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Both President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have spoken out this week concerning the most viral news of the moment: the video of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking out his then-fianc茅e with one punch.

On Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest discussed with Mr. Obama the Ravens鈥� decision to release Mr. Rice, and the National Football League鈥檚 move to suspend the player indefinitely.

Mr. Earnest then issued a statement which said in part: 鈥淗itting a woman is not something a real man does, and that鈥檚 true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or far too often, behind closed doors. Stopping domestic violence is something that鈥檚 bigger than football 鈥� and all of us have a responsibility to put a stop to it.鈥�

Then on Tuesday, Mr. Biden spoke more personally and emotionally about the video, taken by a security camera inside an elevator at an Atlantic City casino. In a discussion with NBC鈥檚 Tamron Hall that aired on the 鈥淭oday鈥� show, he said the tape was 鈥渂rutal鈥� and that the NFL and the Ravens 鈥渄id the right thing鈥� by putting the Rice鈥檚 career on hold.

Biden segued from the Rice incident to the 20^th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, which he鈥檚 marking today with a speech. Biden helped draft the bill as a senator.

The vice president said US society too often blames the woman for domestic assaults 鈥� and that 鈥渄omestic鈥� is probably the wrong word for this sort of violence, since it softens its character, as if one is talking about a domestic cat.

鈥淚t is the most vicious form of violence there is, because not only the physical scars . . . are left, the psychological scars . . . are left,鈥� said Biden.

Did the White House have a responsibility to say something about the Rice video violence? That鈥檚 a question that鈥檚 being hotly debated on social media at the moment. Some argue it鈥檚 a teaching moment, and the president needs to help steer the nation. Others say it鈥檚 an incident that the president has no authority over and should not attempt to influence.

Some administration critics jumped in early to complain that Obama wasn鈥檛 leading in response to the video鈥檚 release on the celebrity news site TMZ.

鈥淚 wanna know where is the President on this one?鈥� said Fox News host Andrea Tantaros on Monday before the White House issued Earnest鈥檚 statement.

But that was not a universal response from the political right. Others bemoaned the administration鈥檚 practice of offering statements at times of national outrage over particular incidents that shoot into the social media stratosphere.

鈥淕et what Andrea鈥檚 saying, but I long for a world where we don鈥檛 ask the president to comment on every [darn] thing,鈥� tweeted conservative blogger and editor Mary Katherine Ham in response to Ms. Tantaros鈥� question.

That鈥檚 possibly a world we will never live in. As Biden showed with his 鈥済ates of hell鈥� statement, expressing outrage at the beheading of American journalists by Islamic State terrorists, part of the job of a White House is to express emotion that reflects the national mood. The president (and by extension the VP) is the nation鈥檚 leader, its sheriff, its consoler, all in one.

Meanwhile, a sub-theme in Washington at the moment deals with another Rice: former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and whether she might be a good choice to lead the NFL if current commissioner Roger Goodell loses his job due to fallout from the Rice controversy.

Ms. Rice is an avid football fan and has joked in the past that NFL commissioner might be her dream job.

鈥淭ime for the former secretary of state with an intense love of the game to step in and save the NFL,鈥� writes Washington Post blogger Jonathan Capehart today.