It’s Biden
As you’ve no doubt heard by now, it’s official and Barack Obama’s running mate will be Joe Biden. He wasn’t my favorite choice for the gig, but he was far from my least-favorite choice either. The major pro is that this signals as desire to take the argument to John McCain on national security policy which is a wise decision — the American people deserve to hear a full-spectrum debate about the issues facing the country rather than a positional battle in which one party talks about the economy and the other talks about national security. It’s also the case, as I noted previously, that Biden’s ascendancy augurs well for the SUPERTRAIN even though this aspect of his record isn’t especially well-known or close to the core of his political persona.
Biden also has the lowest net worth of any U.S. Senator. Combined with Barack Obama whose prosperity is a very recent consequence of book sales, it’s definitely a ticket that can argue they have more personal acquaintance with the struggles of middle class American life than John McCain or George Bush or recent Democratic nominees like John Kerry and Al Gore. It also seems to be a pick that the elite media is enthusiastic about, which isn’t necessarily an idea I’m enthusiastic about, but I suppose definitely counts as an asset. Last, moderate Republicans, especially those with a national security orientation, like the pick.
I congratulate Senator Barack Obama on his selection of my friend, Senator Joe Biden, to be his vice-presidential running mate. I have enjoyed for many years the opportunity to work with Joe Biden to bring strong bipartisan support to United States foreign policy.
Joe Biden is the right partner for Barack Obama. His many years of distinguished service to America, his seasoned judgment and his vast experience in foreign policy and national security will match up well with the unique challenges of the 21st Century. An Obama-Biden ticket is a very impressive and strong team. Biden’s selection is good news for Obama and America.
And of course Biden’s tendency toward gaffes makes this good news for people who need to write about the campaign.
47 Responses to “It’s Biden”
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August 23rd, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I think this was a great pick. Biden helps with older voters, catholic voters, working class voters and brings strong foreign policy experience to a ticket that, despite its prescience on Iraq and Afghanistan, is still deemed weaker than McMoron. Anyway, here we go…
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 pm
“The major pro is that this signals as desire to take the argument to John McCain on national security policy”
Worth noting that Biden got the nod precisely because he disagreed with the Yglesias / Josh Marshall position on the Russia-Georgia conflict…
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
The major pro is that this signals as desire to take the argument to John McCain on national security policy which is a wise decision — the American people deserve to hear a full-spectrum debate about the issues facing the country rather than a positional battle in which one party talks about the economy and the other talks about national security.
Well you are hardly going to get a “full-spectrum” debate with Biden and McCain. It will be a debate, sure, but it will be a very narrow-spectrum debate.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I’m not sure how much I disagreed with Biden’s take on Russia/Georgia — Biden didn’t get over there until well after Russia crossed the line into unacceptable behavior, and though I thought his rhetoric was over-the-top his concrete policy proposals on Georgia were pretty smart.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
The interesting question — and here’s where Petey’s hilariously bad b-ball predictive skills come in — is whether this affects McCain’s decision. Romney or Pawlenty aren’t exactly an ideal matchup, and a Lieberman/Biden Veep debate would be, let’s say, interesting.
It’s obviously not my ideal choice: as I’d said before, I want Obama looking westwards, and Schweitzer would have been great on the merits, if not the name recognition. But ‘if it’s Sunday, it’s Joe Biden’ has something going for it. It’s certainly a pick that has Cheney’s legacy on the OVP in mind.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Not that I have any indication of what the Georgian people want at this point, but I wonder what Biden’s position is on propping up Saakashvili against popular opinion when there is viable political opposition? Because I didn’t see Saakashvili touting Biden’s support. And I didn’t see Holbrooke touting Biden’s support for propping Saakashvili up in his Washington Post Op-Ed yesterday. But what am I thinking? Of course, we’re going to prop Saakashvili up. It’s the American Way.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
“I’m not sure how much I disagreed with Biden’s take on Russia/Georgia — Biden didn’t get over there until well after Russia crossed the line into unacceptable behavior, and though I thought his rhetoric was over-the-top his concrete policy proposals on Georgia were pretty smart.”
Fair enough.
But the larger point is that Biden is a stone cold Holbrooke-ian, which I’d expect you to have problems with.
(Personally, I’m ducky with Biden on foreign policy. Holbrooke is the bee’s knees in my book. My problems with Biden are on the domestic front.)
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Not Bayh which is a plus. Biden has demonstrated somewhat of a learning curve vis a vis selling out the country to the Jewish neocons. And, at least, unlike Richardson - he won’t put everyone to sleep. More of an asset than Edwards in ‘04 and far more than that sack of shit loser Lieberman in ‘00. Obama could’ve done a lot worse.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:45 pm
A successful veep selection is one that either drives a favorable media narrative or serves a ‘favorite son’ role, delivering his home state. Clinton, Sebelius, Powell or Hagel would have fallen somewhere in the former camp; one of the Virginians (and perhaps Richardson) would have fallen into the latter. (While a favorite son selection is unlikely to turn a state unless it was going that way regardless, it can tip a ‘maybe’ into a ‘yes.’)
Biden is a senator from a minuscule state that will go blue regardless. He’s most well known for saying incredibly stupid (or at least poorly-phrased) things that he later has to explain away, and for plagiarism during his undistinguished tenure at a second-tier law school. In an election where foreign policy will be vastly overshadowed by domestic concerns, his several decades of sitting in a chair talking about that sort of stuff is unlikely to mean much. And since he’s a senator, the Republicans will find any number of votes to beat him over the head with: he’s certainly open to the tired (but still effective) flip-flop smear on Iraq. He doesn’t bring any of that precious ‘executive experience’ to the table, and Clinton’s disgruntled supporters may be reluctant to join hands when an old white guy was chosen over her. Similarly, it’s possible that Biden’s crypto-racist pandering may be deployed to depress the African-American vote.
On the last point, it’s possible that a tin-ear Obama campaign thought that Biden’s smart-alecky mouth, combined with the repeated ’slave state’ pandering, would earn some populist cred among working class whites. This, of course, is nonsense. To those people, Biden is a Suit, whatever his net worth may be, not a brush-clearing guy to have a beer with. If that’s what they were going for, they should’ve gone the extra mile to try to bring Webb on board, or maybe Schweitzer.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:49 pm
You’re wrong about Holbrooke Petey. Pay closer attention to current events please.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Biden is a stone fox. He makes all the women swoon. Makes them feel safe. That’s probably why Caroline Kennedy picked him.
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Praise from Chuck Hagel, the worst Israel basher in the US Senate. Just another reason why Senator Osama is poison for the State of Israel.
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
A successful veep selection is one that either drives a favorable media narrative or serves a ‘favorite son’ role, delivering his home state.
I know that this is the conventional wisdom, and I believed it for a while, too, but my take on it is that this is simply not true. The best veeps are the ones that are the good campaigners, the ones who land the campaign blows, and the ones who firmly argue the case for the top of the ticket and against the opposition. This is why Gore was a good pick. This is what Cheney did for Bush and what Lieberman failed to do for Gore.
It seems that up until now, Republicans used their VP picks to do their dirty work, while Democrats picked a VP because it helped “tell a story.” Recent experience indicates to me that the Republican view of the VP pick, which is what the Biden pick seems to cleave to, is the correct one.
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:46 pm
SLC,
It’d be nice if, for once, just once, the state of Israel didn’t run my country’s elections. They have a right to exist. They don’t have a right to own my government.
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Re brenna
Ms. brenna has is ass backwards. The US Government owns the State of Israel lock, stock, and barrel. Prime Minister Olmert doesn’t visit the mens’ room until given permission do do so by Dubya.
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Biden also has the lowest net worth of any U.S. Senator. Combined with Barack Obama whose prosperity is a very recent consequence of book sales, it’s definitely a ticket that can argue they have more personal acquaintance with the struggles of middle class American life than John McCain or George Bush or recent Democratic nominees like John Kerry and Al Gore.
God, politics can be frustrating sometimes. I understand that this line might convince people, but from the point of view of reality, having the lowest net worth of any Senator is like being the world’s tallest midget.
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Biden is going to be a lot better at getting in the Republicans’ face, on a quick turnaround, than Obama or anyone around him has proved to be, at least until McCain’s how-many-houses gaffe. That, as much as foreign-policy gravitas, is what made him the logical choice for what promises to be a marathon of snark.
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
What’s more, Biden’s persona will not be shaken if he goes off on a rant about foolish bellicosity, or about energy policy. Obama can’t really do that without sabotaging the image that’s been created.
August 23rd, 2008 at 5:56 pm
seem to me you’d post Biden up against Lieberman, no? get the man the rock down low and let him go to work…
August 23rd, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I love the idea that we’re going to have a campaign between two teams of rich guys, one team with guys who inherited/earned their money, and the other team with guys who got rich while in public office. Hard to guess which one is the Democratic one, right?
August 23rd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
“Similarly, it’s possible that Biden’s crypto-racist pandering may be deployed to depress the African-American vote.”
Seriously? There is no way that Biden will do anything to depress Black turnout.
“Hey, you going to vote for Obama?”
“Well, I would but he’s got that Biden running with him; Biden called Obama clean and articulate, so obviously he is a racist. No ticket with him on it is getting my vote!”
Seriously?
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Praise from Chuck Hagel, the worst Israel basher in the US Senate. Just another reason why Senator Osama is poison for the State of Israel.
Yet another reason to vote for Obama then. Maybe then CLS will actually move to Israel then.
August 24th, 2008 at 1:07 am
The notion that either Obama or Biden is going to do anything whatever to stop Israel’s reign of terror in the Mideast is a joke.
And the notion that Israel does Bush’s bidding is also a joke. Cheney’s, maybe - but even there, Israel has refused to initiate the war in Iran, which Cheney has been pushing them to do for a year now. Not even the promise of $30 billion more of the US taxpayer money over the next ten years was enough. They want the US to take ALL the blame when it goes bad, so they don’t have to listen to Walt and Mearsheimer point out how they influenced the Iran war like they influenced the Iraq war.
And just to remind everyone before SLC jumps in about how Israel didn’t support the Iraq war that his whole argument has been refuted numerous times here and at the old blog.
August 24th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Re Richard Steven Hack
Mr. Hacks’ idea of refutation is as illusory as his idea of Werner Heisenbergs’ ethnic background on the next thread.
August 24th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
As for the Supertrain:
August 24th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Sorry for last comment - tried to embed - so much for that bright idea follow the link to the Supertrain! :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUERtAe73NI
August 24th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Personally, I’m ducky with Biden on foreign policy.
You know, Petey, if you want to have right-wing views on foreign policy, that’s fine with me, but you really shouldn’t be talking about how unacceptably conservative the Democratic nominee is if those are your views.
For your information, the left stands for DOVEISHNESS. RESTRAINING THE MILITARY. USING DIPLOMACY RATHER THAN MILITARY FORCE. And Obama, of course, is farther to the left on foreign policy than any recent Democratic nominee.
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