It’s often been said that Vice President Joe Biden is a gaffe machine, but Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is no slouch when it comes to the dumb things that come out of his mouth. According to the book “Game Change,” an account of the 2008 presidential campaign, Sen. Reid described then-Sen. Barack Obama as “light skinned” and “with no Negro dialect” in reference to Obama’s electability. As I said, Sen. Reid is no stranger to gaffes, and Politico.com has an excellent article outlining Sen. Reid’s top ten gaffes:
- On the Iraq war: “This war is lost.” (April 2007)
- On Alan Greenspan: “One of the biggest political hacks we have in Washington.” (March 2005)
- On the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.): “I think it’s going to help us.” (August 2009)
- “You know, Joe, I can’t stand John McCain.” (August 2008)
- On President George W. Bush: “I think this guy is a loser.” (May 2005)
- On Capitol tourists: “You can always tell when it is summertime because you can smell the visitors. The visitors stand out in the high humidity, heat, and they sweat.” (December 2008)
- To a Las Vegas Review-Journal executive: “I hope you go out of business.” (August 2009)
- On Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “Incompetent.” (June 2007)
- On town hall protesters and agitators: “Evil-mongers.” (August 2009)
- On Senate opponent John Ensign: Ensign “shouldn’t be interpreting the Constitution,” because he’s a veterinarian. (1998)
I don’t know. Are numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9 really gaffes?
You have a point….I was just relaying the “gaffes” from the article on Politico. I’d definitely agree that some of them aren’t really gaffes, but it’s all a matter of perspective.
I am glad to see someone else wondering about 1,2,4,5 & 9. When I was reading the list I was thinking the same thing. Especially 9.
I agree with 2. The 1998 bail outs that he oversaw started a chain reaction of bubbles and busts we are seeing now. Had we not bailed on Lehman then–it would still be around today.