Biden Says Bush Didnt Lead; Rove Says Vp Lies
“Its a habit he ought to drop,” Rove said.
The tit-for-tat between Biden and Rove illustrates both the vice presidents colorful way of retelling stories and Bush-era aides effort to protect their former boss. The pair tussled during media interviews this week in a political game without an obvious goal: The unpopular Bush is gone from Washington and Biden operates under President Barack Obama.
The events started Tuesday, when Biden sat down with CNN and criticized both Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
“I remember President Bush saying to me one time in the Oval Office – and he was a great guy, enjoyed being with him. He said to me, he said, Well, Joe, he said, Im a leader,” Biden recalled.
“And I said, Mr. President, turn around and look behind you. No ones following.”
Days later, Rove rebutted that Bidens version simply never happened.
“Joe Biden said, for example, that he spent hours with the president,” Rove said Thursday on Fox News, where he is a regular commentator. “Joe Biden was never alone with the president for more than a few moments. There was staff in the room at all times. He never said these kind of things.”
Rove then turned to Bidens character.
“I hate to say it, but hes a serial exaggerator. If I was being unkind, Id say hes a liar. … Youll notice every one of these incidents has the same structure. Joe Biden courageously raises the impudent question. The president befuddledly answers, and Joe Biden drives home the dramatic response. And I mean, it just – its his imagination. Its a made-up, fictional world. He ought to get out of it and get back to reality.”
Biden spokesman Jay Carney said Friday the vice president stands by his remarks.
Rove, the former White House deputy chief of staff, political czar and senior adviser to Bush, has taken an aggressive tone against his successors in recent days. In addition to his rebuke of Biden, he used his Wall Street Journal column to criticize Obama.
Democrats scoffed at Roves approach.