Editor, The Herald:

Boor n. 1. A peasant 2. A coarse, rude person. This definition in Webster's new abridged dictionary fits our current Vice President to a “T”.

As I watched the debate between Vice President Biden and Congressman Ryan this past week, that word, derived from the old Dutch word Boer, came to mind. Biden, who is well-known for the disconnect between his tongue and brain, gets a lot of slack in the media for his malapropisms. They treat him like the political equivalent of Yogi Berra, and forgive him his numerous verbal gaffes. His behavior during the debate, however, was something else entirely. His inappropriate laughter, sighs, head-shaking and constant interruptions of his opponent made him appear, at best, to be a boor, and at worst, to be mentally disabled. Of course, Mr. Biden will be 70 years old right after the elections, and some form of mental degradation is all too common in that age group. If that is the case, he may not be able to help himself.

There is also the possibility that Mr. Biden suffers from that peculiar form of arrogance that affects some long-serving politicians. They have been elected and re-elected for so long that they assume that no matter what their behavior, they will always have their job.

The vice-president is often described as being “a heart-beat away from the Presidency”. Can you imagine a man as irrational as Mr. Biden occupying the oval office? Me neither.

John Jamieson

Farmville