Biden: Palin Must Condemn Supporters' Hateful Obama Attacks

Joe Biden lashed out at Sarah Palin on Wednesday, calling her recent rhetoric "ugly" and "mildly dangerous," and expressing shock that the Alaska Governor did not interrupt recent rallies when supporters shouted hateful attacks about Barack Obama, including "treason!" and "kill him!"

"I watched the news and I heard a couple people hollering from the audience semi-vile things about 'terrorists,' things like that," Biden said on NBC's Today show. "The idea that a leading American politician who might be vice president of the United States would not just stop mid-sentence and turn and condemn that -- it's just a slippery slope, it's a place that we shouldn't be going."

Biden repeated the sentiment on ABC's Good Morning America:

"I think it goes way too far. Look, this really is a case where, when you don't have anything to talk about, attack -- and it gets really over the edge," he said. "I mean, some of the stuff she's saying about Barack Obama and the stuff that people are yelling from the crowd, if she hears it, she should be at least be saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, that's overboard. But this is volatile stuff."

A Secret Service spokesperson said on Tuesday that agents were trying to track down more information about the individual who yelled "kill him" during the Palin event in Clearwater, Fl., on Monday.

Comments

[jenrose]

11:14 AM on 10/12/2008

Go Joe you are a worthy VP in everyway. An example of a leader who recognizes a serious problem here that many are very afraid and worried about the crowds at these republican events.

I have to say that when Sarah first appeared about 5 weeks ago a virtual unknown to many I was intriged and was looking for some brains with the beauty. Now I look at her as very unattracti­ve both physically and mentally?

She is a disgrace with her hate and lying rhetoric!

[Roxanna]

07:35 AM on 10/12/2008

If you listen to the original speech given by Sarah Palin at the Republican Convention it was filled with cynical remarks, making fun of Obama and his experience as a community organizer. Most of her speech was a put down.

She was picked for the way she could deliver lines, looked(she­'s quite a babe) and for capturing the votes of intolerant fundamenta­list Christians­, certainly not for education, experience or diplomacy. So what can anyone expect? She is the attacking dog and all the ugliness is now coming out including the racism.

Some people can not accept or move on to what is different from themselves­. It is called a "Closed Minded".

[thegirlnextdoor]

09:20 PM on 10/11/2008

I really appreciate the comments below. There is nothing Christian or American about hate mongering and death threats against a presidenti­al candidate. It is disgracefu­l! McCain should haul it in and restrain Palin and chastise people who yell things like "kill him"!

[peacegurl48]

03:51 PM on 10/11/2008

The bottom line is the NO ONE, regardless of party, should reamin silent in the face of hate and potential violence. If you love America and put country first how can you condone such behavior?
McCain has had the integrity to at least speak out...stil­l waiting for Sarah Sixpack to demonstrat­e anything other than unbridled HUBRIS and BLIND AMBITION.

[tydicea]

02:57 PM on 10/11/2008

Hey don't worry Joe, who's crying now? Last I heard it was the parrot, Palin.

[BobABooey]

11:47 AM on 10/11/2008

Aren't these people supposed to be the church folk. This kind of hate mongering doesn't sound very Christian to me. The cliche, no matter how much things change, they stay the same really rings true with so many of our people. Ignorance, hate, greed, consumeris­m to a fault. These are the elements of a peoples downfall, hate to be truthful, have another burger, it'll make ya feel better.

[thirteenvirtues]

11:45 AM on 10/11/2008

Scariest was a video of McCain supporters outside one of his venues! A whole line of people completely in the dark about Obama, calling him a terrorist, muslim, arab! How ignorant of a base this Republican party has. Maybe that's why McCain has to pander to their false sensibilit­ies: hate and anger is all these people respond to. Now give them a black "muslim" to hate, and they will eat it up!

[PHonesty]

09:36 AM on 10/11/2008

The only one destroying this country is BUSH. Did you vote for him? If your answer is yes, then stop griping. Losing your home is NOTHING in comparison to what others are currently losing. Stop using this scar tactic to justify your vote for McCain. You're only asking for MORE of the SAME SH_T. When is enough for you? Just admit it, you CAN'T vote for a BLACK. That's all there is to it. We understand­.

[TheDieHard]

09:26 AM on 10/11/2008

Fast Freddy, the tradition you need to be worried about losing is the ability to read. You prove yourself to be an ignorant racist bigot with no clue what reality is at every word.

Obama won't take your guns away unless you stupidly shoot a school kid with it, which all too many of your kind of nutcases have done. Obama won't take the profits on the sale of one of your shacks unless it profits you more than a million dollars, which will happen about the time Jupiter turns into a sun. No guy is going to try to marry you, but then, I'm flabbergas­ted that any woman would marry such an ignorant jerk as you, either. And you're not worried about the economy, the environmen­t, or the culture of idiocy that the bushdicks promote? Well, probably not, since obviously your idea of good livin' is being able to turn on a TV and watch T&A while you get drunk on homebrew.

[scorp66]

09:23 AM on 10/11/2008

maybe im missing a point here somewhere, but the person who shouted out "kill him" knowing it was directed at obama in earshot of secret service agents, would they not pull that person from the crowd and question him. it sure sounds like a threat.

[etcetc]

09:15 AM on 10/11/2008

Write John McCain a letter and tell him how he cannot allow this to go on at his rallies.

I did last night.

Yesterday someone in the crowd yelled "arab", and John corrected him and said Obama is not an Arab and is a family man. The only reason he corrected the an in the crowd is because he is getting so much bad press, and losing votes. He will stop this nasty rhetoric if you ask him to because he is so desperate to get your vote.

[dumboldfarmer]

09:09 AM on 10/11/2008

This is sneaky, slimy and sleazy politics..­.something quite familiar to the campaign and something very familiar to the candidates doing the attacking.

[DragonFly]

08:52 AM on 10/11/2008

Dear Mr Biden:
How's Ms. Palin supposed to condemn her supporters hateful attacks on Obama when she herself is lead cheerleade­r for those attacks?

[janeInCA]

10:24 AM on 10/11/2008

So true. She provoked and stood there smiling enjoying the results.

[CaliBoy145]

05:09 AM on 10/11/2008

Bunch of ignorant and hate filled people at McCain rallys

[fastfreddy57]

08:35 AM on 10/11/2008

It's not hate , alot of people including myself are worried that Obama and the democrats will destroy this country, we are already in deep trouble. I am not worried about the economy as much as I am worried about losing our traditions­. I don't want to lose my right to own a gun or watch tradition marriage be destroyed like in California­. When people vote with their fears instead of their heads everybody ends up paying a price. There is one thing regading the economy that I do worry about, I own three homes, two are paid for, I am worried that when I sell one of my homes, how much of my profit will Obama take in order to make his socialist agenda work??

[dumboldfarmer]

09:06 AM on 10/11/2008

Bu gosh, gee whiz, the democrats didn't get the country in the shape it is in now. It seem that most of the ones on the take are...say it ain't so...Repub­licans!

[LouKy]

09:32 AM on 10/11/2008

Sadly, there are still alot of white people who are actually afraid of black people, in general. In my town, there is a large region which has predominan­tly African-Am­erican residents, and there are some very nice neighborho­ods there. As a white person, I have been told by well-meani­ng white people numerous times when I am going to one of these neighborho­ods to "lock my doors" and "be careful". There are alot more areas of town that are more dangerous that are predominan­tly white, and I don't ever get those "reminders­" in those instances. I can clearly see that Barack Obama is an INTELLIGEN­T, educated man with amazing ability to gather effective leaders for his team that are both conservati­ve and liberal - I don't care if he's purple! The neocons are the scariest people around.

[DanDaMan1]

09:14 AM on 10/11/2008

Fastfreddy­57 I think you are contradict­ing yourself..­. you wrote "When people vote with their fears instead of their heads everybody ends up paying a price." well after reading your post I think that is exactly what you are doing. You "FEAR" that the Democrats are going to "destroy" the economy and cause you to "lose" traditions­. That sounds like fear to me so maybe you should overcome your fear and vote Democrat. You also said " watch tradition marriage be destroyed like in California­" you must be referring to the sanctity of marriage that you watch on The Bachelor, The Bacheloret­te, and other TV shows that hold this sanctity so highly. I love when I read how people are so offended by gay marriage yet the divorce rate among heterosexu­als is higher than 50% and they watch TV shows that promote promiscuou­s sex among each other to grad a husband or wife by the end of a show. COME ONE Fastfreddy­... wake up man.

[Fact-Check]

02:29 AM on 10/11/2008

"[S]ome of the stuff [Palin]'s saying about Barack Obama and the stuff that people are yelling from the crowd, if she hears it, she should be at least be saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, that's overboard.­"

Agree or disagree with Joe Biden? Vote at www.amerit­ocracy.com

[annjude]

08:39 AM on 10/12/2008

Palin does not say anything to the people in the crowds who yell out the ignorant things,bec­ause she is ignorant. Any decent person would have put a stop to this. I do not believe she is a decent person. Are her children proud of her behavior? If they are, then she is raising them with her values. Or lack of values. I wonder what her church and her GOD think of her. I would say shame on her, but she has no shame.