Joe Biden: Freedom Has A New Home, It’s Brussels

Rory Cooper / May 24, 2010

Sometimes when presidents are elected, they siphon off old vestiges of previous administrations. Perhaps they discard a rarely used perk or discontinue a tradition such as the playing of “Hail to the Chief.” But never has this nation seen an administration treat the idea of American exceptionalism in the same manner you would a used Oval Office carpet.  Sure, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden recognize that America was once the leader of the free world, they simply think that the line of thinking is something to be admired in a museum, taught in history books, but practiced no longer.

Vice President Biden is responsible for the latest example of this White House’s disregard for American leadership. Speaking to the European Parliament in Brussels on May 6, Biden said: “As you probably know, some American politicians and American journalists refer to Washington, DC as the “capital of the free world.” But it seems to me that this great city, which boasts 1,000 years of history and which serves as the capital of Belgium, the home of the European Union, and the headquarters for NATO, this city has its own legitimate claim to that title.” (more…)