True bromance.
I’m not crying YOU’RE CRYING.
I think there’s going to be a bit of a contrast between Obama and our next president. I could see Trump giving a similar medal but it will likely be to Putin after he arranges the assassination of three out of for BuzzFeed employees.
Watching President Obama’s farewell in Chicago, then watching Trump’s press briefing the next day was something else.
God, I hope they both continue to serve! I would love to seen Obama back in the Senate. Can you imagine him moving to Texas and running for Senate just to fuck with Republicans?
As a Texan in hell, I like your thinking!
I mean it was touching, but the idea of a President giving a medal to his sitting VP is kinda gross to me.
And yes, I know there is precedent for it.
That said, it made Joe’s decade and the dude deserves it imo.
You know, in the end, he is/was my president.
This is exactly how i felt. I was kind of put off by the idea of giving the VP the presidential medal of freedom, even though i did like Biden. No matter what the vp did, i’m always going to feel that situation is Political theatre.
However I think America needed this. We needed the feel good moment of Biden getting super emotional over it. We needed the presidential moment because we’ve almost forgotten that it was possible already. I have mixed opinions on Obama’s presidency i will admit, but I think this is his final gift to a country that feels like it is without hope to a lot of people.
Yeah, I gotta join in saying that a president giving his VP the medal of freedom is kind of lame.
Cheeto Mussolini will be handing these out like candy to Omarosa, Joe the Plumber and Alex Jones.
Oh God, Alex Jones is totally going to get one so is Bannon.
It is kind of sketchy on the surface, but I chose to look at it as a President giving the medal to Joe Biden, not as Barrack giving it to Joe. What I mean is, Joe Biden started his career in public service in 1969 as a councilman, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972. In between being elected and being sworn in, his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident at Christmas, and both his sons were seriously injured (but made full recoveries). He nearly quit his political career before it began, but was convinced to stay on by several existing members of the Senate. He was only 30 years old, a widower and single father of two young boys. To stay involved in their lives, he commuted 90 minutes one-way by train every day to Washington rather than lease an apartment in the city. Nobody thought he would last a single term.
He’s been a U.S. Senator and/or Vice President for over 40 years since that first term. As part of that career he’s served on countless committees and been a part of numerous important legislative initiatives. He was integral to foreign relations with Russia (irony!) in the late '70’s when the two countries were negotiating arms control treaties, he was a vocal proponent for sanctions against South Africa in the 80’s during Apartheid, he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee for nearly 20 years in the 80’s and 90’s, has been an integral member of the Foreign Relations Committee for years and has served with distinction throughout his political career.
Quite frankly, the man is probably the most overqualified Vice President we have ever had. He is certainly one of the most accomplished, though most people aren’t aware of it. He has also worked harder than any VP in recent memory, during an 8 year Administration that has presided over some pretty difficult circumstances. If he had chosen to run for President in 2016, I would have voted for him without hesitation, TWICE. ;-)
So yeah, I see the list of previous Medal of Freedom winners and I look at Biden’s long and prolific career of public service and his contributions to this country over 40+ years and I say it’s a well deserved honor, including “with distinction”. Is it kind of hokey for Obama to be the one that awards it, sure, but if not him, then who? Trump is certainly never going to do it. And as others have said, this was a moment America kind of needed, a moment that showed that the jobs of President and Vice President of the United States of America mean something, that the people who serve as such must do so with class, honor and distinction. In this one moment, America truly was made great again, if only for a day.
Made me think of a few days ago when the Sec of Def gave Obama some kind of medal for serving his country. They might all deserve the praise, but government officials giving each other bling does reek as far as I am concerned.
Sure, I hear you. So take the time, do the research, and find out for your self. I think, much as @SlainteMhath noted, this honor is most assuredly deserved. I just wish we would get Lesley Knopes reaction on this.
You know she needed a moment to sit down while Ben fanned her, followed by celebratory waffles at JJ’s.
It’s a little tacky, yeah. But then I thought about, and I realized that A) Obama is fresh out of fucks to give and B) If not Obama, then who? Is Trump going to give Biden such an award? Biden’s not exactly a spring chicken anymore, so maybe he thought “Fuck it, this guy deserves it and as one of my last acts as President, I’m gonna make sure it happens and optics be damned”.
I’m fairly sure that’s exactly what happened.
God damn it I wish Joe ran for President. Not because of lame political guesses like “oh he would have done better than Hillary!” Maybe yes, maybe no. But I’ve loved the guy and followed him since years before he was selected as Obama’s VP pick and have always wanted him as President.
I agree with Kevin’s depiction of what likely happened, I just think that the end result is that the award is somewhat cheapened.