Today’s Idiot: Skip Bayless & Joe Biden

Today’s Idiot is a two-fer. You get twice the idiot for the same price. It’s almost as good as Buy One, Get One Free Appetizers at the Berg! But not quite. I like cheese sticks pretty good.

But this time of year is more about football and politics than it is about pre-meal treats.

I’ll do the Skip Bayless one first. Bayless is a talking head that participates in ESPN’s “First & 10” show which is a segment on ESPN2 every morning that brings in someone with actual sports knowledge to debate Skip Bayless on 10 sports topics.

In this morning’s segment, they eventually got around to the inevitable discussion about the Oklahoma/Texas matchup this weekend. Somehow, Bayless used that discussion to take a shot at the Missouri Tigers, saying he smelled an upset brewing in Columbia.

Okay, that would have been fine with me, if Bayless didn’t follow it up with this gem:

Yeah, the Aggies have a great shot to keep up with Missouri.

Bayless had on an orange Oklahoma State shirt, yet he proved that he knows nothing about college football. Oklahoma State is in the Big 12 and they play Missouri in Columbia this weekend (8PM, ESPN). The Aggies are also in the Big 12, but they’re from Texas A&M and they don’t play Missouri again until October 16, 2010.

If you’re going to talk smack about someone Skip, at least know who’s who in the Big 12.

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Next, Joe Biden (h/t to Justin Ginter). People question Sarah Palin’s ability to be the President of the United States (even though she’s not running for that position)), but she’s shown no signs that she doesn’t understand the job she is running for. No so for Joe Biden.

Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we’ve had probably in American history. The idea he doesn’t realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that’s the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.

And the primary role of the vice president of the United States of America is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment when sought, and as vice president, to preside over the Senate, only in a time when in fact there’s a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit.

The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he’s part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive, and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous.

> From the VP Debate

First off, Article II of the Constitution covers the Executive Branch, not Article I. Even though you say “everyone should understand that” Mr. Biden, for some reason, you don’t. But even better Joe, you think that the vice president can preside over the Senate only when there is a tie vote! That’s not the only “legislative authority” the VP has, silly! As VP, you’d preside over the Senate and interpret the rules (scary notion) and can only be overridden by 60 percent of the votes.

Sarah Palin got it right.

Of course, we know what a vice president does. And that’s not only to preside over the Senate and [I] will take that position very seriously also. I’m thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chooses to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president’s policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are

So why couldn’t Joe? Where’s the outrage over Biden’s complete lack of understanding of the very important job he wants to get? I don’t want to go as far as to say that he’s less qualified for the position he’s running for than his running mate is, but he certainly doesn’t really grasp the whole VP gig.

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Also, if I ever got into a Town Hall debate and had the opportunity to ask Barack Obama a question, it would probably be this:

Senator Obama: You keep insisting that you will cut taxes for 95% of Americans. Seeing as only 55% of wage earners pay any income taxes at all, please explain how you plan on accomplishing this feat?

I know the answer, but I want to hear That One explain that his real plan is to just give poor people (and the people that will use them) a free ride on Social Security and Medicare.

I better stop so I can go to class and before I get started as Obama again referring to healthcare as a “right”. That’s even more disgraceful than Biden not knowing that the vice president holds positions in both the executive and legislative branches.