While running for President in 2007, Joe Biden was open to cutting Social Security and Medicare.

[HerbChestnut]

From a Meet the Press interview on April 29, 2007 with Tim Russert. Here's a snippet of the transcript. Full transcript can be found by clicking the following link.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18381961/ns/meet_the_press/t/mtp-transcript-april/#.XhknT4h7mUk

MR. RUSSERT: But, senator, we have a deficit. We have Social Security and Medicare looming. The number of people on Social Security and Medicare is now 40 million people. It’s going to be 80 million in 15 years. Would you consider looking at those programs, age of eligibility...

SEN. BIDEN: Absolutely.

MR. RUSSERT: ...cost of living, put it all on the table.

SEN. BIDEN: The answer is absolutely. You have to. You know, it’s—one of the things that my, you know, the political advisers say to me is, “Whoa, don’t touch that third”—look, the American people aren’t stupid. It’s a real simple proposition. We have to do—you and I were talking about Bob Dole earlier. I was one of five people—I was the junior guy in the meeting with Bob Dole and George Mitchell when we put Social Security on the right path for 60 years. I’ll never forget what Bob Dole said. After we reached an agreement about gradually raising the retirement age, etc., he said, “Look, here’s the deal, we all put our foot in the boat one at a time.” And he kicked—he stepped like he was stepping into a boat. “And we all make the following deal. If any one of the challengers running against the incumbent Democrat or Republicans attack us on this point, we’ll all stay together.” That’s the kind of leadership that is needed. Social Security’s not the hard one to solve. Medicare, that is the gorilla in the room, and you’ve got to put all of it on the table.

MR. RUSSERT: Everything.

SEN. BIDEN: Everything. You’ve got to.

[NYMinute]

1. Fake News -- Already debunked and a malicious mischaracterization.

[HerbChestnut]

2. Really? A direct quote is fake news?

The entire transcript is there to read for context...

[NYMinute]

3. Post the WHOLE interview - not cherry-picked snippets.

[HerbChestnut]

5. The whole interview is too long. That's why I provided a link to the entire transcript.

Go ahead and read it if you want.

[progressoid]

12. Where in the rest of the interview is it debunked?

[Squinch]

4. Did another poll come out with falling numbers for Bernie?

[HerbChestnut]

6. No, quite the contrary.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. Nice!

[David__77]

18. Well, something was nice.

...

[redqueen]

8. We need UBI. Seniors are working well past retirement age already.

We can't continue like this.

The Democratic party should be the party that finally breaks us all free of this Puritan work ethic bullshit.

To make this on topic, here's Andrew's position on the issue of special security:

"Social Security is one of the greatest social programs in America. However, especially with the Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, there are constant worries of it becoming insolvent. There are also many Americans who receive Social Security benefits but in no way need it to live out a safe, secure, and comfortable retirement. The program should institute means testing to ensure fiscal solvency while still serving the needs of the millions of Americans who do rely on it for their income after leaving the workforce. As President, I will work with Congress to alter Social Security into a means-tested program where Americans with more post-retirement income receive lower benefits on a sliding scale. This would save billions a year and help ensure Social Security’s solvency for future generations."

[David__77]

17. It makes sense to me.

And I think increasingly makes sense over time. The alternative is extreme polarization and needless struggle for masses of people.

[ehrnst]

19. Hillary was proposing to lower the age to buy into Medicare to 55.

She was the Democratic candidate for POTUS in 2016.

[melman]

9. Not good

Not good at all.

[fallout87]

10. Trying to take the heat off Bernie

eh?

[SMC22307]

13. Yeah, this is why I'm not jumping up and down for Biden.

Glad he and Bob Dole pledged to stick together.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

14. Yep and there's no denying what they were sticking together about.

No matter how many times people cry “out of context”

[David__77]

16. I hope that candidates can take these things off the table, resolutely.

No retirement or Medicare age increase, no change in CPI definition that would reduce benefits.