The Screwups of Campaign '08

Joe Biden
Oct. 20, 2008

"Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember, I said it standing here, if you don"t remember anything else I said. Watch, we're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."

—Biden at a fundraiser in Seattle, telling donors that Obama will likely be tested by an international crisis during his first few months in office — and that Democrats will have to be ready to stand by him in such a trying time. The GOP pounced on the remark, saying it underscores Obama's inexperience, and McCain made it a major talking point at rallies, claiming that he had already been tested. The Obama camp, at pains to explain what point the gaffe-prone Senator was trying to make, has said that he was referencing a "simple fact that history shows presidents face challenges from day one."