on the Amtrak."

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