The Reaction: Klaatu barada nikto

By J. Thomas Duffy

Oh, sorry, wrong video.

That's the 1951 classic The Day The Earth Stood Still.

We meant to post Vice President Joe Biden, speaking today on The Today Show on how he would be handling the Swine Flu.

Biden: ‘Wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places’

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Well, the earth hasn't stood still, there isn't panic in the streets, but Biden is sure catching a lot of crap:

Vice president Joe Biden said today he would tell his family members not to use subways in the U.S. and implied schools should be shuttered as the swine flu outbreak spread to 16 states. His remarks quickly caused a stir, drawing a rebuke from New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and later leading the White House to apologize.

The uproar began when Biden appeared on NBC's "Today" show and said he would advise against riding the subway or taking commercial flights and implied schools should be shuttered amid confirmation of the first swine-flu relation death in the U.S.

"I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now," Biden said when Matt Lauer asked whether he would advise family members to use public transportation.

"I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. 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. That's me. I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation suggesting they ride the subway. "

The vice president also implied that schools should be closed as the threat of swine flu increases.

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About two hours after the interview, Biden's office issued a statement attempting to clarify the vice president's remarks.

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White House press secretary Robert Gibbs apologized for Biden's remarks, saying the vice president misspoke.