Thursday, October 2, 2008

Palin/Biden Debate: Joe Fails Math Test

Biden infers poverty wiped out in America.

Senator Joe Biden who has been in the Senate long enough to know basic facts about America, like population, really screwed up tonight in his debate with Sarah Palin.

Some would say he lied, others would say he exaggerates a wee bit now and then or just plain can't do simple math. I'll go with lied. He is a career politician after all.

For someone who aspires to the second highest office in the land, he sure has a hard time with things like facts, or at least keeping them straight.

Here's just the latest example of his inability to keep in touch with our country.

"The middle class under John McCain's tax proposals -- 100 million families, middle class families, households to be precise -- they got not a single change, they got not a single break in taxes."

While on the surface there may be some truth to this, the U.S. Census Bureau gave the total population of the United States as 301,139,947 in July 2007. So, let's do a little simple math. A family or household could be as little as two. But let's assume a more realistic, albeit conservative, number of about three. Three times one hundred million = three hundred million.

That would only leave an estimated 1,139,947 people in America (as of 2007 figures) that are poor or wealthy. I would have to say, without even checking that well over one million people in this country are wealthy-over $250,000 a year income. That only leaves a maximum of 139,947 poor. Compared to over three hundred million, that's a very small number.

So, if we take Biden at his word, poverty has been eliminated in America. This is truly a glorious day. Oh, but I just remember, he's a career politician. Never mind.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Politicians and numbers are incompatible regardless of their party affiliation - so I have pretty low expectations on that matter. I would rather have someone who looks up a number when needed rather than trying to remember endless statistics but that’s just me.

My problems with the VP debate were mostly with Palin. Sure she exceeded expectations - not difficult after she bombed so badly with Couric. She is smart and a strong debater when she knows the subject like she did running for AK governor. Not so strong when she doesn’t have a grasp of the issues. Refusing to answer the question posed and pontificating about any topic her handlers want emphasized was dismissive.

But all this problem with pronouncing the g on the end of any word and the hockey-mom/joe sixpack folksiness is hokey and tedious. Not at all suitable for the administration of the world’s last remaining superpower. Hasn't America had enough embarrassment on the world stage over the last 8 years with a president who can't pronounce nu-cu-lar or pretty much any other word with his Texas farm hand accent and mentality??

Les James said...

David you are absolutely correct. There should be a law against anyone running for national office who has a regional speech defect. But Bush is just the latest. Bill Clinton has a slight southern drawl. Jimmy Carter was a total disgrace. Thank goodness Rudy didn't get very far with that sickening NY accent. FRD should never have been allowed near the White House, neither should have JFK. Ross Perot? No way. The list is endless.

Wow,you've really got something there. We can now be bigoted in a whole new way. Thanks for opening my eyes.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad to see that you, a respected political pundit and journalist, agree with my position and concerns.

Too many of us sit back and wait for others to take the lead on these probing issues affecting the lives of Americans, the Joe Q. Six-pack’s of middle America and the hockey moms with their tasteful lipsticks. Someone absolutely must speak for the fly-over states.

Before you know it, the gays will be getting married and undermining the sanctity of the marriage of us - their hetero neighbors. This stuff has to stop somewhere. My God, we did get our positive pregnancy test results before our marriage to prove we were fertile enough to deserve a marriage license so how dare they show up with those sterile couples claiming that a childless marriage is valid.

It is all just so damn exhausting. What is a proud bible-thumping, right-winger and a worshiper of the Pope and Pat Robertson to do in this latter day Sodom Hussein and Gonorrhea when these Chlamydia spreaders are on the loose? Praise Allah!!

Anonymous said...

The debate favored Biden because he had limited time to speak. Palin should have deferred to Joe and just let him ramble on, thus increasing his chances to screw up.

Les James said...

David- thanks for the complement but there are many times when I can't tell when you're just having fun and pulling someone's leg. Good job. I'm still looking for additional writers here. Consider it.

Chris- Good point. Although I enjoyed listening to her, letting Biden bury himself would have been much more entertaining.

Michael Levin said...

LOL very entertaining post les James!!! You and I both seem to think alike on things like this and poke fun at political things often so easy to make fun of haha...best, Michael

Les James said...

Michael - Thank you. They say great minds think alike but that leaves me out, so...