American Vice-President Joe Biden isn’t exactly known as a great speaker.  In fact, he is infamous for being just the opposite.  Obviously, everyone makes mistakes in public speaking, so you can forgive a few mistakes.  But when you slip up as often as Biden does, it’s no longer excusable.

#10. Barack America

Then presidential candidate Barack Obama must’ve wondered if he’d made the right decision for his vice-presidential candidate when Joe Biden slipped up at his first public appearance with the future president, in Springfield, Illinois, on August 23rd, 2008.  This is how Biden introduced his running mate:

   “A man I’m proud to call my friend. A man who will be the next President of the United States — Barack America!”

#9. Indian-Americans

Joe Biden had some questionable judgement when privately taking to an Indian-American in June of 2006.  The following quote was caught by the TV station CSPAN:

   “In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian-Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”

#8. Hilary Clinton

Apparently, Biden doesn’t think he was the right choice for vice-president, something President Obama might agree with now.  Speaking at a town hall meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire a few weeks after being chosen as the VP candidate, Biden said:

   “Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Let’s get that straight. She’s a truly close personal friend.  Quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me. But she’s first rate.”

#7. Racism?

At the beginning of the Democratic presidential campaign, on January 31st, 2007, Joe Biden talked about his opponent Barack Obama.  His statement sounded awfully racist to many people, and undermined his campaign right from the beginning.

  “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.  I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

#6. Big Stick

On April 26th, 2012, Joe Biden was asked by reporters about Theodore Roosevelt’s famous foreign policy belief of “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”  Biden’s response didn’t exactly come out as he had planned:

 “I promise you, the president has a big stick. I promise you.”

#5. Website Number

Joe Biden was on CBS’s “Early Show” on Februaury 25th, 2009, encouraging viewers to go to a government site to check stimulus spending, when he forgot the site’s address.  That would’ve been bad enough, but he then turned to an off-screen aide and asked:

   “You know, I’m embarrassed. Do you know the Web site number? I should have it in front of me and I don’t. I’m actually embarrassed.”

#4. Dr. Pepper

The Vice-President was giving a speech on March 28th, 2012, when he thanked Scott Community College President Dr. Theresa Paper for allowing him to speak there.  Unfortunately, he flubbed her name:

 “I just want to thank Dr. Pepper.”

#3. Stand Up Chuck

   On September 9th, 2008, Joe Biden was giving a speech in Columbia, Missouri, for a campaign event.  State Senator Chuck Graham was in the crowd, he Biden decided to ask him to stand up so that the crowd could applaud for him.  Only one problem – Graham is in a wheelchair!

 “Stand up, Chuck, let ’em see ya. Oh, God love ya, what am I talking about?”

#2. FDR and Television

   Biden had two gaffes in one on September 22nd, 2008, during an interview with Katie Couric.  He talked about President Franklin D. Roosevelt getting on the television and calming the public after the stock market crash.  However, Herbert Hoover was president when the stock market crashed, and the television wasn’t introduced to the public until the 1939 World Fair – 10 years after the crash.

   “When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.”

#1. Three Letters?

   So we’ve already seen Joe Biden can get historical facts very wrong.  But apparently, he can’t count to four either.  In Athens, Ohio, on October 25th, 2008, Biden was talking about presidential candidate John McCain’s economic proposal.  He told the crowd:

    “Look, John’s last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs.”