Way back in August, I described Joe Biden as "kind of a bozo." But then the whole world decided that they either hated or loved Sarah Palin, and everybody decided that therefore, through some sort of reverse osmosis process, Biden must be a Steady Hand on the Tiller etc etc.

Nah, he's a garrulous old hack, which isn't the worst thing in the world, but it's the wrong thing in a Vice President. The VP is supposed to be the next best thing to the President, which means people (especially foreigners, who don't know any better) listen to him, which means he isn't supposed to talk too much. He's supposed to just stand there looking sad while they lower the dictator of Bebukustan into the ground. Al Gore was good at that.

Biden's not. Every so often, he just can't control himself, and then you get incidents like "I think I have a much higher I.Q. than you do.''