Of course not, but when your opponent is shooting himself in the foot, why take away the gun? Anythign Biden says otherwise will be picked apart. Biden will show who's ready during the debate.

Tally one on the Biden Gaffe-O-Meter.  

Yes, don't get dragged into this - Obama/Biden have the right instincts here. Though don't expect the screechers on the Right to notice.

I'm probably wrong on this, but what about the possibility that Biden did kind of jab at her by saying "she’s qualified to be the vice president" rather than "she's qualified to be president should the circumstances arise"?

Just a thought.

I don't think it's a gaffe or a bad thing.

Obama and Biden need to demonstrate clearly and repeatedly that they are having no part in the frenzied onslaught on Palin. While most of what's being asked about her is relevant and important, some of it focuses on sensational family stuff which could cause a backlash. And, more importantly, some of what's getting said will be easily manipulated by McCain's people into evidence of sexism. Biden and Obama should be NOWHERE NEAR THIS.

Besides, technically she is qualified. She meets the only two formal requirements -- age and being born in US. Biden can always explain that's what he meant, if need be. Obama does not need to say she's unqualified and should not say this; he just needs to say that she's less qualified than he is (which should be self-evident, but may not be to many voters in the wake of the Republican spin campaign.)

I don't think it's a gaffe or a bad thing.

Obama and Biden need to demonstrate clearly and repeatedly that they are having no part in the frenzied onslaught on Palin. While most of what's being asked about her is relevant and important, some of it focuses on sensational family stuff which could cause a backlash. And, more importantly, some of what's getting said will be easily manipulated by McCain's people into evidence of sexism. Biden and Obama should be NOWHERE NEAR THIS.

Besides, technically she is qualified. She meets the only two formal requirements -- age and being born in US. Biden can always explain that's what he meant, if need be. Obama does not need to say she's unqualified and should not say this; he just needs to say that she's less qualified than he is (which should be self-evident, but may not be to many voters in the wake of the Republican spin campaign.)

Joe didn't need to go that far.  If asked whether she is qualified to be VP, he should say that the real question of any VP candidate is whether they are ready to be P -- and follow that by saying voters will have to make that determination

Biden's is biding his time. Which is a rarity.

Wait until Palin and/or other Schlaflyites turn on this hard-working, high-achieving son of Ireland. They can kiss the Catholic vote good-bye. All of those "working-class Democrats" Rove seems to think he can woo...forget it. Save Mother Biden until the last ten days. She'll bring this election home.

Biden will prove to be the deciding factor in this election. If he can keep his cool. The McCain camp would be smart to go after him, to bait him. I suspect they've got their hands full with other problems...Sarah Schlafly being Job #1.

Prediction: We'll see a bit more of Biden than Obama over the next two months. Biden will be getting the primetime, Thursday evening engagements before bigger audiences. And Palin's "narrative" will continue to overshadow McCain. Who said the VP choice doesn't matter?

It's not a gaffe, it's a (pardon the pun) qualified statement:

"The press has been asking me that question and I’ve not answered it for two reasons,” he said. “First of all, I don’t know the governor. There’s no reason not to respect her and I believe she’s qualified to be the vice president.”

“I simply don’t know her,” he went on. “I take her on face value. She’s a governor and that’s no mean feat, and she seems to have a strong personal story.”

It opens the possibility that we could learn that she's not qualified.

Qualified and prepared are different things.  Any way, I don't think the ticket will win on harping on Palin's being qualified or not.  There are really two issues here: the issues and the judgement of the candidate.  On the issues, the Democrats have the advantage - all they have to do is distribute the Republican platform along with pictures of Bush, Cheney and the Hackography of shame that was the Bush Administration.  On judgement, just one line: "Bush looked into the eyes of Putin and found the measure of the man; McCain had one interview with Palin and found a soulmate.  We cannot afford decision-making on the fly."  QED.

I think the problem here is that the media was expecting Biden to be a gaffe machine, but he has been pretyy much on message.  It McCain's VP that is causing the message to veer off.

If Palin knows the difference between a brigade and a battalion, she's already more qualified. Biden's made that mistake three times now. I can't imagine why no one on his staff has brought it to his attention.

I'm with Hemlock.

Icarus nailed it, four posts above. Context counts here.

Although I do think a smart answer includes some iteration of "the voters make the decisions about qualifications, so I'll leave it to their capable judgment."

Also, this preceding paragraph:

"When a member of the audience here at a Gold Coast retirement compound asked him about Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, Senator John McCain’s designated running mate, Mr. Biden crossed himself before speaking. That drew a laugh from the overwhelmingly Jewish crowd of several hundred here at Century Village."

Simple way out of this: Qualified to be Vice President.  Unqualified to be President.  Yeah, it demans the VP job, but it's honest.

Another comeback: Yes, like Dan Quayle was, Sarah Palin is qualified to be Vice President.

Democrats including Joe and Barack need to go after her beliefs and policy positions. They have to draw a clear parallel between Sarah Palin and George Bush.  Both people had the appeal of someone you'd want to have a beer with (well, so they say) but with disastrous consequences for the country if you give them power.

Maybe we're looking at it the wrong way.  The benefit of the Palin's inexperience wasn't that they could make headway by attacking her on it, but that it takes experience off the table as a central message.  Obama's candidacy is premised on the idea that there's more to judging a candidate's readiness than simply tallying up the amount of experience he or she has.  Arguing that both are qualified might be an easier sell than trying to draw the line between Palin and Obama.

"Simple way out of this: Qualified to be Vice President.  Unqualified to be President.  Yeah, it demans the VP job, but it's honest."

It's also wrong.  I've said this before, but the only importance of being VP is potentially becoming President.  The other functions of the job can be done by any schlub.  We've had 5 VPs who needed to take over within their first 7 months in office .  If you aren't ready to be President, you aren't ready to be VP.

I know Mike's post is soooo yesterday, but Mike, could it be (as others above may also be implying) that Joe's raising the bar here?  I mean, if you read Chris Orr's posts from Labor Day, some Alaskan's were counseling to not underestimate Palin's talent.  So, Biden portray's her as ready to be Vice President.

Now voters expect her to carry herself like Joe, or Hillary (dare I say).  And what happens when she doesn't live up to that picture with the voters?

What happens when she doesn't look like Joe in the VP debates?  It's one more strike against both Palin and McCain.