Obama Picks Sen. Joe Biden
23 Aug 2008 01:00 am
This is a formidable ticket, and a risky ticket, and not a comfort zone choice for Obama.
Put aside the obvious: Biden has foreign policy meat on his bones…He’s a great debater… he has a working-class Scranton-bred Irish-Catholic heritage…he knows Washington very well…he has known tragedy in his life…
He was elected to the Senate as a change agent at the age of 29. He is comfortable but not wealthy — he has not used the prerogatives of office to enrich his personal wealth, although his family has benefited from his stature.
Biden premised his presidential candidacy on the notion that Obama was unqualified and not ready from day one. You can expect that the McCain campaign or the RNC will run a national television advertisement featuring Biden’s many and various quotations to this effect.
I gather that what impressed Obama about Biden is that Biden gets things done. He’s a man of action. He’s not a bullsh…. I also get the sense that Biden, 65, is pretty well aware that, at age 73 in eight years, he’s not going to be a viable presidential choice, and thus convinced Obama that because the vice presidency would be his terminal position, the famous Biden ego will take a subordinate role.
I gather that Obama realizes that he needed a pick that would demonstrate some level of intellectual seriousness about the condition of the world. One of his sons heads for Iraq soon. Obama knows that, for Biden, getting Iraq right is much more than just about proving a point.
Biden is also a fighter on domestic policy. He touts as one of his greatest legislative accomplishments 1994’s Violence Against Women Act.
Some liberals think he’s a bully who got the Iraq war wrong (although Biden did try to pass a less bellicose resolution). But I suspect that the general response from Democrats will be “Great choice.”
The criticism will focus on Biden’s 1987 plagiarism bout, his support of credit card companies, his comments about Obama, his racial obliviousness (the comment about Indian-Americans in 7/11).
In a normal year, this stuff would have disqualified him instantly.
Here is the full story.
Four days ago, I made a prediction that Senator Obama will pick Joe Biden based on my chess-strategy-like evaluation. Obama needs someone with the kind of experience like Biden to fill his weaknesses. I reconfirmed my prediction last night at 8:50:00 PM CDT to IM Ken Regan.
Now that Senator Obama has made his choice, I believe that Senator McCain will counter with former Gov. Mitt Romney.
Biden — the perfect foil for Palin!
Obama just goes from strength to strength! Biden is superbly equipped intellectually as well as morally. And he writes his own speeches!!
Nice prediction Susan! Perhaps you should become Governor of Texas. You could be the brilliant brain of Texas where Schwarzenegger is the muscle man of California.
Nice prediction!
You’re right and most of the mainstream media were wrong. How did you do it?
Here is a YouTube that sums it all up in the words of Joe Biden.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WMYty1PgHEg
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8916YLD3YXM&feature=related
This unbelievable!
The rule is: When Obama gaffes there is a good reason, and it’s not his fault.
Follow this rule except when George Bush gaffes, then he is a retarded chimp. If McCain gaffes he is senile. Remember this rule.
fills the socialist ticket well.
Susan, well done on the prediction! We’ll see if Romney makes it 2-for-2, versus my pick of Pawlenty. As for chess strategy, though, it depends on the chessboard. Clearly h8 is Maine. If Springfield, Illinois where they’re appearing today is a1, it’s a marvelous pick. However…
Commenter #1 intends Sarah Palin, Republican governor of Alaska and a possible McCain VP pick. However, my fear about Biden—which is well expressed by the article Susan included—made me first think the reference was to Michael Palin, of “Monty Python” fame. To put it another way, clearly the GOP has prepared a lot of jokes and zingers involving Paris Hilton. I fear they’ll be able to substitute “Joe Biden” and “Northeastern liberal” with no other changes.
Obama’s Biden pick may be the best he could make, but it might actually undermine his winning chance.
(1) The 18 million Hillary’s supporters would not be as excited and he will lose a big chunk of the Democratic votes.
(2) Although Biden is smart,witty, and experience, he is seen largely as too liberal and lefty and thus Obama could lose another big chunk of independent votes.
(3) By announcing his VP choice by text messaging, it might be cool, but it has further distanced him from rural, blue-color, older voters who might base their choice of president on personal feeling. Yes, many of them would think: “Hey, it can’t be any worse than the Bush 8 years whoever be the next president.”
I hope Obama will win policy-wise, but I doubt he will win.
“Biden is superbly equipped intellectually as well as morally.”
What a sick joke! Both Obama and Biden are baby killing abortionist!
They are worse than Hitler.
Wake up America!