August 22, 2011 10:40 AM
ABC News? Devin Dwyer (@devindwyer) reports: � �Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, today where his hosts celebrated the first visit by a U.S. vice president since 1944 �with performances of traditional music and dance, a Mongol-style wrestling competition and a gift: a Mongolian horse.�
"The horse is the most important animal in Mongolia,? an aide traveling with Biden told reporters. ?It is the lifeblood of the country (nomadic history), so giving a horse is one of the most meaningful gifts that can be given."
During the presentation ceremony, U.S. Ambassador Jonathan Addleton placed a blue ribbon around the horse?s neck, and Biden tied two knots in it -- a symbolic display meant to signal importance. �Biden said that he named the horse ?Celtic.?�
But the horse apparently did not respond in kind.�
Press pool accounts of the moment said the horse ?got a bit excited? by Biden?s gesture and had to be taken away. (Aides said it would not be returning to the U.S. on Air Force 2.)�
When asked later to explain what happened, Biden said the animal "reared up" on him and concluded that it must not have liked "the Irish epitaph."
After the ceremony, Biden posed for photos with two Mongolian camels and tried his hand at archery. He later departed for Tokyo, Japan -- the last stop on his week-long swing through East Asia. �
August 22, 2011 in Devin Dwyer, Joe Biden | Permalink | Share | User Comments (4)
Where's the photo of the horse??
Posted by: Lydia | Aug 22, 2011 11:25:49 AM
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Tony Harnden of the London Telegraph blogs further comments of Vice-Chairman Joe at Sichuan University:
Having promised to ?order my thoughts here to make this as brief as I can?, Biden went on a rambling meditation about how ?the most important thing to look to in a leader?s speech is not the elegance or the rhetorical flourish of his or her comments, but the judgment of whether or not you believe they are sincere in what they?re saying?. Which could sound to some like a veiled shot at Obama.
Next, Biden provoked laughter by imitating a stammerer and then says that it is offensive to laugh. Then he professed himself to be embarrassed that he cannot speak Chinese...
'And so the thing that I?m most embarrassed about in my career of 38 years of having an opportunity to literally meet every major world leader in the last 38 years. I was elected as a 30?29-year-old, young man from modest means. And I?ve had that opportunity. The thing that always embarrasses me is ? and in the back of my head, I?m embarrassed in front of you ? I?m embarrassed I can?t speak to you in Chinese. I would ? seriously ? I would rather be able to honour you and show my respect for you by speaking your language, as you honour me by speaking mine.'
Biden was a senator for a staggering 36 years and it?s true that he?s hob-nobbed with many world leaders. But ?literally?every world leader??. He prefaced the claim with ?opportunity to? but it?s clear that he meant that his political career has enabled him to meet ?every world leader? in the past almost four decades.
Biden?s problem is not so much that he can?t speak Chinese but that he has no filter and can?t speak English without exaggerating for effect and blurting out, as he puts it himself, what?s ?in the back of my head?.
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Any self-respecting horse would rear up. Maybe it ran away.
Posted by: Oliver Shagnasty | Aug 22, 2011 11:51:41 AM
Where's the photo of the horse??
Posted by: Lydia | Aug 22, 2011 11:25:49 AM
I hope the taxpayer isn't paying to ship it back to the US!
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | Aug 22, 2011 11:05:09 AM
Biden said the animal "reared up" on him and concluded that it must not have liked "the Irish epitaph."
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Why was Biden quoting an "Irish epitaph" to the horse?
Did the Secret Service shoot the horse?
Why did he name a Mongolian horse "Celtic?" Why not, for example, Jangus Con, in homage to John Kerry?
Posted by: Oliver Shagnasty | Aug 22, 2011 11:00:05 AM
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