Vice President Joe Biden decided not to speak directly to the press when he visited Kopp’s Frozen Custard shop in Greenfield, WI, but his comments generated headlines anyway.
The shop manager initiated a banter when Biden offered to pay for his custard: “Lower our taxes and we’ll call it even,” he said. Biden at first said nothing and walked away, but minutes later he came back to the custard entrepreneur and told him to, “say something nice instead of being a smart ass all the time.” Local TV grabbed the sound bite and it spread across the country.
Reporters will work even harder when they believe they’re being shut out of a story. Microphones were listening in on Biden’s comments, and his poorly chosen words opened the door to a fighting GOP response.
As LA blogger Jimmy Orr points out, you’d think Biden would have said something like “God love ya, we’re doin’ everything we can to get the economy jump-started again.” It’s positive, not controversial, and doesn’t invite harsh criticism from the GOP.
If he had gone down this road, those of us living thousands of miles away wouldn’t even know the Vice President had been to a frozen custard shop in Greenfield, WI on a summer afternoon.
Multiple choice questions can change your story.