Our veep has been touring Europe and bumbling all the way. Weird we haven’t heard much about that, huh? But of course, the media coverage of an official’s mistakes while overseas are commensurate with the amount of power that official has, and who can blame the press for thinking candidate Mitt Romney was far more consequential than Joe Biden?

Today, after attending a UK national security council meeting, Biden said that he was “delighted to do it, I spent half my life on OUR national security council,” according to the pool report. In fact, Biden has only been on the U.S. National Security Council for four years–the four years the 70-year-old vice president has served in the Obama administration, and not the 35 years he suggested.

Also in London, Biden praised the tight bond between the U.S. and Britain by calling it an “open relationship.” “We have a great relationship, and as you all know, the most open relationship we have with any nation in the world is with Great Britain,” said Biden.

Biden also got Portugal mixed up with Poland. The UK Telegraph calls it the vice president’s “latest embarrassing gaffe for the vice president.”

“Biden has a well-earned reputation as a gaffe-maker extraordinaire, and this speech was no exception. In a key passage on the Eurozone debt crisis, Biden referred to Portugal, as Poland, a mistake subsequently corrected in the official White House transcript,” reports the Telegraph.

E.M. Zanotti offers this highlight: Biden gives finger guns to the foreign minister of France

And, there’s this gem:

“It’s great to be back among friends,” said Biden, according to a White House transcript of his remarks. “When I say among friends, I mean not only the distinguished guests that are from around the world who have joined us in this conference. I also mean to be back here in Germany, to be back here in Europe. I have traveled over 640,000 miles since I’ve been Vice President, and most of the time the President sends me to places that he doesn’t want to go. (Laughter.) So I’ve spent an awful lot of time with McCain and others in Afghanistan and Iraq, and so it’s nice to be here in Germany. (Laughter.) It’s nice to be invited back. (Applause.)”

The British press has obliged with the some of the same coverage it gave Romney’s gaffes, or “gaffes.” The American press has neglected to do the same.