Obama-Biden '08--just the ticket?
James Forsyth 9:41am
Has Obama just blinked? His selection of Joe Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as a running mate appears to be a recognition that he needs someone with national security experience on the ticket. This provides an opening for the McCain campaign. It also complicates Obama’s argument that national security is all about judgement. Just to compound thing, Obama and Biden made different judgement calls on Iraq back in 2002.
The smart sides to the pick are more on the domestic and personal side. Domestically, Biden is a champion of the kind of downscale voters that Obama desperately needs to woo to his side. Also by picking someone who blundered badly in talking about race in the primaries, Obama has shown that he has no desire to get hung up on this stuff.
Before the tightening in the polls and the crisis in Georgia, the expectation was that Obama would double-down on his message of change with his VP pick. I still think he would have been better served by doing so rather than by highlighting his own relative lack of experience.
Previous
Scott S.
August 23rd, 2008 10:04am Report this commentNeil Kinnock. Joe Biden had to leave the 1988 presidential race because he was stealing lines from Neil Kinnock. Is that not enough said?
john fazio
August 23rd, 2008 10:48am Report this commentWhile i can understand the electoral logic of selecting Biden it will prove the undoing of Obama and quite possibly be the point ( when Biden first opens his mouth) at which the momentum began to swing to Mccain and Obama lost the race to the white house. Biden is the most pompous and biggest windbag on Capital Hill. those Obama supporters who remember his 8 minute plus questions at various senate hearings will recoil in horror at this choice. if judgement is such an important criterion for the presidency then Obama has blown it even at this early stage.
Augustus
August 23rd, 2008 12:15pm Report this commentSo now there are two windbags running on the Democratic ticket.
Austin Barry
August 23rd, 2008 2:02pm Report this commentOdd choice: they resemble a catamite and his elderly patron. Now that Obama has effective driven a stake through Hillary Clinton's political heart it will be interesting to see the form of the inevitable payback by the pantsuited harpy and her wilted Priapus, red-faced attack dog of a husband.
The Laughing Cavalier
August 23rd, 2008 2:37pm Report this commentJoe Biden, a man so desperate for inspiration he stole not just a speech but a whole speaking style from Neil Kinnock.
Verity
August 23rd, 2008 4:17pm Report this commentJohn Fazio: "Biden is the most pompous and biggest windbag on Capital Hill." Whoaah! In view of the competition, awesome!
James writes: "recognition that he needs someone with national security experience on the ticket." Given that he has been in national politics for all of two and one half years, he someone with ANY experience on the ticket.
People won't forget that for most of his adult life, he's been kicking around in Chicago involved in very, very, very local politics - known as the Chicago Democratic Party machine.
Verity
August 23rd, 2008 5:29pm Report this commentWhat happened to all this freshness and youthful vigour? They're saying on American blogs that Biden's been in Congress (talking) for longer than most Americans have been alive.
Rosie
August 23rd, 2008 8:03pm Report this commentI'm disappointed, I thought a Obama-Clinton ticket would've been dynamite. How can Obama be the 'change candidate, bringing a new politics to Washington', Biden has been in Washington as long as John MCain. Also it has cancelled out MCain biggest negative which is his age, as Biden is not that much younger.
Marian C
August 23rd, 2008 8:03pm Report this commentTo be honest, I don’t know much about Joe Biden, but, if he had to stoop to stealing lines from Neil Kinnock of all people; well, that just tells me ALL I need to know about him; LOSER
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