My Party, My Choice: Biden In 2008
Posted at 1:55 pm on Friday, January 12, 2007, in Uncategorized, and tagged 2008.
I am going to speak my mind for a moment (as it were, I wasn’t going to say anything, but then, again, I do have a blog) on the 2008 presidential race, especially since Chris Dodd is in the running for the democratic nomination. Who? You’ve never heard of him before? I posted my initial reaction to this wondrous news on Jake Tapper’s blog…
Wait a minute. Who is this Chris Dodd?
To which a another commenter responded, “I think rey [that's me] has hit it right on the head.” Why, thank you, phillygirl64.
But on to the big picture: Who should be the democratic nominee for president? After all, the democratic party is my party. It is not Markos’ (of DailyKos); it is not Bill Clinton’s either. It is mine. So, since no one has listened in the past — I wanted John Kerry to run in 2000, and I wanted Joe Biden in 2004 — I can at least get my feelings off my chest. (And let’s hope someone powerful listens.)
Hillary — don’t run. Make your name as a great senator, sitting in the seat once held by Robert Kennedy. You can do so much more as a four- or five-term senator than a one-term could-be president. And if you lose, it’s basically over for you. You have the aura of invincibility — a woman who can’t lose, despite the fact that nearly half of America despises you. Keep your job, make it yours, make your mark. In the senate.
Barack Obama — don’t run. You are too young; let the baggage you keep at your side erode away with the greatest resource in politics — time. If you need a trial run, then so be it. But don’t get too deep. Don’t throw too much mud in the primaries. Bow out gracefully, and wait for 2012.
[By the way, don't expect a democrat to win it easy in 2008, just because of Bush, and his pathetic poor approval numbers and his disastrous second-term. The most crazy thing about politics is that no one remembers yesterday. The American people will gladly elect another conservative. No one's learned a thing.]
Well that covers the big two — Hillary and Obama — what about the rest? John Kerry: run; what do you have to lose? Al Gore: run; you won in 2000, you could win in 2008. John Edwards: graciously accept your role as perennial VP candidate.
Who should the democrats nominate? Joe Biden. He speaks well, plays politics well, he is a solid debater, and he is great with foreign policy. All these are musts in the general election. He can win, but will the party let this happen? Will my fellow primary voters consider everything? When I finally cast my vote in the primary, will the race be all-but-over? Will I even have a choice/voice in the matter?
Who should be the VP? It doesn’t really matter, but Edwards, Mark Warner and Tom Vilsack make great sense. Biden/Edwards, Biden/Warner. No difference. As long as the VP candidate isn’t a liability (or Joe Lieberman), voters will get over it.
The truth of the matter is, no one cares to listen to “sense.” Hillary will enter the race; same with Obama. There will be a major brawl in New Hampshire, Iowa and Nevada. Biden will drop out. So will Dodd. Gore will have wished he had entered, and Kerry will have wished he would have stayed at home.
Only time will tell, but at least I have let my feelings be known (so I can sleep at night).
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January 12th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
The only misgiving I have about Sen. Biden is that he will sometimes say what comes to mind (honesty, what a refreshing concept in politics, of all places!) and later have to retract or correct his statements. For example, he said this week that Congress couldn’t restrict funding for the war in Iraq when it most certainly can. And he also had some problems in the past for plagarizing parts of speeches, when he asserted he hadn’t. But, I must agree with you about both junior senators from New York and Illinois, as well as all the others. (John Edwards, in my view, is the VP candidate to beat, if anyone asks.) In the end, though, you’re quite correct in that these choices won’t be made on their merits, but on emotion and political arm-twisting.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
[...] top-choice would be Hagel, followed by Biden, who was my original choice for the nomination. This makes sense. Obama needs to shore-up his foreign policy credentials, and [...]