Joe Biden, Vice President?

By naming Senator Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential running mate, Senator Barack Obama has delivered quite a generous present to the Republican Party, should they chose to accept it. Let me explain.

First of all, Obama's ace in the hole has been that he's new, he's fresh, he's not a Washington insider, he's like nothing we've ever seen before in American politics, yadda, yadda, yadda. This has been tough for the GOP to counter because while Obama is inexperienced, and quite the gaffe machine, if American voters are looking for someone new to the seen then Obama may as well be as good of a choice as any. So where's the logic in choosing Biden? Is there a greater example of a Washington insider than Senator Biden? Perhaps Senator Kennedy, but health and Chappaquiddick have eliminated him from contention. Biden's been a senator longer than John McCain. A better choice for VP for the young, fresh Obama would have been... anyone under 60. Or 50. But come on, Biden on the ticket, while it doesn't eliminate the age card from being played against McCain, certainly diminishes it to an extent. Surely one or two of Obamas 300+ advisors must have brought this up during a prep session.

Secondly, Joe Biden is a foot-in-mouth waiting to happen. Liberals love to explain away his gaffes, though not quite to the degree that Obama enjoys their cover, but what's missed in their attempts to spin his comments is that he comes off as an arrogant blowhard who likes to listen to himself talk. Who wants to listen to anyone like this, let alone be led by one?

Finally, what must be kept in mind are these two questions:

1. How many instances in Presidential history has the choice of a vice president secured a victory for the candidate?
2. Can a vice presidential candidate hurt the upper name on the ticket?

Does anyone really think Joe Biden is going to get Barack Obama elected?

rg

8/24/2008