Joe Biden went on a morning talk show and, almost as if he hadn't gotten talking points, veered off the team's message about how to avoid swine flu.
Biden said he was telling his family members to avoid confined spaces such as airplanes and subway trains. The trouble is, the administration is trying to tamp down alarm over the flu with a message about skipping only unnecessary travel to Mexico and simply staying home when feeling sick.
"It's not that it's going to Mexico. It's you're in a confined aircraft; when one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft," the vice president said on the NBC's "Today" show.
"I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway," he continued ". . . . If you're out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes, that's one thing. If you're in a closed aircraft, or closed container or closed car or closed classroom, it's a different thing," he said.
The U.S. travel industry was quick to complain about the comments, and the White House scrambled to respond. It first issued a statement repackaging the vice president's words, and then finally offered a shrug and an apology.
"I think the vice president misrepresented what the vice president wanted to say," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
"The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the administration is giving to all Americans: That they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico," said Elizabeth Alexander, the vice president's spokeswoman, rewriting Biden's comments a bit.
"If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways," she said.
Biden said he was telling his family members to avoid confined spaces such as airplanes and subway trains. The trouble is, the administration is trying to tamp down alarm over the flu with a message about skipping only unnecessary travel to Mexico and simply staying home when feeling sick.
"It's not that it's going to Mexico. It's you're in a confined aircraft; when one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft," the vice president said on the NBC's "Today" show.
"I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway," he continued ". . . . If you're out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes, that's one thing. If you're in a closed aircraft, or closed container or closed car or closed classroom, it's a different thing," he said.
The U.S. travel industry was quick to complain about the comments, and the White House scrambled to respond. It first issued a statement repackaging the vice president's words, and then finally offered a shrug and an apology.
"I think the vice president misrepresented what the vice president wanted to say," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
"The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the administration is giving to all Americans: That they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico," said Elizabeth Alexander, the vice president's spokeswoman, rewriting Biden's comments a bit.
"If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways," she said.
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