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And if you owned an experimental TV set in 1929, you would have seen him. And you would have said to yourself, "Who is that guy? What happened to President Hoover?"
From Katie Couric's sit-down with Joe Biden:
When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, "look, here's what happened."
[Hat tip: John-David.]
|9.23.08 @ 9:53AM|#
Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just
talk about the princes of greed. He said, "look, here's what
happened."
...and here's how we're going to make it worse and keep it going
for the next decade.
Guy Montag|9.23.08 @ 10:02AM|#
Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just
talk about the princes of greed. He said, "look, here's what
happened."
From previous Sen. Biden history, I would suggest that the whole
thing go in quotes and someone look up who he is faling to credit
with those words.
|9.23.08 @ 10:07AM|#
Ah yes, I still remember the flickers of the flame in technicolor during those Roosevelt fireside chats back in 1930 when he took over from Hoover. Though I hated it when they interrupted I Love Lucy for them and I had to go on the internets (phone modems back then, believe it or not!) to get an episode summary.
Tom Walls|9.23.08 @ 10:13AM|#
The Nazis had television at that time. You see, he grew up there - his real name is Josef Beiden.
Guy Montag|9.23.08 @ 10:26AM|#
The Nazis had television at that time. You see, he grew up
there - his real name is Josef Beiden.
So he knows what it is like living under a totalitarian regime,
just like Mrs. Heinz-Kerry?
|9.23.08 @ 10:29AM|#
It's interesting how the existing media narrative affects the way stories are told. If Palin (or, for example, W or Quayle) had given this same interview, the headline would be "Palin thinks we had TV in 1929!" Because it would fit the narrative of "She's really an idiot underneath it all." But I think any one of the other three would get away with this one.
|9.23.08 @ 10:32AM|#
Brian,
You just figured that out now? Sheesh, every election has a
narrative.
2000: Bush dumb*, Gore liar*
2004: Bush dumb, Kerry aloof flip-flopper*
2008: McCain old and angry**, Obama shallow
* In reality, these apply to all politicians
** McCain liar may be the new narrative
Guy Montag|9.23.08 @ 10:37AM|#
All this new stuff is 'doing me head in' (as they say in
Sheffield). I am still trying to figure out if Sen. Obama running
in 57 States is an advantage or disadvantage over Sen. McCain
running in only 50+DC.
Is Sen. Obama using the metric system for this election or
something?
Sausage Swingin\' Libber|9.23.08 @ 10:38AM|#
Matt Damon reacts to Joe Biden's recent interview with Katie
Couric -
"I need to know if he really thinks FDR addressed the nation on
television in the 30's, during the Depression . . . that's an
important question . . . I wanna know that, I really do."
|9.23.08 @ 10:40AM|#
And you would have said to yourself, "Who is that
guy?
I think anyone connected enough to have an experimental TV in 1929
would have recognized the Governor of New York.
And I assume all you smart guys actually do know that in 1929 the
Nazi Party was still a minority right-wing party in Germany, and
widely regarded as a party whose popularity had peaked.
Guy Montag|9.23.08 @ 10:40AM|#
Jerry,
They did not keep medical records when he entered the Senate in the
same way they do now. They are still translating the stone tablets,
so it might be a while longer.
However, the US Navy was forced by the Congress to keep paper
records when Sen. McCain was in, so that was quicker. Plus, there
are plenty of folks in his opposing party who can read Vietnamese
to cover his time in captivity.
|9.23.08 @ 10:43AM|#
2008: McCain old and angry**, Obama shallow
No, no no! McCain is a maverick. He's McMaverick!
|9.23.08 @ 10:44AM|#
By the way, I should credit where I found this tidbit: The wonderful othercrap.com blog. End plug.
Guy Montag|9.23.08 @ 10:45AM|#
Epi,
Don't forget about the messiah! He is enlightened and
visionary! The people we have been waiting for and all that.
Guy Montag|9.23.08 @ 10:47AM|#
vanya,
I suspect most people here are continuing the joke that Sen. Biden
unknowingly created.
BDB|9.23.08 @ 10:52AM|#
"Don't forget about the messiah! He is enlightened and
visionary! The people we have been waiting for and all that."
Is this July?
|9.23.08 @ 10:52AM|#
Oh wow, I did not realize Television sets were that old. they
had TVs in 29? Wow, I guess I am getting old!
Sally
www.anonymize.us.tc
armchairpunter|9.23.08 @ 10:53AM|#
Doesn't the Obama campaign know that the reason McCain is not
able to operate a telegraph transmitter is due to injuries suffered
as a POW? How insensitive!
While he may not be a pioneer of the technology, during his time as
a POW, McCain proved more than capable of utilizing Morse code to
communicate with other prisoners. (It's a Navy thing.)
Besides, he's always able to get some guy in an armband and visor
to encode his messages into morse code for him. Does Obama have an
armband and visor?
Where were we?
Abdul|9.23.08 @ 10:54AM|#
No, no no! McCain is a maverick. He's McMaverick!
That's totally a myth. Someone at Reason should write a book about
it. Bet it sells hundreds of copies.
|9.23.08 @ 10:54AM|#
I think anyone connected enough to have an experimental TV
in 1929 would have recognized the Governor of New York.
vanya catches the double gaffe. Not only was FDR not on TV in 1929,
he wasn't even the President then.
Predicted MSM hand-wringing over Biden's fitness to be President in
light of his demonstrated inability to control his yap - zero.
|9.23.08 @ 10:54AM|#
It must be July, BDB.
Republicans have been a-ok with cults of personality since
late-August.
Come to think of it, nobody has insisted that I'm panicking for a
long time. Maybe it really is July.
Guy Montag|9.23.08 @ 10:58AM|#
While he may not be a pioneer of the technology, during his
time as a POW, McCain proved more than capable of utilizing Morse
code to communicate with other prisoners. (It's a Navy
thing.)
I believe you are meaning Tap Code, whis quite destinctively
different from Morse.
Jerry|9.23.08 @ 11:02AM|#
R C Dean, I think Biden's brain aneurysms are acting up, that's why he needs to release his medical records.
|9.23.08 @ 11:06AM|#
I'm content to blame Vice President Mondale.
Nah, it's all Christopher Cox's fault. That bastard.
Let's go egg his house.
Abdul|9.23.08 @ 11:17AM|#
Let's go egg his house.
You can't. I short-sold egg futures and destroyed the poultry
industry.
|9.23.08 @ 11:18AM|#
vanya catches the double gaffe. Not only was FDR not on TV
in 1929, he wasn't even the President then.
Uh, the headline caught the double gaffe, hence the part of the
"Who is that guy? What happened to President Hoover?" part of
it.
vanya was making fun of the "Who is that guy?" part of it.
rhywun|9.23.08 @ 11:34AM|#
McCain liar may be the new narrative
More like: old, angry AND liar. None of which will harm him in the
least. Seems like the dominant narrative never does any harm, 'cept
maybe Kerry. And Dukakis.
Tom Walls|9.23.08 @ 11:35AM|#
So he knows what it is like living under a totalitarian
regime, just like Mrs. Heinz-Kerry?
You mean Mozambique, AKA Portuguese East Africa?
I like referring to African countries by their former names. Even
the tiny country of Togoland...
Dagny T.|9.23.08 @ 11:37AM|#
I had no idea Biden was a steampunk fan.
FTW. I just really do not want to see him in the get-ups they tend
to wear. Why must my day begin with yet another unappealing image
of The Bidenator?
|9.23.08 @ 11:44AM|#
Why must my day begin with yet another unappealing image of
The Bidenator?
Because Obama didn't have the foresight to pick a former beauty
queen as his running mate?
Guy Montag|9.23.08 @ 12:18PM|#
TW,
Yes, but I was really referring to Mrs. Kerry's parents being part
of the regime that she 'suffered' under. Should have been more
obvious.
economist,
I always see Al Gore as the Dems Dan Quale, but the parties treat
those types quite differently.
TheDudesBlog|9.23.08 @ 12:19PM|#
What a great line, Jesse. Kudos. That's the funniest thing I've read in a while.
rhywun|9.23.08 @ 12:25PM|#
And Gore.
Yeah, I dunno if it's the D's inability to nominate teflon
candidates (since Clinton) or R voters' lack of concern over their
candidates' flaws, but the D's do seem to be suffering the most
from the "lefty media"'s attention.
|9.23.08 @ 12:30PM|#
Guys and gals,
I've said it before, say it now and will say it again, prepare for
civil/revolutionary war.
Right now Sarah is by far and away the most competent among the
four.
Restore America, stock up on ammo and guns and canned food and
general supplies.
VIVA the Libertarian militia.
Good Old Sam C|9.23.08 @ 12:38PM|#
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
TheDudesBlog|9.23.08 @ 12:46PM|#
Joe Biden: Because every ticket needs an old white guy
http://thedudesblog.com/2008/09/23/walkers-hilarious-biden-smackdown/
|9.23.08 @ 1:13PM|#
Sausage Swingin' Libber | September 23, 2008, 10:38am | #
Matt Damon reacts to Joe Biden's recent interview with Katie Couric -
"I need to know if he really thinks FDR addressed the nation on television in the 30's, during the Depression . . . that's an important question . . . I wanna know that, I really do."
Best comment of the day!
K T Cat|9.23.08 @ 1:25PM|#
Go ahead and laugh, neocon dorks. We've got pictures from the event to prove it happened!
Uh Huh|9.23.08 @ 1:36PM|#
but the D's do seem to be suffering the most from the "lefty
media"'s attention.
Most Democrats spend their whole careers having the press edit out
their more embarassing remarks. Then they get into a national
campaign and suddenly people notice what they actually say.
|9.23.08 @ 1:37PM|#
I really think the turning point in the civil war was when Lincoln went on Oprah.
Joe Biden|9.23.08 @ 1:40PM|#
So instead of talking about my "taxes are patriotic" gaffe, now
everyone is talking about my "Obama's ad was terrible" and "FDR
gave a televised speech in 1929" gaffes!
My plan is working perfectly!
Heck, the whole plagiarism thing is like 40 gaffes ago now.
Biden is like a really bad Dis|9.23.08 @ 1:53PM|#
This is classic:
Sausage Swingin' Libber | September 23, 2008, 10:38am |
Matt Damon reacts to Joe Biden's recent interview with Katie Couric
-
"I need to know if he really thinks FDR addressed the nation on
television in the 30's, during the Depression . . . that's an
important question . . . I wanna know that, I really do."
Salvius|9.23.08 @ 2:00PM|#
Biden's obviously just being himself. As he says earlier in the
linked piece:
I know the Republicans are going to take anything I say, no matter what it would be or anybody, and take it out of context," Biden said. "They are going to take any piece and if I have to parse through every single thing I'm going to say, then I'm not me."
Stale Prince|9.23.08 @ 2:02PM|#
Was this before or after Biden went to live with his auntie and uncle in Bel Air?
|9.23.08 @ 2:10PM|#
Biden also went on to talk about how Roosevelt went on TV after the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.
Robert|9.23.08 @ 2:10PM|#
H. Hoover had appeared on TV as Sec'y of
Commerce, before he was president.
When I was very little I flew beteween NY & Miami once on the
same plane as H. Hoover. They wouldn't let us up front to see the
pilot because they wouldn't let people thru the section with the
Secret Service & former POTUS.
rhywun|9.23.08 @ 2:16PM|#
Most
Democratspoliticians spend their whole careers having the press edit out their more embarassing remarks. Then they get into a national campaign and suddenly people notice what they actually say.
Fixed.
Republicans are perfectly capable of saying crazy shit too. They
just have a knack for nominating candidates that can get away with
it and/or their constituency just doesn't care.
|9.23.08 @ 2:35PM|#
Cut Joe some slack. He was just repeating the childhood memories McCain told him in the Senate cafeteria.
|9.23.08 @ 2:40PM|#
Kolohe,
It's cute how your "wiki" omits that fact that a radioactive Hoover
ravaged the East Coast for three days after the experiment and the
government completely covered it up. Don't believe everything you
read on the Internet, smart guy!
|9.23.08 @ 2:42PM|#
Fireside chats buddy, that's what he's talking about. So he got some of the details wrong - the basic idea still holds true.
|9.23.08 @ 2:43PM|#
*YAWN* Take a guess how many average Americans will give a shit much less be able to spell "anachronism".
|9.23.08 @ 2:43PM|#
I always see Al Gore as the Dems Dan Quale
Are you kidding? Quayle had better grades. And after losing, he
went to work in industry instead of declaring himself Savior of
Earth and scaring small children with lies about polar bears.
Kolohe|9.23.08 @ 3:08PM|#
SF-
Point taken.
Especially after seeing a pic
of television
pioneer Philo Farnsworth taken sometime later in his life.
|9.23.08 @ 3:25PM|#
- Biden reacting to a question about Palin and the up coming
debates...
"Look, all kidding aside," Biden said. "So maybe it's a
generational thing but I don't start this thing thinking 'Oh my
God, this is a woman, I had better treat her differently.'"
...he finished by saying "I'll still slug her if she gets out of
line"
|9.23.08 @ 4:30PM|#
Vanya: Actually, the NAZIs (or National Socialist party) were NEVER a right wing party of any sort. They were hard left - just like their name would suggest. Hitler's disagreement with the communists in pre-war Germany was that they were basically both working the same side of the street.
|9.23.08 @ 4:35PM|#
There are rumors circulating that Obama wants to replace Biden
and the way he'll do it is by having Biden go out and make such bad
gaffes that he will be "forced" to replace him.
Looks like it's starting already. Add this to the quotes from Biden
bashing Obama's ads and there just might be something to these
rumors.
|9.23.08 @ 4:43PM|#
"Stand up Franklin, let everybody see ya..... JB"
Brilliant! Well played, T Coleman!
|9.23.08 @ 4:59PM|#
This is the 1st time I've been to this site. Imagine my surprise when I read the comments and found such good natured ribbing. I'll be around from now on. Sure, Joe has a rambling manner, oh, did I tell anyone about the time Johnny Mac and I invented the blackberry? I have a clip of the roll out. It aired right after FDR's televised victory speech when we finally beat back those Martians who had the balls to attack us at Grovers Mill, NJ! Oh, those were the days.
Uh, Jesse...|9.23.08 @ 6:36PM|#
"Fireside chats buddy, that's what he's talking about. So he got
some of the details wrong - the basic idea still holds true."
So the basic premise that then President Roosevelt addressed the
nation in 1929 RE: the stock market crash holds true?
Franklin Harris|9.23.08 @ 8:01PM|#
Clearly, I should have forced the issue when some Obama Kool-Aid drinker was trying to bet me McCain would drop Palin from the ticket and I said it was more likely Obama would drop Biden.
|9.23.08 @ 10:21PM|#
Umnn, I was born in 1934, the first time I became aware of the marvels of Televison was in the mid 50's my friends and I used to walk to a small store in the small town where we lived to watch the "snow" and to catch an occasional glimpse of an image!
|9.24.08 @ 6:05AM|#
Come now, I thought FDR's awesome ability to travel through time to give economic speeches was well known. Don't you all remember the famous FDR "Ook ik ben een burger van Amsterdam" speech following the Tulip Mania of 1637?
|9.24.08 @ 11:15AM|#
Also, for all those who think that Obama will drop Biden due to this... well, at least he hasn't confused Sunnis with Shias. That's a positive.
|9.24.08 @ 11:17AM|#
Hm, first comment didn't post. Anyways, was just replying back
to Uh, Jesse that, technically, the quote didn't say "President
Roosevelt" or even that he addressed the nation. From what I've
read, it does seem that FDR did go on radio (yes, not on TV) as
governor of NY to explain the issue.
I am only 26 though. A bit past my time.
Norski|9.24.08 @ 2:02PM|#
Katie Couric's exclusive interview with Mr. Biden is interesting
in a couple of ways.
There's the obvious one: where Mr. Biden reveals an alternative
history in which television was in wide use in the late Twenties,
and FDR was president when the Stock Market crashed.
Then there's the CBS News online video of Katie Couric's piece on
Mr. Biden.
That embarrassing little error about FDR, television, and the Stock
Market crash has been edited out.
(Shameless self-promotion: I put a clip of Mr. Biden's 'FDR'
remarks, and CBS News' sanitized version, on a post today.)
|9.24.08 @ 2:15PM|#
Holy shit, guys, did you see how he set himself up for that epic
fail?
"Part of what being a leader does is to instill confidence is
to demonstrate what he or she knows what they are talking about and
to communicating to people ... this is how we can fix this," Biden
said. "When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the
television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He
said, 'look, here's what happened.'"
I mean... I mean... how fucking perfect is that? Beautiful!
I can't stop laughing.
|9.24.08 @ 7:01PM|#
For the love of Pete... how in the HELL can CBS edit that out in it's online posting and STILL try to claim to be a news organization?
Mark Bahner|9.24.08 @ 10:47PM|#
I didn't see it. So I missed the important thing: how did his
hair look? Was it OK?
Did he look...presidential? Or at least vice-presidential?
Cool and forceful...like this?
http://druglaw.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/19/senator_joseph_biden.jpg
|10.2.08 @ 11:13AM|#
Stock market didnt bottom until 1933.
FDR - 32nd President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1933 - April 12, 1945
Video of first inaugural address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oblTN1ojsAA&feature=related
Neil B|10.2.08 @ 7:47PM|#
Whatever Biden meant: As many noted, Biden said "Franklin
Roosevelt" (Governor of NY at the time) not "President Roosevelt"
(unless there's more to that point outside the quotes.) And FDR was
using radio around 1929, see Poliblogger. Also, re Roosevelt's filmed inaugural address:
He talks about the recent crash and the depression. So, film,
television, not the same tech but the idea isn't so far off.
But the bottom line: Most speakers make mistakes from time to time,
like so many switching Iran and Iraq. Biden does it more often, but
he has so much other material for them to be buried in. Palin just
hasn't said that much at all recently that we can hear, or writings
to look at. If she'd sounded good 90% of the time, those odd gaffes
wouldn't matter. Also, Palin just didn't know what to say, but
Biden flubbed it - emptiness is worse than a mistake.
BTW, as scary as Obama-Biden may be to lots of libertarians here,
you don't really think your rights (especially personal ones) are
going to be protected under McCain-Palin, do you?
Neil B|10.2.08 @ 7:52PM|#
Also, from Wikipedia "Fireside chats":
According to Roosevelt's principal speechwriter Judge Samuel
Rosenman, he first used "fireside chats" in 1929 during his first
term as Governor of New York. Roosevelt faced a conservative
Republican legislature so during each legislative session he would
occasionally address the citizens of New York directly in the
camelback room. He appealed to them for help getting his agenda
passed. Letters would pour in following each of these "chats,"
which helped pressure legislators to pass measures Roosevelt had
proposed. He began making the informal addresses as President on
March 12, 1933, during the Great Depression.[1]
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