Lynchburg, Virginia (CNN) – It was a simple swap of an "i" with an "o." And yet, a fresh gaffe from Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday caused the Romney campaign to essentially accuse him of being absent-minded and invited snickers from the Twitter-sphere.
It happened at a campaign rally in Lynchburg.
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The vice president opened his remarks to 1,500 people packed into an armory by praising Virginia's Democratic Senate nominee Tim Kaine.
"I want to tell you, it's good to be in a state that's going to be represented by Tim Kaine," Biden said. "What a guy! There is a decent honorable man. That man has more integrity in his little finger than most people have in their whole body."
Yet in the next breath, Tim Kaine became someone else.
"I'm a big Tom Kaine fan. A big Tom Kaine fan," Biden said.
Moments after the speech, the Romney campaign pounced.
"Vice President Biden forgot the name of his own Virginia Democratic Senate nominee and he wants voters to forget about President Obama's failed economic policies and lack of a real agenda for a second term," Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said in a statement to reporters.
"Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are offering real change for a real recovery, with 12 million new jobs, rising incomes and a stronger middle class," Williams added.
Those taking to Twitter were equally unforgiving, many of them overlooking the fact that Biden got Kaine's name correct the first time around.
"Obama accuses Romney of 'Romnesia' but it's Biden who calls Tim Kaine, 'Tom,'" tweeted Republican strategist and CNN Contributor Ana Navarro. "Someone's got amnesia for real."
Kaine is embroiled in a close - and bitter - battle with Republican opponent George Allen for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Jim Webb.
Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith chided Romney's team for drawing attention to the gaffe.
"Once again, Mitt Romney's campaign is showing their focus on the big things- like one letter in Tim Kaine's name," Smith said. "If they put as much time and effort into their policies, maybe we'd finally have an answer for how they'd pay for $5 trillion in tax cuts weighted to the very wealthy."
Biden devoted the majority of his speech to repeated slams against his Republican opponents. Chief among them: Biden accused Romney and Ryan of being on the wrong side of women's issues, and of pushing a tried - and tired - economic plan that hasn't worked in the past and won't work in the future.
"I've never seen two candidates for the highest office of the land who are more negative about the state of our country, about America's prospects for the future, more negative about the willingness of the American people to take responsibility for their own lives," Biden said.
From CNN Politics
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Let the one without typos cast the first stone.
Geez...Republicans have nothing else to hold on to against Biden?
6:48 pm Sat – I just watched Wolf Blitzer give Axelrod a 3 minute campaign speech for Obama with no Romney guest. Wake up America! CNN is a lapdog for Barack and Michelle. Wolf, I've lost all respect for you.
cnn finds this important to report...and yet when Romney announces the closing and shipping to china of a Jeep Plant...which Jeep says isn't happening..and CNN ignores this major lie or gaffee.
One word; Meatloaf. Who, as it turns out, isn't registered to vote in Texas, where he lives.
Who has bad judgement?
Petty people.
Am I really supposed to care about this "gaffe"? Because I don't. Is this a joke?
"Gotcha!" What a total non-issue. Give me a break!
PS: My name is Tim. My brother's name is Tom. My mother used to call us by each other's name all the time.
I have absolutely no doubt that she loved and supported us both, and for that matter, would have voted for either one of us, if we'd ever been foolish enough to try to run for office.
rolling my eyes ... this is a story?
Romney does not seem to believe in the American worker.
The Obama campaign didn't respond because responding would have been dumb as hell. Really, has the Romney campaign come to this?
Well......Joe could have stood up and told the Jeep was shipping out of the US and shipping jobs to China like Romney did yesterday.
I'm almost starting to feel sorry for Biden because it seems like he's unable to speak at any event without making mistakes. But the almost goes away when I realize that this is the man who steps in for the president and has the second highest political position in our country. This is the best we can do to represent us and our interests in the world?
At a certain point you just can't make any more excuses for him or blow it off saying "that's just Joe".
uncle joe...what a joke...cant wait till your gone..but your a laugh a minute...
Well, when you cannot accurately put forth a plan for your agenda, you look for silly stuff to talk about. Instead of worrying about a small gaffe being made by Biden, the Romney campaign should be focused on adding some details to their mystery tax plan that's slated to add an additional $5 trillion to the deficit.
Left over o from Palin in 2008 when she had to ask if she could call him Joe cuz she couldn't remember Biden
So...? GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley accidentally endorsed Obama!
“We will put America on a new path to a new day with a President Obama!"
Oops.... he later corrected himself.
Romney is desperate.
Big deal!!! If anyone his age and keeping the schedule he has for weeks and weeks, I think he's done super fine!!!
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
Romney's campaign is pathetic. They jump with glee on a gaffe but can't tell us any detail about the deductions he's going to take away. Pathetic.
Republican party candidates are not trustworthy. Can't believe they still have peoples notes.
I feel romey and his mate should stick to what they really know nothing we have great pre and vice pre. So vote for them
In the just the past month Romney has said anything he can to attract voters. Romney still has not given details on how he would do anything, except copy what President Obama said, says, did, and does. Like a mimeograph machine, a copy is not the original.
He is a clown and its amazing the double standard that you guys facilitate on your network... if this had been a Romney or Ryan slip up, it would have been front page headline for you guys. Just like Obama basically puts a disgusting ad out on youtube about letting "him" be their first time and you guys let that pervert ad slide... then he calls Romney a bull sh**ter... I'm sure you guys got a chuckle out of that as well. I remember oh so well how Anderson Cooper almost wet himself laughing about "tea baggers"... you guys are morally vacuous...not surprising you'd cover for him, Biden and any of the others that are in the gutter as bad as you guys are... no wonder you are slipping in the ratings... by the way Soledad Obrien should be fired.... or do you guys think THATS okay too that she's basically working for the Obama campaign.
College freshman psychology 101. It's called projection. Romney team is busy pointing fingers so no one can look at their lack of substance and deceit.
Joe Biden may be an old, absent-minded man. But he sure beat the daylights out of a silly, young man like Paul Ryan when they had their debate!