Morning Buzz… Joe Biden: Foot in Mouth Disease?

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Jill Billante
AC360° Senior Producer

Well, just one day after the president marked his 100th day in the oval office with a prime-time press conference highlighting his Administration’s accomplishments, and one day after he told Americans to use common sense preventative measures to avoid the swine flu, President Joe Biden makes some very curious remarks indeed.

Biden, this morning, said on NBC’s “Today”, “I would tell members of my family and I have, I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now. It’s not that you’re going to Mexico, it’s you’re in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft. That’s me. I would not be at this point, if they had another way of transportation suggesting they ride the subway. Um, so from my perspective, what it relates to is mitigation. If you’re out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes, that’s one thing, if you’re in a closed aircraft or closed container or closed car or closed classroom its a different thing.”

His office then quickly issued a statement clarifying the VP’s remarks. The statement: “ The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the Administration is giving to all Americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico. If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways.” Does that sound the same to you?

For an Administration that is trying very hard to control the message, stay on top of the crisis with multiple briefings by HHS and DHS, keep panic to a minimum. Is Joe Biden doing them any favors here? There is already fallout from the Airline industry. Will the president be forced to make remarks? We’ll see.

Meanwhile, President Obama has plenty on his plate today. CNN is hearing from the Obama Administration that Chrysler will in fact file for bankruptcy. The president will make remarks at noon. Stay tuned.