Thoughts on Biden
August 23rd 2008 23:35
Obama has announced that Joe Biden (D-Delaware) will be the Democratic candidate for Vice President. There is plenty of expert analysis of the decision all over the news. Not wanting to be left out, I figured I would add in my initial thoughts.
Pros:
* Biden provides some adult supervision for Obama -- The biggest knock on Obama has been his lack of experience. Selecting an elder statesman like Biden for VP helps to mitigate that line of attack from Obama's opponents.
* Biden has a compelling story -- Early in his political career, he lost his wife and young daughter and nearly lost his two sons in a car accident. His ability to come through that and still thrive speaks well for the man. Also, one of his sons -- Beau -- will soon be deployed to Iraq with his Army National Guard unit. That gives Biden (and, by extension, Obama) additional credibility when it comes to the Iraq War.
Cons:
* Biden is a Washington insider and a career politician -- Yes, he provides Obama some cover when it comes to experience. However, it runs counter to Obama's argument in favor of change over experience. Biden has been in Washington since before Moses was in short pants.
* Biden is an admitted plagiarist -- He was accused of and admitted to committing plagiarism while in law school. That could provide fodder for McCain's camp.
* Biden is on record (recently) praising McCain and slamming Obama -- It's already a campaign commercial for the GOP. Using someone's own words against him is usually very effective.
* Biden can talk...and talk...and talk -- Biden is notorious for being in love with the sound of his own voice. In a town full of blowhards, he stands out for his ability to talk ad nauseum without really saying anything.
* Biden is gaffe-prone -- He offended many Obamaniacs when he referred to Obama as "clean" and "articulate". He also recently offended Indian-Americans in some casual comments he made during the primary season.
* Biden is very liberal -- You may recall that Obama was named the most liberal Senator last year. Well, Biden was third on that list. Does America want to combine a Democratically-controlled Senate and House with a White House that has two of the most liberal members of the Senate?
* Biden is from Delaware -- The Dems already had Delaware in the bag. Choosing Biden probably won't help in any of the significant swing states. Choosing Kaine or Bayh may have swung a number of electoral votes Obama's way. Biden doesn't provide the same kind of benefit.
* Biden's not Hillary -- Based on news accounts, Obama's camp didn't even vet Hillary. That won't do much to pacify the Hillary supporters who aren't jazzed about Obama.
* The announcement was first made by the media -- Obama promised his supporters that they would get the news first via text message. However, the media got the story first. I've already seen grousing amongst the tech-savvy who feel Obama handled this badly and went back on his word.
Based on the points I've raised above, I don't think Biden was a good choice. Hillary Clinton would've been the best choice. Now, however, at least some of (and possibly many of) Hillary's supporters won't rally behind Obama. That could be a difference-maker. Also, I just think that Biden is a ticking time bomb when it comes to his comments. It's not a matter of "if" he says something offensive. It's just a matter of "when". I think it's safe to say that the GOP is happy with the choice, though. And that is not good for Obama.
Pros:
* Biden provides some adult supervision for Obama -- The biggest knock on Obama has been his lack of experience. Selecting an elder statesman like Biden for VP helps to mitigate that line of attack from Obama's opponents.
* Biden has a compelling story -- Early in his political career, he lost his wife and young daughter and nearly lost his two sons in a car accident. His ability to come through that and still thrive speaks well for the man. Also, one of his sons -- Beau -- will soon be deployed to Iraq with his Army National Guard unit. That gives Biden (and, by extension, Obama) additional credibility when it comes to the Iraq War.
Cons:
* Biden is a Washington insider and a career politician -- Yes, he provides Obama some cover when it comes to experience. However, it runs counter to Obama's argument in favor of change over experience. Biden has been in Washington since before Moses was in short pants.
* Biden is an admitted plagiarist -- He was accused of and admitted to committing plagiarism while in law school. That could provide fodder for McCain's camp.
* Biden is on record (recently) praising McCain and slamming Obama -- It's already a campaign commercial for the GOP. Using someone's own words against him is usually very effective.
* Biden can talk...and talk...and talk -- Biden is notorious for being in love with the sound of his own voice. In a town full of blowhards, he stands out for his ability to talk ad nauseum without really saying anything.
* Biden is gaffe-prone -- He offended many Obamaniacs when he referred to Obama as "clean" and "articulate". He also recently offended Indian-Americans in some casual comments he made during the primary season.
* Biden is very liberal -- You may recall that Obama was named the most liberal Senator last year. Well, Biden was third on that list. Does America want to combine a Democratically-controlled Senate and House with a White House that has two of the most liberal members of the Senate?
* Biden is from Delaware -- The Dems already had Delaware in the bag. Choosing Biden probably won't help in any of the significant swing states. Choosing Kaine or Bayh may have swung a number of electoral votes Obama's way. Biden doesn't provide the same kind of benefit.
* Biden's not Hillary -- Based on news accounts, Obama's camp didn't even vet Hillary. That won't do much to pacify the Hillary supporters who aren't jazzed about Obama.
* The announcement was first made by the media -- Obama promised his supporters that they would get the news first via text message. However, the media got the story first. I've already seen grousing amongst the tech-savvy who feel Obama handled this badly and went back on his word.
Based on the points I've raised above, I don't think Biden was a good choice. Hillary Clinton would've been the best choice. Now, however, at least some of (and possibly many of) Hillary's supporters won't rally behind Obama. That could be a difference-maker. Also, I just think that Biden is a ticking time bomb when it comes to his comments. It's not a matter of "if" he says something offensive. It's just a matter of "when". I think it's safe to say that the GOP is happy with the choice, though. And that is not good for Obama.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
I did a post earlier today about him and the spot he's put himself into by agreeing to run with Barack.
From the sound of it, theirs is a "marriage" made somewhat lower and warmer than in Heaven!
Comment by PopulistConservative
Angry Electorate
Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
I'd love to see how Biden would answer some of the questions I posed in this post!