Biden's Internet gaffe amusing but Stevens is the king
When asked this morning for the name of the website he's overseeing, Vice President Biden responded, "You know, I’m embarrassed. Do you know the website number? I should have it in front of me and I don’t." Although a gaffe, it pales in comparison to Senator Ted Stevens's legendary explanation of the Internet a few years ago.
Jake Turcotte
Yeah, Joe Biden botched it this morning.
When asked for the address of the website he's overseeing while appearing on the CBS Early Show, he couldn't recall it.
He made it worse when asking someone offstage for the "number" of the website.
Loop back
In case you missed it, he was on the morning show to discuss his new role as watchdog. He's in charge of ensuring that the economic stimulus money being sent to states and cities is being spent correctly.
He's also, in a sense, the webmaster for the site created to monitor the spending. Recovery.gov. The problem is, he forgot the URL when asked.
“You know, I’m embarrassed. Do you know the website number?” he asked to someone off-camera. “I should have it in front of me and I don’t. I’m actually embarrassed.”
Not alone
This is far from the first time an elected official has fumbled his words when discussing the Internet.
When asked back in 2006 if he ever Googled anyone, President George W. Bush said "One of the things I’ve used on the Google is to pull up maps."
That was pretty tame. On par with asking for the website number.
Hall of Famer
Of course, no one can top former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. He's, hands-down, the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for biggest Internet gaffe (for an elected official).
Part of his lore, perhaps, is that a dance remix was made of his words when describing the Internet. We've included the video below. But first, his remarks:
“An Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why?
“Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the Internet commercially…
“They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the Internet. And again, the Internet is not something you just dump something on. It’s not a truck.
“It’s a series of tubes.
Enjoy...