“I told you so!”

“You did not!”

“Yes, I did!”

“It never happened.”

“Yes, it DIIIIIDDD!! It did, it did, it did!!”

Believe it or not, this exchange did not take place between two under-five-year-old siblings in front of my cash register. It is taking place between the staff of two of America’s best-known politicians.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/09/rove-calls-biden-liar-bush-aides-challenge-vps-boasts/

Vice President Joseph Biden claimed, on two occasions, to have privately (or semi-privately) spoken with former President George W. Bush during Bush’s tenure in the White House and was, shall we say, candid about his feelings on the Iraq War and general policy.

Meanwhile, former Bush aides are claiming that the two occasions never took place.

My big question: so friggin’ what?

I look at the exchanges, and I chuckle. I know that former President Bush is a good sport, and he has a good sense of humor (if not always the quickest tongue). I also know that Vice President Biden is blunt, clever, and (based on what I know of his career) more-than-less genuine. The two exchanges strike me as completely plausible. I would believe that the two men might, indeed, have met based on Biden’s experience in the Senate and Bush’s good nature.

If the exchanges didn’t happen, then the Vice President exaggerated a story or two to make a point. Big deal. Who among us hasn’t done that? Granted, it may seem a bit unprofessional for the Vice President of the United States to employ this particular storytelling technique, but, like any politician, statements given by him must be taken with a grain of salt.

Now, my regular readers may notice a disproportionate amount of slack cut towards Vice President Biden even going back to the VP debates during the campaign. That’s because, simply put: I like Joe Biden. I will readily admit that, although I may completely disagree with him on numerous issues, I am able to follow his logic and generally respect his opinion. The Vice President remains one of my favorite currently-serving Democrats. That’s my little disclaimer.

I can’t claim to speak for former President Bush, but I can’t help but think that he finds this whole thing absurd. In the grand scheme of things: who gives a damn who said what, when? This feud needs to end. It was stupid for it to ever begin. If the Vice President invented a story, then he was merely making a point and keeping audiences interested. If it actually happened, former Bush staffers are having a bad reaction to the idea that they didn’t know every little detail of what happened over the course of an eight-year period.

Guys, it’s time to move on and get to governing. Let’s let this media-exaggerated feud die while I still respect both of you.  

            Congratulations ­­­­to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Even though I pulled strongly for Senator McCain to pick former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as his running mate, I feel confident that McCain made the right choice. Palin is an intelligent, capable, conservative woman; she will be excellent as the next Vice President of the United States.

            Already, however, I have been hearing Liberals try to attack her “inexperience,” or they attack the fact that she’s a woman, or they attack her age. How progressive. As usual, the Left likes to claim the moral high ground, but then proves that they don’t deserve it.

            We’ll start with the “issue” of her gender. Liberal critics have claimed that Senator McCain is merely trying to snatch up the disenfranchised Hillary vote. While I’m sure that this was a factor in McCain’s decision, it was likely a small one. It’s more important that Governor Palin has done great work in her state and has advocated strongly against issues such as abortion.

I’ve had to listen to so-called “feminists” gripe all day. “How stupid does McCain thin we are?” they ask, “he thinks that women are so stupid that they’ll just vote for the woman.” It is safe to say that John McCain dos not feel this way. Neither do I, for that matter, but let’s be realistic. There were many Hillary supporters whose entire basis for their support was “I think its time for a woman.” Just like Senator Obama has secured 90 percent or more of the black vote. Now try to tell me that there’s no racial component involved, either.

Attacking Governor Palin’s age makes no sense at all. She is merely two years younger than Senator Obama, so age is absolutely not a factor in this. If the Left tries to attack Palin’s age, they are simply highlighting the age of the man at the top of their ticket. If the Liberal critics are smart—and that’s a big “if”—they’ll keep their mouths shut on this one. Meanwhile, let’s not forget that Richard Nixon became Vice President at age 39, and he executed the office admirably, both in the foreign relations arena, as shown in the Khrushchev debate, and as a substitute chief executive, during Eisenhower’s health issues.

And finally they tout Governor Palin’s “inexperience.” She has been Governor of Alaska for two years. Senator Obama has been in congress for three and a half years, and he spent about two of those years campaigning for President. Remind me again who has more experience. Moreover, Governor Palin is the only one of the four people running for executive office with any executive experience at all. She’s safe there.

I’ve looked over her record, I’ve listened to her acceptance speech, and I’m incredibly comfortable with her. I wish Governor Palin all the best for the campaign and the future. And I offer my congratulations to John McCain. With your first executive decision, Senator McCain, you’ve done extremely well.