Washington – Vice President Joe Biden says he made a poor choice of words when he referred to unscrupulous moneylenders who took advantage of U.S. troops as “Shylocks.”
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Biden was speaking Tuesday to a legal aid group when he described how some troops serving overseas were facing foreclosures at home. He used the word “Shylocks,” a reference to the villainous Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.”
The Anti-Defamation League, which works to combat anti-Semitism, chided Biden for using an offensive, stereotypical term. The group’s national director, Abe Foxman, said Biden should have been more careful but acknowledged Biden’s strong ties to the Jewish community.
Biden says in a statement that Foxman is correct and it was a poor choice of words.
The ADL says Biden spoke with Foxman about the incident on Wednesday.
Is it just me, or does it seem to everyone that we only see Biden in the news when he is apologizing for being a dufus?
If he wants the democratic nomination he should just stop “commenting” without prepared statements…sort of like Obama!
Biden was a poor choice for vice president
I hope my cousins who voted for this pair hear about this. They were naive enough to believe this was their messiah and whoever did not vote for them were racists. I told them I did not vote for Gore/Lieberman. Did that make me an anti-Semite?
Biden’s the dumbest thing we’ve had in government since Dan “potatoe” Quail. But in his defense, shylark is a pretty common word meaning a shyster
It is a good idea to voice criticism about V.P. Biden’s poor choice of words. But Abe Foxman is the wrong guy to do it. Because it appears that Foxman is the “boss” over the utterance of prejudicial and inappropriate statements. And in his kindness he gave the V.P. a pass.
Biden chose words poorly? Who could have predicted that?
Seriously, it sometimes seems that some of us are constantly looking for what to be offended by. There is nothing wrong with using the name Shylock for an unscrupulous businessman.
I agree that Biden is one of the dumbest Vice Presidents, which we’ve had in recent years. To his credit, Dan Quayle has spoken publicly for the release of Jonathan Pollard. In any event, we will only have to endure only another thirty one months of Biden, and his boss.
Anyone who saw the debate between Vice President Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan knows that Biden is FAR from being a “dummy.”
Is there anyone in this world who has not accidentally said something inappropriate?
Republicans and Democrats need to stop demonizing each and find ways to work together. We need to stop seeing each other as caricatures!!!
Shylock was an evil moneylender. Yes, he was a Jew. Why would Jews take offensive when the remark was directed against moneylenders, not Jews?
to #10 : Because the “Great” Shakespeare emphasized the fact that Shylock was a Jew, in “The Merchant of Venice”.