Biden: I Didn't Go to China to 'Explain a Damn Thing'

Joe Biden's nine-day Asia trip ended on an, ahem, colorful note. After explaining on Monday that he "fully understands" China's much criticized one-child policy, he ended the tour today by giving what the Los Angeles Times calls a "pep talk" to US troops in Japan ... where he explained that he "didn’t come to explain a damn thing." Well, OK! Apparently he wanted to clarify that the point of his overseas jaunt was not to calm fears about the stability of the US economy.

In other trip-related news, Biden got swatted by Mitt Romney yesterday, who poked at his one-child comments, reports the New York Times. Romney described the policy as "gruesome and barbaric," and said that "Biden’s acquiescence to such a policy should shock the conscience of every American." The office of the VP responded by explaining that Biden was actually arguing against it. "He pointed out, in China, that the policy is, as a practical matter, unsustainable," it said. (More Joe Biden stories.)