This is why our Vice President is God’s gift to reporters and YouTube fans. In a visit to an ice cream shop this week, the manager asked him to lower taxes and Biden responded by calling him a smart ass.
I have tried to find the origins of the term “smart ass” with little success. I find it odd that being both a “dumb ass” and a “smart ass” are negative terms. One would think that at least being an average “ass” would be acceptable, but that also turns out to be a put down. It appears all forms of ass status are negative. Why is the humble donkey subject to such complete derision while most animals remain largely neutral or even positive in reference? Consider the fact that when President Obama was under fire for being too passive in the face of the BP disaster, his first response was to look for some “ass to kick.”
The question (that the MSM wants to avoid) is whether the Obama Administration is anti-donkey — a form of self-hate for a Democratic administration.
Because he has more political influence than the average customer and a duty to both the citizens and Constitution of this country.
His smart ass remark was far too familiar for the limited exposure he had and unbecoming a public servant at the Federal level. It also showed the complete and commonplace disregard that Washington insiders feel toward those who do not directly benefit their perpetual campaigns in the form of huge sums of cash.
George,
Do you have Asperger’s? Biden spends some time in the back of the restaurant with him. Then he asks how much he owes the guy. The guy says, “lower my taxes”, Biden smiles, comes back with “be nice smart-ass”. If that exchange were the first thing they said to each other, it would definitely be weird, but they were at least a little familiar with each other by then.
Anyway as a vice-president he may not have standing to make that remark, but as a customer, he certainly does. In fact he has every right to tell the guy to screw himself whether he’s the vice president or not. Why shouldn’t he receive the same level of customer treatment from businesses that you do?
Karl Friedrich,
Well said.
Now just juxtapose those tax figures for military spending over the last 50 years and you can see how such an iniquitous social arrangement is doomed.
Federal income tax chart for the last 50 years for ‘average family of four’.
http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/4-14-10tax-f1.jpg
Gotcha journalism at its finest… Is there a point to this? If I am not mistaken taxes are currently lower than they have been in 50 years. Next please.
maverratick,
YOU get real. You said it was a “manager talking to a customer that he knew slightly personally”. This doesn’t even make sense. Biden is just a customer? He knew him slightly personally? What???
George,
Get real. He met the guy when he came to the back of the store and the guy had let him play with his custard machine, not that it even matters if “Biden had never met this guy before”. Did you even watch the clip? I’ve seen this conversation between customers and people at counters all the time.
The remark wasn’t even made in context of “a citizen giving comment to the Vice President of the United States”, it was a manager talking to a customer that he knew slightly personally but well enough for a jovial conversation, which it looked like to me.
Blouise,
I get your point and understand familiar banter…but this was not it. Biden had never met this guy before. It was on a visit to Milwaukee. It’s not like he used to represent him area as a Senator from Delaware, and regularly saw the guy at Rotary lunches and town hall meetings. I see a citizen giving a comment to the Vice President of the United States and the Vice President of the United States being a conceited ass.
I’m with Blouise for sure!
But I’d think again before trying to get political kudos from your local working guy without having to acknowledge the true nature of the relationship…Biden stepped in poo when he thought it would be a free media ‘goodie’. So me too….’lower my taxes!!!!!!’ and remember who you work for…..
I can’t comment on whether the Obama administration is anti-donkey, but I would have to agree with Biden’s remarks, even though I would not have recommended that he remark in that manner. If this manager would actually watch or listen to anything but Fox News, he would know that unless he is making over $250,000 a year in his managerial position, he is paying less Federal taxes. If he was referring to state or local taxes, then he needs to talk to the local authorities. He was being a smart ass.
A smart ass is two clicks below a wise guy in pecking order. A wise guy knows only congress can lower taxes.
Who knows Afghanistan has lots of oil and they are starting to do onshore leasing?
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2010/06/oilah-akbar-in-afghanistan.html
or is that at the smart ass level?
I don’t think that President Obama’s remark about kicking someone’s “ass” was a reference to a donkey. More likely it referred to that part of the anatomy we all sit on.
“How much do I owe you?”
“Lower my taxes.”
“Be nice, smart ass.”
Sounds like the kind of casual banter that goes on every day between mayors and Kiwanis members, city councilmen and Tree Commission members, Governors and Rotary members … even posters on this blog telling horse jokes.
Now, if our little girl media jerks were reporting on the amount of money given by corporate donors to politicians in order to keep the loop holes in the tax code open for their benefit, then … but no … this is the kind of story the media likes … no work to do, just some video with innuendo laced over-voice. Tabloid crap.
Not only are they humble, as the professor states, they are one of the hardest working animals the world has ever seen.
I think this quote would apply to Bidens remark: “A donkey will labor ten years willingly and patiently for you, for the privilege of kicking you once.” – William Faulkner
Ditto, Buddha.
I’m with George. I’d have shown Biden to door and told him not to bring his dumb graft riddled ass back. Fuck Joe Biden and corporate masters if he can’t remember who he is actually supposed to work for.
As far as those taxes, they’re required for Uncle Sam’s perpetual wars for perpetual peace.
The origin of “smart ass” is no doubt “smart alek”. The question then is what is the origin of “alek”?
I would have told Biden to get his “smart ass” out of my restaurant. These politicians are starting to act like the scum they are, even in front of the cameras.
At least Obama is smart, he just ditches the press whenever he needs a little privacy to work his scheming magic. I know Soros doesn’t like camera’s around when he’s training his puppy.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/06/26/g-20-obama-gives-press-the-slip/