Biden: Romney’s VP Pick Shows ‘Etch-a-Sketch Is Gone’
Published at
T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images(BLACKSBURG, Va.) — Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Mitt Romney’s selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate clearly indicates where the presumptive GOP nominee stands and throws out the ability for Romney to use an “etch-a-sketch” in this campaign.
“The Etch-a-Sketch is gone. This is sort of written pretty clearly,” Biden said of the meaning of Romney’s VP pick during a speech at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. “It’s almost — not in stone, but it’s pretty clearly defined, and it gives us an ability and the American people to have an absolute, unfettered clear view.”
In his speech Wednesday, Biden did not touch directly on his controversial “chains” comments made yesterday, which Republicans pounced on, and he refrained from hitting back at Romney for calling the president’s campaign “angry and desperate.”
“I know I am sometimes criticized for saying exactly what I mean, and it’s not going to change,” Biden said without specifically referencing his “chains” comment.
During a stop at the River City Grill in Radford, Va., Biden avoided a reporter’s question about Romney’s statement that Biden’s remarks were a sign of desperation in the campaign.
On his second day campaigning in Virginia this week, Biden defended the president, attesting to his character and leadership.
“Barack Obama does exactly what he says he’s going to do. You don’t have to worry about Barack Obama changing positions mid stream,” Biden said.
The vice president tried to paint Romney as a candidate who is “out of touch,” pointing to his Swiss Bank account, money in the Cayman Islands, and refusal to release his tax returns as evidence, and Biden accused Republicans of obstructionism, saying the administration could accomplish “much more if they could just get out of the way, these Republicans.”
“This is not your father’s Republican Party. This is not the Republican Party I worked with over the last 30 years in the United States Congress,” Biden said. “They’re very different. As a matter of fact, this is not even Romney’s father’s Republican Party.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio