# Did Biden once lie about his college career? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 10, 2020, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510 "2020-05-10T03:20:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/21 "2020-05-13T15:11:36Z")
I can’t imagine that we would elect a president who lies. What kind of country would we be then? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/22 "2020-05-13T15:22:42Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Here is an old video going around where they point out that Biden lied about college: [LINK](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SjrpfCp30k&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2a1STnV9ioI6Gc4rXMIqa7dHVqnc_P4rzs2oLtdhCVF_je5-RJuuo7OPo) > > Biden basically is caught bragging about his college scholarship and his academic rating. I cant tell but it looks to be around 8-10 years old. Why does everyone try to answer this with “But Trump!” and such? Just answer straightforwardly: “Yeah, it appears that Biden lied in that video. So?” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/23 "2020-05-13T15:24:37Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Here is an old video going around where they point out that Biden lied about college: [LINK](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SjrpfCp30k&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2a1STnV9ioI6Gc4rXMIqa7dHVqnc_P4rzs2oLtdhCVF_je5-RJuuo7OPo) > > Biden basically is caught bragging about his college scholarship and his academic rating. I cant tell but it looks to be around 8-10 years old. Well, that’s older than the children you voted to have put in concentration camps. No right-wing American has a leg to stand on when it comes to criticizing other politicians. Or non-politicians. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/24 "2020-05-13T15:25:05Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I can’t imagine that we would elect a president who lies. What kind of country would we be then? The greatest, absolute best, with the biggest most beautiful wall, and very fine people on ‘both sides’. Make Absurdity Great Again! Stranger ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/25 "2020-05-13T15:48:10Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The beauty of the current administration is that the lies occur every day in real time! Not that we can’t also go into the archives, but there’s really no need to. 😛 > [@Slash1972](#): > > Why does everyone try to answer this with “But Trump!” and such? Because Trump is a _pathological_ liar. He can’t not lie. He lies even when there is nothing to be gained. At least Biden’s lies have had a purpose. BTW, I saw some TV show the other day which misused the term “pathological liar.” It referred to a liar with a pathology (sociopathy) who lied to cover his tracks. That’s not pathological lying. Pathological lying is compulsive lying. It doesn’t really do anything but lie. And pathological liars aren’t even that good at covering their tracks or keeping their lies consistent. Criminals who lie for cover usually stick as close to reality as possible so they don’t have to remember as much. Pathological liars make up shit for the hell of it, and misrepresent it as truth. They are great storytellers, sometimes-- the only problem is that you can’t tell whether something is true or not, and a story could have been just as good if if had been presented as a story, but a compulsive liar knowingly misrepresents it, because it just feels better. Trump’s constant attempts at presenting some kind of treatment for COVID-19, to the point of promoting dangerous quackery that makes dangerous quacks’ hair stand on end, I think is born of his need to have a story, and present it as fact. Analyzing the difference between Biden and Trump on this issue is not trivial. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/26 "2020-05-13T16:09:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I can’t imagine that we would elect a president who lies. What kind of country would we be then? You’re living in it. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/27 "2020-05-13T16:13:47Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Because Trump is a _pathological_ liar. He can’t not lie. He lies even when there is nothing to be gained. At least Biden’s lies have had a purpose. > > BTW, I saw some TV show the other day which misused the term “pathological liar.” It referred to a liar with a pathology (sociopathy) who lied to cover his tracks. That’s not pathological lying. Pathological lying is compulsive lying. It doesn’t really do anything but lie. And pathological liars aren’t even that good at covering their tracks or keeping their lies consistent. Criminals who lie for cover usually stick as close to reality as possible so they don’t have to remember as much. Pathological liars make up shit for the hell of it, and misrepresent it as truth. They are great storytellers, sometimes-- the only problem is that you can’t tell whether something is true or not, and a story could have been just as good if if had been presented as a story, but a compulsive liar knowingly misrepresents it, because it just feels better. > > Trump’s constant attempts at presenting some kind of treatment for COVID-19, to the point of promoting dangerous quackery that makes dangerous quacks’ hair stand on end, I think is born of his need to have a story, and present it as fact. > > Analyzing the difference between Biden and Trump on this issue is not trivial. I find it highly annoying when discussing a Trump issue that people say “Yeah? But what about Obama?” I find it similarly annoying when discussing a Biden issue that people say “Yeah? but what about Trump?” ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/28 "2020-05-13T17:25:05Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I find it highly annoying when discussing a Trump issue that people say “Yeah? But what about Obama?” > > I find it similarly annoying when discussing a Biden issue that people say “Yeah? but what about Trump?” The difference, of course, is that Trump isn’t running against Obama. Our choice, right now, is between Biden and Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/29 "2020-05-13T17:37:43Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I find it highly annoying when discussing a Trump issue that people say “Yeah? But what about Obama?” > > I find it similarly annoying when discussing a Biden issue that people say “Yeah? but what about Trump?” The difference, of course, is that Trump isn’t running against Obama. Our choice, right now, is between Biden and Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/30 "2020-05-13T17:47:47Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > The difference, of course, is that Trump isn’t running against Obama. Our choice, right now, is between Biden and Trump. I fail to see the meaning in that distinction when objecting to using deflection to point out flaws of the “other person” instead of responding to a perceived flaw of “your person” ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/31 "2020-05-13T18:26:30Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I fail to see the meaning in that distinction when objecting to using deflection to point out flaws of the “other person” instead of responding to a perceived flaw of “your person” I guess you’ve never noticed that nobody is defending Biden by saying, “But what about Bush?” ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/32 "2020-05-13T20:26:24Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Why does everyone try to answer this with “But Trump!” and such? > > Just answer straightforwardly: > > “Yeah, it appears that Biden lied in that video. So?” That is literally in the post that you quoted. I will repeat it here if you like: > [@](#): > > Biden has a history of embellishment and even outright plagiarism. I can be more forceful if you like - Biden has lied about many things. All politicians do. Now, as a voter, what am I to do with this information? I can chose to adopt a standard of “never vote for a liar.” But then of course I could never vote for anybody ever. Or I can adopt a standard of “weigh the relative truthfulness of the candidates I can vote for, including the subjects they tend to lie about”. I prefer option B, hence the relevance of Trump’s relationship with the truth. It’s not like we’re doing an independent character evaluation of Joe Biden here; we are trying to chose between two options for POTUS. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/33 "2020-05-13T20:27:50Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > I guess you’ve never noticed that nobody is defending Biden by saying, “But what about Bush?” But they are clearly defending Biden by saying “But what about Trump?” ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/34 "2020-05-13T21:40:44Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I find it highly annoying when discussing a Trump issue that people say “Yeah? But what about Obama?” > > I find it similarly annoying when discussing a Biden issue that people say “Yeah? but what about Trump?” The difference is how the false equivalence it being used. that usually, the response to a serious substantial criticism of Trump is dismissed as equivalent to some minor infraction by Obama. In this case the reverse is true some minor infraction by Biden is being used to paint a picture of equivalence to the colossal Orwellian gaslight factory at this Donald Trump, and posters are rightly calling him on it. Now Urbanredneck didn’t come out and say that these were equivalent, but given his predilection for [JAQing](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Just_asking_questions), it is the implied subtext. ---
**Author:** ![SebastianPotts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SebastianPotts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SebastianPotts)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/35 "2020-07-22T11:44:57Z")
It’s kinda ridiculous to lie about your college education like that. No sense to do that at all. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/36 "2020-07-22T14:25:27Z")
> [@SebastianPotts](#): > > It’s kinda ridiculous to lie about your college education like that. No sense to do that at all . Someone should advise him not to repeat that mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510/37 "2020-07-29T17:36:30Z")
Well, all the 1980’s investigators were busy trying to figure out what ‘boof’ meant in justice Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook, and the 70’s specialists were all tied up trying to prove that George Bush was AWOL from the National Guard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-biden-once-lie-about-his-college-career/853510.md?page=1)