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

[LCLiberal]

The McCain campaign will reach a point very soon in this campaign where a decision will have to be made.

Do they continue down the negative road and try to smear their way to competitiveness?

Or do they throw in the towel and decide to go back to the conservative well of tax cuts and foreign policy (McCain strengths) in an effort to get voters to fear things greater than the market meltdown?

http://www.political-buzz.com/

[idontknowanything]

Or do they throw in the towel and aim for an honorable defeat is more like it.

[MourningDude]

Has Obama had a single positive thing to say this entire campaign?

Seriously. I can't think of one. It's all rants and attacks and bashing. Bashing Bush, bashing Republicans, bashing McCain, bashing Palin, bashing the military, bashing the generals, bashing the rich, bashing anyone and everyone that he blames for all the problems we face.

[LAR1969]

Should he be glorifying the people who have raped our country (or intend to)? Should he praise these loathesome people? He has NEVER bashed the military - he HAS bashed the fact that they were sent into harm's way for nothing.

This comment proves you're not paying attention. Either that, or you simply don't want those who have done grave harm to our country to be held accountable.

Jeesh.... I won't waste another keystroke here.

[Carolab]

You're being ironic, right?

[iknowdou]

McCain needs Palin and Cindy because he's a coward. He's can't do anything but parrot everything Obama says: change, economy fine, or sorta bad, help for homeowners bad, er or good, no debate but if you say so then okay.

But Kerry and Gore lost.

When GOP said Obama called Palin a pig, he came back with the best come back and they reversed. Hilary said Wright was anti American, Obama gave amazing speech and made Hilary look like an intolerant hypocrite. He needs to answer these allegations in that great way of his that shuts his opponent up. A lot of these GOP voters are paying attention for first time.

Obama must not brush them off. He might appear to not care about concerns of ALL American's. Answering the 'who is this guy?" question comes across as transparent. Creates contrast. it shows that questions and fears are NOT beneath him to address. That way he looks like the true American. Not an angry coward like a McCain.

There are some on the right that need leadership to tell them what to think. Not giving a response just creates a silence that cowards rush to fill it.

The way we've responded in the past, thinking it was beneath us to respond, has NOT worked. We can not lose!!

Oh! And defending yourself on the stump in a speech is lame. It's not transparent. Leadership!

[Yasmine]

Honestly PALIN is more like a PORN STAR.

[GerryS]

yuck----

[globalcitizenlinda]

McSame and the moose-killer are enticing violence against Obama and I am v ery upset with the media for not harshly condeming them for standing there at the rally and not saying anything

[DMcD]

Palin is proving to be a femme fatale fasc!st ---- lets give her the coup de gras.

[Rockwell]

Holy Sarah Mother of God doesn't hush the crowd simply because she can't hear them. The only thing she can hear are the voices in her head saying the Jesus wants her to be President.

[whizkid]

Where are articles about the email hacker or ACORN?

[VolvoBirkenstock]

Check the home page, whizzer.

[TiffanyHusseinBanned]

Was everyone at the McCain rally doing time?

[VolvoBirkenstock]

There is a thread dealing with that topic.

Interestingly enough, you have not commented on the thread.

[Carolab]

The more press is given to voters' negative reactions to negative attacks, the less credence is given to McCain and Palin's campaign. If people indeed dislike negativity so much, then who could possibly believe that they win because of it? And yet, mark my words, that is exactly what Rove and company will try to pull when they steal this one. As much as I see Palin die-hards relating to her hatred and lies, I know that this is a small number of people who really believe her and feel this way. They are just looking for an excuse not to vote for Obama. And we all know why.

[DCNana]

BTW, what is that on the palm of Palin's hand in the photo? An injury? or is she wired?

[VolvoBirkenstock]

She supposedly fell jogging at McCain's ranch.

Interestingly enough, though, her hand was not bandaged when she got off the plane the day after.

[ralph10]

She must be a quick healer. Healer?????

[liberation4life]

Do not fret, most of America has a love-lockdown with Obama.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXUzuk_wd0k

[georgiaR]

I want to know about Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers. Did Bill Ayers have a party for Obama at his house when Obama 1st ran for state senator? Did Ayers have a grant and hired Obama to implement it? Does Obama have ties to Acorn? Are these things true? Do any of you care? I do.

[emma4obama]

Good for you .

Now go ask Sean Hannitwit .

Oh, that's right , you already did and he told you what to think .

Good for you !

[whit4brains]

you can find answers to every question you ask at factcheck.org

[spunky5408]

Oh l0rdy, catch up.

[mrsmdressup]

McCain Trumpets Endorsement From Figure Of Foundation That Established Ayers Board

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/08/mccains-trumpets-endorsem_n_132954.html

That should answer your questions.

[VolvoBirkenstock]

Guess you missed this:

Palin Drops Ayers Reference From Stump Speech

"After attacking Barack Obama's association with William Ayers for several days running, including yesterday, Sarah Palin made no mention of Ayers in her speech at a joint appearance with McCain in Pennsylvania that ended moments ago. Neither did McCain.

"The missing Ayers reference suggest that the Ayers attacks may have backfired, and that the Obama campaign's counter-attack -- that the McCain team wants to use slimy negative attacks to distract from a discussion from the economy -- may have been effective."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/08/palin-drops-ayers-referen_n_133059.html

Probably caused by:

McCain Trumpets Endorsement From Figure Of Foundation That Established Ayers Board
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/08/mccains-trumpets-endorsem_n_132954.html

[georgiaR]

I don't care if she dropped it. I want to know if it is true, but apparently you don't.

[tis]

We shouldn't be surprise at anything that Sarah Palin says anymore.

Stupid is as stupid does.

[LAR1969]

We shouldn't be surprised, but we should maintain our outrage. And voice it.

[lajones623]

I have been following this story since it first broke yesterday and have been waiting for my local newspaper to follow...I need to mention that I am a new resident in Phoenix, AZ.

This evening, I came across a blog by Linda Valdez from the Arizona Republic, making valid points of Palin's leadership skills during her rallies. The following posts by Ms Valdez's readers caught me totally by surprise...I would like to share them with the Huffington Post and Twitter readers.

As a new resident, I am at a loss for words...not to mention, embarrassed.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/Valdez/35349

[mrsmdressup]

Oy vey! Not nice. I'm so sorry.

[whit4brains]

Wow. The comments were scary.

[donaldw6]

Ms. Valdez states very eloquently what we've all been saying. The rhetoric appears to have toned down slightly today, but the danger level still exists. This has been cynically fomented since early in the primaries, and as we approach crunch time, we cannot have any tolerance for hate speech, whether from a tr0ll or from a candidate in this presidential race. Thanks for sharing this. Senator McCain should read his local paper.

[GhostOfSchlesinger]

If WE heard the dark call to bigoted violence that is the inevitable response to Sarah Palin's dog whistle . . .

THEN SARAH PALIN HEARD IT . . .

And she smiled and nodded her head. And she encouraged more of it.

She knows what she's doing. And, as I am not a politician, I am free to say that I believe she WANTS to encourage this sort of talk - that she is appealing to the most base and evil of all human impulses.

This, "my friends," is the next generation of crypto-fascism.

Meanwhile, I have come to pity the aging McCain. He is a shadow of his former self, to old and untethered from reality to see the viper in his tent.

It is no accident that the Palin's supported Alaskan secession; no accident that they've connections to the sort of "Christians" that love everything about the church except for the teachings of Christ; and DEFINITELY no accident that they are reaching out to the dark underbelly of American racism and xenophobia on the eve of the most important election since 1932.

I pray that folks don't lay this at Senator McCain's doorstep. I've made the mistake of doing so, forgetting the man that once was. Recently, though, I've realized that John McCain is a tragic, even a Shakespearean figure. He is Lear. Palin is Goneril and Regan.

And, should Senator McCain, "win" . . . we shall, all of us, be Cordelia.

"We'll always have Paris."

[ECB]

Mary Frances Berry is a Fo*l

[2StepsAway]

This is disgraceful. How can you stand there & allow ANYONE to threaten the life of another all because you want to win?

McCain, Palin, Ckindy, all of them need to be ashamed of themselves. This is why America needs a new face, a new program. McCain's entire camp is dirty - they come off as a group of unintelligent individuals that lack real purpose, much less a plan for America.

It angers me. It DISGUSTS me. It should make every AMERICAN ready to cast their vote for progress.

There is NO excuse for this behavior.