Joe Biden On "Tonight Show" (VIDEO)

Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden calls McCain a longtime friend, but he said Thursday the Republican presidential candidate just isn't himself at this stage of the campaign.

"He seems a little more angry than he usually is," Biden told Jay Leno on NBC's "The Tonight Show," after Leno said McCain was making odd facial expressions during his debate Wednesday night with Democrat Barack Obama.

"John doesn't seem comfortable right now," Biden added.

"I don't think John is comfortable with the negative stuff in the advertising" being run by his campaign, Biden said at another point.

Biden, a Delaware senator, made a brief stop on Leno's stage in Burbank on his way to a fundraiser in Los Angeles. The two chatted about the economic crisis, the Iraq war and developments on the campaign trail as Nov. 4 closes in.

Biden has a reputation for verbal gaffes, and he assured Leno he'd be providing more fodder for late-night talk shows. Leno ribbed him about a slip-up at a rally in Ohio on Wednesday, when Biden referred to "a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S."

"I suspect I'll make a whole lot more," Biden said.

He credited Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin with driving up viewership of their debate, the second most-watched political matchup ever.

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"I was a bit player in that debate," Biden concluded.

The 65-year-old Biden joked about his age, while poking at McCain, 72, who if elected would become the oldest first-term American president.

"The only guy older than me is John," he said.


WATCH BIDEN ON LENO

Asked about Biden's claim that McCain seemed a bit cranky, McCain campaign spokesman Rick Gorka said, "John McCain is a fighter.

"People are hurting, they are upset and they want answers, and John McCain is the candidate that understands," Gorka said.

Biden later attended an outdoor fundraiser in Los Angeles attended by several hundred people, where tickets cost up to $5,000 and members of the band Maroon 5 entertained the crowd.

He urged supporters not to be lulled into complacency by polls showing Obama with an edge and warned of an onslaught of negative ads from their rivals that would come in the closing days of the campaign.

"This is no time for us to get cocky," said Biden, who was introduced by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "We cannot take anything for granted."

Comments

[niesioa]

Hey Joe!
I've grown to love you! You're a fantastic human being, - you have a great sense of humor and you're a damn good senator and will be an excellent VP.

[Thefamilyvan]

Sen. Obama has shown in his campaign the nature of person he is. He has great judgement, great organizational skills and great compassion for the American people. This, he has modeled throughout his campaign. If you like the way he's run his campaign, you'll probably LOVE the way he'll run the WHITE HOUSE!

[rovingeyeuk]

Go Joe go!!! Barack picking him as his running mate speaks volumes for Barack judgement!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LbhLSc2614g

[crat4ever]

Everytime I see him in action I think what a great choice Barack made.

[PuddyKatz]

Biden looks just like William Jennings Bryan whom McCain opposed back in the day,

[CEDER3RD]

Hear the words, see the faces smile, see the rabbit run into the whole, paint the world green, but no matter how these men who are running for president speak or act neither one has any Truth in what they say or do. The news applaude their lack of TRUTH and bury them in false honor and it is time for the AMERICAN PEOPLE to take our country back from the carpet baggers and frauds who are running our country into the abyss of failure, and DEMAND that the press be accountable for the lies they help cover up for our false politician­s!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!! The time is now for all good men to come to the defense of OUR COUNTRY!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA< ONE NATION UNDER GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jalapeno]

That would be lovely if there actually is a God, there is still NO EVIDENCE, and no, massive faith does not evidence make!!

[mwestorca]

Wow, you sound very UnAmerican to me. Are you advocating overthrowing the U.S. Government?

[Sammy00400]

You need to learn how to break up your sentences more so they are more coherent.

[CrankyCurmudgeon]

I have a next-door neighbor who is one of the best musicians and guitarists I have ever had the pleasure of listening to . . . and frequently!! He is truly a virtuoso, as he can play many instruments and writes some pretty damn good songs as well. If you're into modern Country you may even have heard some of his work.

OTOH, he is a NASCAR lovin', Faux News listenin' good ol' boy (even though he's originally from New York) who thinks the MSM is decidedly left-leaning and Fox is fair & balanced.

So here's the dilemma . . . and here's why it's OK for Biden to praise McCain - as a friend. It's almost as hard to get rid of your friends - those people with whom you break bread, share jokes and intimate moments, etc. - as it is to lose your family. Isn't this part of the message Barack is communicating to us? We all need to get along. Doesn't mean we have to agree . . . just get along, and respect each others motives and integrity. Why is that so tough?

[redsongia]

Exactly. I'm so "in the tank" for Obama, as the neo-cons say (I'm really not sure what it means, but I'm pretty sure I'm there).

I've got a friend from law school who moved back to Ohio and is a prosecutor and a rabid Republican. I'm dumbfounded that Palin is not a deal breaker to her, but fine.

When she's in Boston to run the marathon, will we still have drinks? Yes, or course. Will we talk about politics, heck yeah, I find her stubborness freakin' hillarious. And friendship has nothing to do with agreeing.

I'm not surprised Biden "LOVES" McCain. Who doesn't Biden love, anyway.

[The Lorax]

Oh boy, I can't even say how much I love Joe Biden.

So I have heard people talk about being mad that Biden again spoke well of McCain, explaining the facial expressions by saying he thinks McCain is not comfortable with what the campaign is doing. People want to hear Biden tear into him. I do not. I want Joe to be Joe because that's the dude I adore and that's the real him, that's why he's been around so long too. I know Joe Biden is a good man and to hear him be able to still speak well, after just one jab, at McCain and stand up for him speaks volumes about who Biden is. He's a good guy and he doesn't desert a friend. He had a hard time with that question but gave an honorable answer. I love him for just that, right there, perfect example. Joe is great the way he is and the way he answers because it's all real. i hope others can see that too.

Obama/Biden 2008

[qxav949]

Great one, Joe. Love your campaign events. Terrific balance to the ticket - Obama's the air, Biden's the earth.
Go Obama-Biden.

[jjjuice]

A squeezer and a leaner??? LOL!! That is so McCain/Palin!!! effin hilarious man!

I voted for Obama/Bide­n....today­. It's your turn now.

[CrankyCurmudgeon]

My wife and I voted at the beginning of the week. Maybe it was too soon! I had no idea Biden was a squeezer AND a leaner. Scheiss, merde, and mierda. Why . . . whatevah will ah do?

GObama (would Bear Bryant support Barack, of for no other reason than the symmetry?)

[jabe]

I referenced this article in a blog post discussing Biden's "jobs" gaffe.
http://objectors.us/

[Forester]

Joe - you are OK in my book

[lee4]

I wish Biden would stop saying what a good guy "John" is!

[JBS]

It's just a part of what a good guy Joe is that he can't.

[The Lorax]

He is truly friends with McCain which says a lot about him like.. he can work with and be friends across the aisle. Because he stands up for even his Repub friends who may be acting oddly, it's because he knows this guy and what he's really like, and he can give an honest opinion. This is what makes Biden Biden and what always has, and he'd have not lasted so long if he wasn't himself and candid and able to reach across lines the way he does. I love Joe and I don't want him to change a d@mn thing, making nice to McCain and all. Because you know what else? McCain used to be someone else, someone I could have voted for. I miss that guy, not sure who the hell he is now but he used to be a good guy.

[lee4]

I've always loved Biden and think he'll make a great VP or president. I've followed him since I'm in the Philly burbs and my son graduated from UD, like Biden. I know he and McCain are friends, but I just feel he should tone it down a little. He almost makes it sound like John will be John again, if John's elected. I guess I worry about the undecided voter thinking that.

[Pulemerci]

So Jay is suspicious of Joe the plumber. Didn't Obama knock on his door? BTW, another Bidenism yesterday. He was a rally and said "Obama's plan is a 3 letter word-J-O-B-S. " Classic Biden. Move over Yogi Berra! There's a new malaprop king in town! I think my favorite is when he said Obama is not ready to be POTUS. When asked by George Stepahanopolous, he said, "I stand by my statement." Now he stands by Obama as his VP choice. Do his words mean anything? Or did a Labour Party official write them?

[godemsinnc]

No, Obama did NOT knock on "Joe the plumber's" door. Obama was walking through a neighborhood and "Joe" approached HIM with a question, which Obama answered thoughtfully and honestly.
And the "Labour Party" snide remark -- those of us who admire Joe Biden get it, but we know the truth about the Neil Kinnock accusations, Joe has answered those charges many times, and he is going to be a great Vice President.

[Pulemerci]

He has been known to plagerize. In law school and while campaigning. Sorry, those are facts. I'd rather he didn't. The words coming out of his mouth that are his own are hysterical. "Barack America, Stand up Chuck, a Biden administration, JOBS", I could go on.

[lissak]

Joe the plumber was an obvious plant. How did McCain get the "details" of his story so fast?

[Pulemerci]

The rest of us got the details fast too. Obama wants to spread the wealth around. You know, re-distribute money. I think it's called socialism and it scares the hell out of me.

[rudyacuna]

I don't understand white folk. In my universe you don't forget a sleight a person much less engage in character assassination. As my grand father used to say, you have to have amor propio. You have to respect yourself. Now McCain hires a firm that savaged him in 2000, that employs the same tactics, this would offend an honorable man's honor. McCain has sent out a message that implies that Obama is a terrorist, and he is unpatriotic -- no doubt -- no way. McCain has had countless opportunities to repudiate the assertions but he wants to win even though he knows it is not true. He is worse than the people who savaged John Murtha. Palin has said it openly -- but she has the honor of a hyena. She won't go on TV and repeat the assertions to a newscaster's face so she can be questioned. The bottom line is that she is afraid. McCain hides behind her. She has divided the US into the real America and the unpatriotic rabble. Well, I am a veteran, John Murtha is a veteran and so are many others are veterans. Moreover, there are average Americans who are not veterans who are patriotic. As Joe Biden says, they wouldn't get away with this in my neighborhood.

[learnsomething]

Great comment. I agree.

[rpr]

I'm thinking along the same lines. What kind of campaign is that if McCain is uncomfortable with it?
Makes you think who controls whom. Is McCain just the front or is he the boss? Like Bush turned out to be a front man for the Cheneys and Roves pulling the strings?