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It’s certainly accurate to describe Joe Biden as a “touchy-feely” kind of guy — someone known to take advantage of the chance to rub a lady’s shoulders as he’s whispering in her ear — even if the object of his intimacies is not someone who really seems to appreciate the attention.
In fact, the moments where the vice president made his presence felt have become so frequent that New York Magazine published a pictorial in February of 2015 entitled “9 Times Joe Biden Creepily Whispered in Women’s Ears.”
Now, after something of a respite from the female-focused exploits of the man even the liberal Talking Points Memo labeled “Creepy Uncle Joe,” Biden is back, and this time his hands are on Hillary.
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Remember when President Obama’s new defense chief, Ash Carter, had just been sworn in and his wife, Stephanie, stood next to him…clearly uncomfortable as “Creepy Uncle Joe” was strangely close — overly friendly, you might say — his hands on her shoulders, his mouth nestled in her hair just inches from her ear?
That episode with the wife of the secretary of defense was the last truly bizarre Biden moment that captured the public’s attention.
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Now, for the first time in the 2016 campaign, the vice president has appeared with Hillary Clinton on the trail, joining the Democrat nominee on stage in the town where he was born, Scranton, Pa. And Obama’s left-leaning right-hand guy appears to be back in form.
Before they headed for the rally, the vice president and the woman who wants to be the next president met on the tarmac after Biden got off the plane that brought him to the Keystone State. And it was beside the campaign limo that Biden greeted Clinton and held or waist or touched her for a rather awkward 18 seconds. Yes, awkward, as Hillary’s expression and body language evidenced.
By clicking on the video below, you can see for yourself the close encounter between Hillary and the vice president who, ironically, referred to himself as “the Obama whisperer” during the campaign event. The Los Angeles Times explains the rather odd comment: “The nickname referenced the conversations Biden would have with Clinton during weekly breakfasts while she was secretary of State” — events where he’d supposedly explain to her what his boss actually meant when he said something obtuse.
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Adding a splash of color commentary to the history of the Biden-Clinton relationship, The New York Times noted in a September, 2013 article:
By all accounts, Mr. Biden and Mrs. Clinton have enjoyed a genuine friendship starting in the first days of her husband’s presidential administration, with shared Amtrak rides when they were in the Senate and, during Mr. Obama’s first term, early Saturday morning phone calls that Mr. Biden sometimes ended with “I love you, darling.”
No word on any objection that may have been raised by Bill Clinton about this interesting intimacy. Of course, Slick Willy may have been otherwise engaged himself and missed those “touching” moments involving no-boundaries Biden.
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