As I’ve said before and as many of you have agreed with, I try to keep politics to a minimum.
For something as big as this I just have to make some comments.
I think this was the possibly the worst pick Obama could have made. I know the spin is gonna come hard and come strong. I know some Bloggers will hold their noses and pretend this is genius. Come on though, seriously, no one can think this was a good choice.
The first thing is the timing of this. No one, and NO ONE thinks 1 AM on a Saturday morning is optimal time to create buzz. Late Friday early Saturday is where you go to dump a story not promote it. Everyone knows that when you want the most airtime you announce it in time for the 6PM news cycle.
I’m just shocked by this, really. Here are just some of the things Biden has said.
In 2007 he said he DOES NOT want to be Vice President. He said he has NO DESIRE TO BE Vice President. He said he doesn’t even want to be secretary of state. The same year he also said that Obama was not fit for President and during these times we are not able to have to settle with someone who is gonna get on the job training. He said this repeatedly and was even asked to confirm at a debate in front of Obama’s face and he said he still agrees with it.
This pick burns his bridges with Clinton supporters. Trust me on this one, I know from first hand experience from big Hillary supporters who are very upset about this. When you choose a Vice President you are choosing someone who can possibly be president of something happens to you. This means that to Hillary supporters Obama is saying that he thinks Biden would be a better President then Hillary. Joe Biden barely got 8,000 votes throughout his entire primary run! As opposed to someone like Hillary or heck, Bill Richardson would have been a better pick then Biden.
Republicans are dancing in the street. The love that Biden has shown McCain for years is gonna hurt Obama. Biden has said tons of nice things about McCain including a few years ago that he loves McCain, he supports him, he’d even RUN with him! lol. OMG. Is Obama TRYING to lose this election? I know he’s had a tough Summer, but come on.
Another great thing is this message of “Change”, apparently Obama thinks Change is a guy who has been sitting in Washington in the Senate for 35 years! Biden is the very definition of old dog, old Washington politics. This guy is the poster child for business as usual back room politics.
I’ve got more, this pick is terrible because he picked someone who supposedly does well in places where Obama doesn’t He has longtime experience and a good record on Foreign Policy. Why is that bad? Easy, because he picked someone who very clearly highlights his own faults and just like the Democrats will all remind us, Vice Presidents don’t matter. So what good does it do his voters to learn that in the places where he lacks, his Vice President makes up. Who cares? Biden isn’t running for PRESIDENT! lol. Oh man, I could go on forever with this, thank you Barack, thank you!
Last but not least this shows Obama to be that smug arrogant man most of us Republicans have been saying he is. Sure Biden said bad things about Obama and so did Bush against Reagen, but that equation is not on the same playing field. The analogy SHOULD be Clinton V. Obama. Reagen showed the country that he was above politics and didn’t take things personal. He showed the country that he is not a small man, and he doesn’t hold a grudge and he took his biggest opponent.
Obama is showing the country that nothing has changed and he is a stubborn man. He couldn’t get over the fight with the Clintons and that is not good. I’m sure Democrats wanted him to pick Clinton and he said no. His advisers probably told him to pick Bayh or Kaine, but he said no. He shows that he can’t take advice and he can’t get past the personal stuff.
This is a defining moment in this election. Joe Biden is a going to be a gift that keeps on giving. Of course they’ll tell you “no one cares about Vice Presidents” but we all know that’s just spin.
August 25th, 2008 at 8:15 am
You forgot to mention that Biden was involved up to his eyebrows in the S&L scandal in the ’80’s. And that he was forced to withdraw from his first bid for the presidency when he was discovered plagiarizing a British politician for his speeches. (In that respect, he and Obama probably have a lot in common.)
August 25th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Perfect sum up. My response when hearing was “YAY!”
August 25th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Last but not least this shows Obama to be that smug arrogant man most of us Republicans have been saying he is.
This complaint appears to be made up out of thin air. Clinton would have been a disastrous VP. If elected, she and Bill would overshadow Obama and constantly be working against him. She’d also bring out the right-wing base in droves and wouldn’t have helped at all with independents, while Biden might.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:42 am
JA - Here is the thing, you are righty, Hillary would be a disaster as VP for the reasons you stated., BUT this story isn’t going away. Check out the polls on AOL today. 80 percent of the respondents think the party is not united. over 67 percent think this is a distraction.
I think if he was a real chevramon he would have figured out a way to at least seriously consider her, vet her and then choose someone who wont offend the clintons. BUT Biden is not that guy, he never vetted her, he never even considered it and that keeps the clintons supporters far away. Her supporters are still trashing him. Check out what Rendel said …. even Donna Brazile, they are all out there still defending HIllary and hurting Obama.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
So who do you think Obama should have picked?
August 27th, 2008 at 5:24 am
i think he should have chosen bayh or kaine. It’s not so much who he picked and more about he didnt pick Hillary. Which we all agreed would be bad for Obama. Maybe he should have very publicly asked her to head up the search for his VP, or at least ask for her assistance, or even offered it to her with the pre arranged notion she wouldnt take it to continue her work in the senate until 2016 to run again after supporting Obama for two terms …
August 27th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Biden complements Obama: 35 years of
experience in the senate, foreign policy expert, older, established politician, catholic, etc. and in that sense it was a good choice.
I’m interested to know what Biden’s record is on Israel?