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PrintFebruary 8, 2009
Why I Like Joe
I like Joe, not plumber Joe, although I do like him, but Joe the VP. He makes me laugh.
Lately, I've noticed a somewhat disparaging tone in some of the linguistic, and ev
en artistic (e.g., the cartoon* recently displayed on this website, reproduced at the right, that now hangs on my office wall to remind me of the offense) fusillades aimed at Joe the VP's direction, from this website and elsewhere, since he ascended to the 14th highest office in the land - right below Robert Gibbs. (Bob, by the way, has the potential of someday eclipsing the entertainment value of Joe the VP. Stand by.)
en artistic (e.g., the cartoon* recently displayed on this website, reproduced at the right, that now hangs on my office wall to remind me of the offense) fusillades aimed at Joe the VP's direction, from this website and elsewhere, since he ascended to the 14th highest office in the land - right below Robert Gibbs. (Bob, by the way, has the potential of someday eclipsing the entertainment value of Joe the VP. Stand by.)I herein repudiate such insensitive comments about Joe the VP as disrespectful of his office, and offer this rebuttal.
I like Joe; he makes me laugh. Now that Blago is gone, and the new junior Senator from Illinois is being ignored by the media, who do we have to make us laugh? Rahm Emanuel? Tim Geithner? No, only Joe the VP offers us comic relief.
Remember that day back in 2006 during the confirmation hearings for future Judge Samuel Alito when Joe the VP made amends for a negative comment about Princeton University by showing up the next day wearing a Princeton baseball cap? If you didn't laugh at him talking incessantly up there on the dais reserved for the high Pooh-Bahs of Legal Wisdom while wearing that cap, then you have no sense of humor.
I won't list Joe the VP's legendary witticisms. You've probably already begun recollecting his campaign comment about asking the wheel-chair bound state legislator to stand up to be recognized. And, his quip about Justice Roberts' fumbling the presidential oath. Or, that campaign comment about how Obama better not try to take away his guns... you're ahead of me. And thereby you've made my point.
We owe Joe the VP our gratitude for the many laughs he's already given us, and promises to give us going forward.
He's a whole lot funnier than was Dan Quayle. (For those of you younger than some of my shoes, Quayle was once a VP, too.) How can you compare Quayle saying, "Bank failures are caused by depositors who don't deposit enough money to cover losses due to mismanagement," with Joe's ""You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.... I'm not joking." The funniest part was that Joe wasn't joking!
So instead of ridiculing Joe the VP, we should encourage him with applause and laughter. He likes that. Remember, he was Obama's first major decision. A portent of things to come.
*cartoon by Big Fur Hat of iOwnTheWorld.
*cartoon by Big Fur Hat of iOwnTheWorld.
