Yesterday, Vice President Biden spoke at an anti-violence event in Illinois. Here's how local media covered the speech:

Vice President Joe Biden, speaking Wednesday at an anti-violence event in central Illinois, called for “educating the whole society” to dispel cultural attitudes that lead to sexual assaults.

Biden was joined by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., at the Center for Prevention of Abuse fundraiser, attended by 1,100 people at the Peoria Civic Center.

The vice president, a former Democratic senator from Delaware, discussed his work to pass the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. In advancing the legislation, Biden said, he had to confront state laws that permitted rape within a marriage and combat cultural assumptions that women “ask to be raped” when they wear short skirts or walk alone late at night.

Now, here's how Los Angeles Times reporter/former Bush flak/professional Biden-hater Andrew Malcolm describes derides that speech:

Joe Biden update: Opposes domestic violence but favors shiny shoes

...

Wednesday was another busy day for Vice President Joe Biden. He visited that effing epicenter of perceived middle America to take on another subject, understandably not the economic stimulus plan he's been in charge of driving.

Alongside Transportation Secy. Ray LaHood and Sen. Dick Durbin, Biden came out unequivocally in favor of reiterating his long-standing opposition to domestic violence and sexual abuse.

“No man, no man, no man,” the vice president told 1,100 in the audience, “under any condition other than self-defense, has the right to raise his hand to a woman. No condition. None. Zero.”

Malcolm later linked to that post, calling it a “somewhat related item” in a post about a Congressman expressing concern that, in Malcolm's words, “loading too many people onto Guam could capsize the island.”

If you've read Malcolm's previous coverage of Biden, you'll likely recognize his sarcastic post as a continuation of his attempts to portray Biden as ridiculous. The last several Malcolm posts about Biden have headlines like “Joe Biden update: Obama found VP's effing gaffe hilarious highlight of historic day” and “Joe Biden update: VP goes 2-for-2 today -- 2 speeches, 2 gaffes” and “Joe Biden update: Another closed day” and “Joe Biden gaffe update: A century here, a century there, pretty soon they all look alike.” Andrew Malcolm simply doesn't write about Biden other than to make fun of him.

A frequent Malcolm theme is that Biden doesn't do anything important. Malcolm's wording -- “Biden came out unequivocally in favor of reiterating his long-standing opposition to domestic violence and sexual abuse” -- implies Biden's speech was on a topic so blandly uncontroversial as to not be a pointless waste of time. It isn't an uncommon construct for mocking a politician -- think: he took a bold stance in favor of mom and apple pie. But it's more than a little jarring to see it applied to a speech about domestic abuse and rape -- particularly in light of Biden's account of the circumstances surrounding the Violence Against Women Act.

Think I'm reading too much into Malcolm's tone? Think again: the LA Times reporter tagged his post “humor.”

So what, exactly, is funny about Joe Biden's work to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault?