Biden Paints Target On Himself

Vice President, Joe Biden, who is all too familiar with the flavor of shoe leather, has outdone himself. Recently attending a dinner at the Gridiron Club in Washington, Biden told his dinner-mates about the secret bunker under the old U.S. Naval Observatory, which has been the residence of the Vice President since 1974.

Standing in for the President - who decided to skip the dinner - Biden told several people, including Eleanor Clift, Newsweek magazine's Washington contributing editor, about the existence of the bunker, pointing out that it was the location of then-Vice President Dick Cheney after the 9/11 attacks.

Biden is famous for the faux pas, but there must be some point at which a line is drawn between a simple "oops" and a giggle, and outright, jaw-dropping idiocy. What other secrets will Biden be privy to in the coming years, and to whom will he cavalierly utter them? If, as he has promised time and again, Obama decides to have unconditional talks with Ahmedinejad, will Biden be escorting the Iranian leader's second about town? That's a frightening prospect.

The irony here is that while Biden may have thought he was taking a jab at Cheney, he has succeeded in painting a huge target over the Naval Observatory, a place where I suspect - given his recently demonstrated lack of acumen for security - he will still hide away should that need again arise. Considering the early frailty projected by this administration, there is every reason to suspect it will.

In the meantime, it will be interesting to see what kind of backlash emerges over this lastest blunder by the Vice President. I'm sure the Secret Service is simply thrilled.