And now, the Mother of all Biden Gaffes (updated)

My jaw hit the floor when I heard Biden say this:

"Here's what the president said when we said no. He insisted on elections on the West Bank, when I said, and others said, and Barack Obama said, "Big mistake. Hamas will win. You'll legitimize them." What happened? Hamas won.
When we kicked -- along with France, we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, I said and Barack said, "Move NATO forces in there. Fill the vacuum, because if you don't know -- if you don't, Hezbollah will control it."

Now what's happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part of the government in the country immediately to the north of Israel."

Wha? Who? Kicked Hezb'allah out of where? Urged we send who into what? This is really an incredible gaffe - far more serious than anything Sarah Palin has ever said anywhere.

Let's allow a "Foreign Policy Insider" quoted at The Corner, to try and untangle this web of lies, misstatements, and downright loony contentions: [long, detailed, obviously factually accurate - nothing like the above...]

UPDATE:

Michael Totten - who has been to Lebanon several times and knows the people and politics as well as any journalist in America - writes in Commentary:

What on Earth is he talking about? The United States and France may have kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon in an alternate universe, but nothing even remotely like that ever happened in this one.

Nobody - nobody - has ever kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon. Not the United States. Not France. Not Israel. And not the Lebanese. Nobody.

Joe Biden has literally no idea what he's talking about.

It's too bad debate moderator Gwen Ifill didn't catch him and ask a follow up question: When did the United States and France kick Hezbollah out of Lebanon?

The answer? Never.

[it's ok, I'm sure the press will now swarm all of this... {breath, holding, not.}]

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