Biden's Remarks on Swine Flu Draw Criticism

[alienlovechild 75]

"I would tell members of my family -- and I have -- I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. It's not that it's going to Mexico in a confined aircraft where one person sneezes, that goes all the way through the aircraft," Biden said on NBC's "The Today Show."

"I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway," he said. "From my perspective, this relates to mitigation. If you're out in the middle of the field and someone sneezes, that's one thing. If you're in a closed aircraft, a closed container, a closed car, a closed classroom, that's another thing."

Biden's remarks drew the ire of the travel industry. The U.S. Travel Association immediately released a statement countering Biden's remarks, and advised people to listen to medical experts.

"Americans should heed the advice of medical experts when determining how best to manage health concerns during the ongoing swine flu outbreak. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and countless other experts, swine flu should not discourage people from traveling to or within the United States," Roger Dow, president and chief executive of the association, said in the statement.

American Airlines issued an even stronger statement.

"To suggest that people not fly at this stage of things is a broad-brush stroke bordering on fear-mongering," American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith told The Associated Press. "The facts of the situation, at this stage anyway, certainly don't support that."

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano tried to temper the vice president's remarks today.

"I think the vice president, if he had, if he could say that over again he would say if they're feeling sick they should stay off of public transit or confined spaces because that is indeed the advice that we're giving," Napolitano said on MSNBC.

Sen. Harkin, D-Iowa, who said Biden's comments were unfortunate, was visibly frustrated by what he called misinformation.

"I wish the vice president had checked with the Centers for Disease Control ... before he made that statement. ... As far as not riding on subways or planes, we're not going to shut down our system and that doesn't get to the nub of the problem, anyway," he said on Radio Iowa. "So I think that's very unfortunate that this kind of misinformation got out."

Biden's spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander released a statement shortly after the vice president's remarks, saying, "The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the administration is giving to all Americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico. If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways. This is the advice the vice president has given family members who are traveling by commercial airline this week."

The CDC recommends against any non-essential travel to Mexico but it has not said to avoid travel altogether because of flu concerns. The U.S.-Mexico border remains open and airlines have not cancelled flights.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=7470281&page=1

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=194469

[alienlovechild 75]

I usually look back three pages of threads and didn't see anything on this topic. A whopping three posts on the thread. Too bad Limbaugh didn't say the something similar to get at least 50 replies. Then again it's just the VP so no big deal.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Rush is a lot more influential than Joe is. He's probably right up there with the President himself in the amount of influence his words carry :-)

[Ban Hammer 13,347]

Rush is a lot more influential than Joe is. He's probably right up there with the President himself in the amount of influence his words carry :-)

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Rush is a lot more influential than Joe is. He's probably right up there with the President himself in the amount of influence his words carry :-)

He truly is. He's the de facto leader of the conservative movement. He is the man, which is why it's so important he be taken seriously :-)

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I have to agree with Joe. You are almost guaranteed to get sick from a long flight. Nasty, dry, germ laden air.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/4...sick.html?cat=5

Edited April 30, 2009 by Mister_Bill

[Niels Bohr 72]

Obviously, the implication is to proceed with caution whether you're traveling or whatever...Following things literally is very negative or detrimental to anybody.

[natty bumppo 297]

Rush is a lot more influential than Joe is. He's probably right up there with the President himself in the amount of influence his words carry :-)

He truly is. He's the de facto leader of the conservative movement. He is the man, which is why it's so important he be taken seriously :-)

Gore invented the internet .... and now we have Dr Joe ...

wonder what Dr Dean will think of this new brand of competition?

Edited April 30, 2009 by Natty Bumppo

[Niels Bohr 72]

Gore didn't invent the internet. He did a bad speech. He helped with building the infrastructure of the internet. Stupid him.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Rush is a lot more influential than Joe is. He's probably right up there with the President himself in the amount of influence his words carry :-)

He truly is. He's the de facto leader of the conservative movement. He is the man, which is why it's so important he be taken seriously :-)

Gore invented the internet .... and now we have Dr Joe ...

wonder what Dr Dean will think of this new brand of competition?

He's ordering more perscription pads at the moment.

[alienlovechild 75]

Rush is a lot more influential than Joe is. He's probably right up there with the President himself in the amount of influence his words carry :-)

So the line of succession if the president is dead or incapacitated is now: Rush Limbaugh, VP, Speaker of the House . . .

Gore didn't invent the internet. He did a bad speech. He helped with building the infrastructure of the internet. Stupid him.

What infrastructure? I thought Gore helped pass some legislation on regulation.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Rush is a lot more influential than Joe is. He's probably right up there with the President himself in the amount of influence his words carry :-)

So the line of succession if the president is dead or incapacitated is now: Rush Limbaugh, VP, Speaker of the House . . .

Gore didn't invent the internet. He did a bad speech. He helped with building the infrastructure of the internet. Stupid him.

What infrastructure? I thought Gore helped pass some legislation on regulation.

Back when they wanted to connect the nodes nationwide. Gore was the politician that helped with most of the funding. He helped with the Tier 1 providers get funding. The Tier 1 is technically also the backbone of all the Tier 2,3,4... providers.