Quote:Presidential hopeful Joe Biden is on the defensive after reportedly mistelling a story on the campaign trail about a heroic Navy captain. Biden has been telling some version of the story for years.

"This guy climbed down a ravine, carried this guy up on his back under fire," the former vice president said during a campaign stop in New Hampshire last week. "The general wanted me to pin the Silver Star on him. I got up there, and this is the God's truth, my word as a Biden. He stood at attention. I went to pin it on him. He said, 'Sir, I don't want the damn thing. Do not pin it on me, sir. Please, sir, do not do that. He died! He died!'"

But according to the Washington Post, who spoke to more than a dozen military and campaign sources, "Biden got the time period, the location, the heroic act, the type of medal, the military branch and the rank of the recipient, as well as his own role in the ceremony" wrong.

Biden's story appears to have some truthful elements. In 2011, Biden did award a medal to Army Staff Sergeant Chad Workman after the soldier tried to retrieve a dying comrade from a burning vehicle. Workman told the Post he felt Biden "really understood" his situation.

But the soldier at the center of Biden's searing campaign story received the Medal of Honor from President Obama.

Biden is unapologetic, telling reporters the essence of the story, about military bravery, loss and guilt, is true.

In an interview Thursday, Biden called the criticisms "ridiculous," saying, "...The central point is it was absolutely accurate what I said ... The story was that he refused the medal because the fella he tried to save, and risked his life saving, died. That's the beginning, middle and end."

"We choose truth over facts," Biden said at the Iowa State Fair.

"Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids," Biden said at a different event.

Biden, for his part, has said voters will decide for themselves if those mistakes are important.

"I say if they're concerned, don't vote for me," Biden said.

No one has accused Biden of lying or exploiting military sacrifice. For Democratic voters, the question may be is this a sign that more than Biden's memory is at fault or just that his facts are wrong but his passion is right.

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CNN analyst April Ryan on Thursday came to the defense of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden after the Washington Post said a war story of his was false in nearly every detail.

Ryan appeared on CNN's OutFront where she attempted to downplay the report by invoking President Donald Trump's "climate of lies." Host Jim Sciutto asked Ryan whether she believed the incorrect details in Biden's story were "significant," prompting her to acknowledge they were. But she immediately shifted the conversation to Trump.

"Jim, what you have to look at—we are in a climate of lies being thrown at us from the president of the United States, and we're so hypersensitive about issues of lies," Ryan said. "People who are prone to gaffes, we are now holding them to the same standard, putting a bright spotlight on—looking at it as a lie, like this president tells, versus saying, ‘Oh, that's Joe Biden. He's prone to gaffing.'"

Ryan then briefly mentioned a few of the erroneous details the Post reported on from Biden's story, but then asked, "Was it something that it's been so long and he just couldn't get the story right or was it an out-and-out lie? That's the question."

"We have someone in the White House who we know is a liar point-blank, and now this person who is running for president is known to gaffe," Ryan continued. "He needs to get it right if he tells a story, but was it intentional? That's the question. And I don't think it was."

Biden pushed back against the Post report during a pre-scheduled interview with the Post and Courier.

"I don’t understand what they’re talking about, but the central point is it was absolutely accurate what I said," Biden said. "He refused the medal. I put it on him, he said, ‘Don’t do that to me, sir. He died. He died.’"

"I think it’s ridiculous. The essence—that there’s anything I said about that that wasn’t the essence of the story. The story was that he refused the medal because the fella he tried to save and risked his life saving died," Biden continued. "That’s the beginning, middle and end. The rest of you guys can take it and do what you want with it."

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When you have made your living for decades lying, it only stands to reason that it would be hard to remember who you told what.

Senility is a horrible affliction.

Old people

Liars gotta lie...

Would it be possible for the Biden campaign to have their candidate not utter a single word? They really need to look into this. Every time he opens his mouth, public opinion slips.