Biden swaps 'i' with 'o' in fresh gaffe seized on by Romney camp
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.
Happy Halloween!!! Want something scary ???? Joe is next in line to take of the reins of power of the most powerful nation in the world, if something were to happen to our president. Is that a chance you want to take for the next 4 years.
I'm sure this is the end of the world s we know it to the repubs
It is very sad, but Mr. Biden has a big problem. It could be medical problem, early demintia or is just his mouth opens before connecting to the words.
I guess this will blow over, unless the Republicans continue to make news out of it. Listen, Romney won't even talk for the next week. He is so afraid he will say something wrong, or that the Press might ask for his Tax returns, or he might have to answer more questions about his surrogate's comments. No one really cares about the Republicants. They argue with themselves, and have no substance. All I see them doing is waiting for opportunities, and then trying to profit off of them. They're shameless and pathetic.