To cleanse the palate, via the Weekly Standard, a companion piece to that poll about the three branches of government last month that had me drinking in the morning for a few days afterward. Just for my own peace of mind, I’m trying to convince myself that the problem here is with Biden, not with the public’s ignorance. Face it: If you were a casual news consumer who stumbled across an interview with Diamond Joe mid-thought about, say, Indian-Americans and 7-11s, your first thought wouldn’t be, “Clearly this man holds high office in the world’s most powerful country.” It’s like showing people a photo of Bartolo Colon and expecting them to guess that he’s a professional athlete.

What’s illuminating about this vid, expertly culled by Kimmel’s staff, is how it shows off different degrees of derp. You’ve got people who haven’t the faintest idea who Joe Biden is; you’ve got people who find his face vaguely familiar but can’t quite place it; you’ve got people who suspect he’s a politician but can’t say more than that; you’ve got people who have dim memories of other politicians’ names, even if they’re blanking on Biden’s (the “Condoleezza Rice” guy); and then you’ve got my favorite, the woman who likes to stay informed about current events and therefore is confident that Biden’s a senator. All of their votes will count just as much as yours this fall. All of them.