Biden Redux
Posted at 8:17 pm on Monday, August 25, 2008, in Uncategorized, and tagged 2008, biden, bush, cheney, obama.
Now that I’ve got some time for myself, this is what I think of the Biden selection for VP. The choice for Joe Biden as Barack Obama’s running mate nets almost every possible positive except one: easy electoral votes. And if Biden’s Scranton roots puts Pennsylvania in Obama’s corner, that trumps that angle as well. (Indiana and Virginia will be tight, but Pennsylvania as a lock will be worth that much more.)
Old school democrats. The old-timers; the union members; the teachers; the government workers. These dems were solidly behind Hillary Clinton during the primary (and some are stubbornly still). An old name with a familiar face is what these folks crave. Biden does that. Sebelius, Kaine, and to most, Bayh, simply do not.
Attack dog. Presidential candidates usually desire to stay above the fray. Having a fighter like Biden in your corner makes that that much easier. While Biden can attack republicans at-will (the Giuliani rip from the debates come to mind: “A noun, a verb, and nine-eleven.”), he can target the misgivings of John McCain while Obama stays on message.
National security. Yea, that issue. Biden has majored in foreign policy during his decades-long stint as a senator. And he has an intelligent answer to every world situation. Bush partially won the White House promising seasoned advisers (Cheney, Powell, etc.) — and we know how that turned out — but something we can be rest assured of: Obama is nothing like Bush; and Biden is nothing like Cheney.
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August 26th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
The only (and I do mean only) misgiving I have about Sen. Biden is one I’ve expressed before: his occasional tendency to speak before thinking, also known as “shooting his mouth off.” If he can reign in that fault, he will be formidable!