Joe Biden to Obama: ‘No President in History Has had as Many Novel Crises Land on his Desk’

Vice-president Joe Biden, noted for hyperbole, asserts that President Obama had more “novel crises” under his administration than any other president in history.

“Mr. President, I watched you under intense fire,” Biden said, after the president surprised him with a presidential medal of freedom. “I will venture to say that no President in history has had as many novel crises land on his desk in all of history.”

Biden immediately clarified that the Civil War and World War II were worse, but didn’t mention 9/11, World War I, the 2008 Wall Street collapse, the Great Depression, the war of 1812, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Oklahoma City bombing,  the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, or the Cold War.

“Mr. President, almost every one of the crises you faced was a case of first instance,” Biden said. “And I watched that prodigious mind and that heart as big as your head.”

Biden praised Obama for acting under “intense pressure” as president.

“I just hope that the asterisk in history that is attached to my name when they talk about this presidency is that I can say I was part of the journey of a remarkable man who did remarkable things for this country,” he added.

The vice president also described Michelle Obama as the greatest First Lady in history.

“Michelle is the finest First Lady in my view that has ever served in the office,” he said. “There’s been other great First Ladies, but I really genuinely mean it.”