http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/joe-biden-ash-carter-wife-react-116541.html?hp=l2_4Ash Carter: I 'laughed' at Biden video
By Nick Gass
3/31/15 7:54 AM EDT
Defense Secretary Ash Carter says he “laughed” when he saw the video of Vice President Joe Biden putting his hands on the shoulders of his wife Stephanie during his swearing-in ceremony last month.
“Oh, I laughed. I laughed. I laughed. They know each other extremely well, and we’re great friends with the Bidens,” he said in an interview aired Tuesday with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie on the Today Show. Carter was traveling to his high school alma mater for a speech on the future of the armed forces.
Carter’s wife later said she was not offended by the vice president putting his hands on her shoulders and whispering in her ear, but Biden’s actions drew close scrutiny on social media and late-night talk shows.
In an interview with POLITICO last week, former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) praised Biden but said “he can’t keep his mouth shut or his hands to himself,” adding that it has “unfortunately diminished” his public perception.