Pot Calls Kettle Black

Brand new Vice President Joe Biden, a.k.a. The Gaffe Factory, yesterday poked some probably well-intentioned fun at Chief Justice John Roberts, whose now-famous flub of the Presidential oath of office threw President Barack Obama off stride at Tuesday's inauguration.

Today, after Mr. Obama praised his staffers as "an extraordinary collection of talent" who "inspire great confidence in me," the president asked his Number 2 if he wanted to administer the oath. "Am I doing this again?" Vice President Biden asked. A few minutes before, he had sworn in seven individuals who had been confirmed by the Senate to Cabinet and Cabinet-level posts.

"For the senior staff," Mr. Obama said.

"For the senior staff?" Biden repeated. "Alright."

Biden tried to get a copy of the oath to read to the senior staffers.

"My memory is not as good as Justice Roberts," Biden explained, prompting some laughter and groans from the audience.

The joke might have gone over better if Biden hadn't spent the better part of his political career trying to make verbal screw-ups an art form.