Joe Biden, Struggling to Stay Relevant, Heads to NY-23 to Mix it Up... -- UPDATED! Biden Slams Limbaugh ... 'Teach Activists a Lesson!'

From Ed Henry's report, "Biden a Key Part of Obama's Inner Circle" (via):

While Biden was largely added to the ticket because of his national security experience as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has influence on the domestic side as a key ambassador to Capitol Hill on health care and is the president's point person on implementing the stimulus package.

But his largest influence arguably can be seen in the major internal debate going on now over Afghanistan. Biden was pretty much standing alone back in March when he privately expressed deep skepticism about the president's decision to send 21,000 more U.S. troops to the war, but he did not undermine the administration publicly, instead keeping his powder dry until the current debate over whether to accept Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for 40,000 more U.S. troops.

Officials familiar with the deliberations said Biden has been suggesting a smaller increase, which seems to be the direction Obama is leaning toward though a final decision has not been made.

Still, Biden admitted that his transition from the Senate has not always been easy "The one adjustment that I needed to make -- I've been my own man for 36 years as a United States senator," said the former Delaware lawmaker. "I've never had a boss."

It turns out the "boss" has sent the VP to NY-23. Robert Stacy McCain has a report, "NY23: Biden Brings Joe-Mentum to Watertown; Media Flock to See Him":

Just left the Bidenmania rally eight blocks from my hotel. The star of the show, really, was N.Y. Democratic Party State Chairwoman June O’Neill, a diminuitive fireball of liberal demagoguery.

O'Neill warned of "right-wing extremists who have brought their hate-mongering tactics to this district." (Unless I was mistaken, this must have been a reference to John McCormack of the Weekly Standard, who was at the event and being closely watched by local police, lest he start asking Biden questions.)

"We have to stop the madness," O'Neill told a crowd of about 200 Democrats who turned out for an event covered by about 30 reporters, including seven TV crews. "We cannot afford to let the right-wing extremists make a point in this district. . . . The right wing is not right."

See, I told you Biden was struggling ... the guy's totally upstaged by a local Democratic Party hack!

More at the link, and Memeorandum.

See also, "Democrats Facing Terrible Tuesday, Polls Say. So Biden Heads to NY23 in Last-Minute Rescue Mission."

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AMAZING UPDATE: The administration's going after the conservative base, not Doug Hoffman, the right's actual candidate in NY-23! See David Weigel, "NY-23: Biden Backs Owens, Slams Limbaugh."

Rallying support for Democratic congressional candidate Bill Owens before Tuesday’s special election in NY-23, Vice President Joe Biden today told a mostly full room at the North Side Improvement League to “teach a lesson” to right-wing activists. Ideological activists, said Biden, forced Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava out of the race because they couldn’t brook “dissent with their neoconservative views.”

“Take Bill’s opponent,” said Biden, referring to Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. “I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but imagine him being able, if he won this election, to take issue with any position that Rush Limbaugh has.” Biden said that the idea of letting “Rush Limbaugh hand-pick” the successor to John McHugh, the Republican congressman who became the Obama administration’s secretary of the army, was unbelievable.

God that is pathetic. And that excoriation of "neoconservative views" is just too much. I told you Biden was out of the loop! Man, the dude's unhinged!