Joe Biden Gaffes That Middle Class ‘Has Been Buried,’ Paul Ryan Responds: ‘Yup, We Agree’

Charlotte, NC – Joe Biden suffered from foot-in-mouth syndrome again during a campaign stop, gaffing ignobly while slamming Republican tax policies.

While campaigning for the Obama/Biden ticket in North Carolina, the Vice President inadvertently handed the Romney campaign a huge talking point a mere day before the presidential debates. Biden said that taxes for the rich would be slashed under a Romney/Ryan White House, which would terribly hurt the already-overburdened middle class, reports The Week.

“This is deadly earnest,” charged Biden. “How they can justify — how they can justify raising taxes on the middle class that’s been buried the last four years. How in Lord’s name can they justify raising their taxes with these tax cuts?”

Oops.

Of course, the Romney campaign wasted no time jumping all over the gaffe like a live grenade, notes Mediaite. “We agree,” GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan said in response to the “buried” gaffe. “That means we need to stop digging by electing Mitt Romney the next president of the United States.”

“Of course the middle class has been buried,” continued Ryan. “They’re being buried by regulations, they’re being buried by taxes, they’re being buried by borrowing, they’re being buried by the Obama administration.”

To be fair, the Obama campaign has already issued a response clarifying Biden’s “buried” gaffe:

“As the vice president has been saying all year and again in his remarks today, the middle class was punished by the failed Bush policies that crashed our economy — and a vote for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan is a return to those failed policies. With more than five million private-sector jobs created since 2010, the vice president and President Obama will continue to help the middle class recover and move the nation forward.”

Paul Ryan, for his part, gave Joe Biden the benefit of the doubt in terms of what he expects from the debates. Instead of counting on Biden to “buried” gaffe his way through their face-off, Ryan is bringing his A-game because he believes Biden will too:

“I don’t think he will [gaffe]. You know he doesn’t do that in debates. The gaffes – he’s kind of legendary for this – that’s not in these kind of situations,” Ryan said on Fox News Sunday. “He’s a very disciplined person when he speaks in these kinds of situations. He doesn’t produce gaffes in these moments. Those are when he’s off the cuff.”

Here’s Mitt Romney’s Twitter response to Joe Biden’s “buried” gaffe, followed by the video of Biden in action.

Agree with @joebiden, the middle class has been buried the last 4 years, which is why we need a change in November #CantAfford4More

— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) October 2, 2012

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