Joe Biden showed us just why Washington isn’t working, why politics has become so nasty, why stalemate is the order of the day: The Obama administration have contempt of anyone who respectfully offers ideas that challenge theirs — or would challenge them if given even the slightest consideration.
That is what is important about what the ever-loyal New York Times describes as Vice President Biden’s “wide grin and aggressive demeanor” — to be fair, they do mention “smirking” — and Republicans see as rudeness, which is too mild a word for this occasion. Biden’s demeanor and his treatment of “my friend” Paul Ryan tell us why we are careening towards the fiscal cliff. Politics may not be beanbag — the all-purpose excuse for television ads that skirt the truth and border on character assassination — but neither is it supposed to be beanball, in which you behave in a way that prompts retaliation rather than reconciliation of competing views.
