My Take On Biden
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 8/23/08 @ 9:54 pm - Filed Under 2008 National Elections
As a resident Democrat I feel like I should give my take on Obama’s selection of Joe Biden as his VP choice. I think this was an extremely shrewd political decision. Let’s be honest here, had Obama picked an outsider like Kaine or Schweitzer or Sebelius he would’ve opened his campaign up to constant attacks of “inexperience” and “foreign policy naiveté”.
The Biden choice shores that up. So now what we hear is the opposite, with Republicans (and some Democrats) lamenting that Biden is not an agent of “Change”. To that I say - who cares. Biden is the kind of guy with experience to make change happen. And Obama is enough “change” for the entire ticket. Is McCain really going to argue that he and his eventual running mate represents more change than Obama-Biden? Hardly.
His #1 talking point has always been “experience”. The Biden choice doesn’t completely neutralize that but it doesn’t reinforce it either like some of the other candidates would’ve done. And I must respectfully disagree with Mike Sylvester when he says Biden “represents the Washington DC establishment.” The guy has taken the Amtrak train from DC to his home every night to be with his family - name me one other senator that’s done that.
Biden gave a great VP speech today. If he continues to beat up McCain like that then he will be worth his weight in gold to the Obama campaign. He also brings a strong white middle class voice to the ticket - and it’s 100% authentic. Obviously that’s a demographic Obama hasn’t been the strongest with.
All in all a solid pick by the Obama campaign. And the way they manipulated the media this week into non-stop coverage of “Who will he pick” was nothing short of brilliant…
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17 Responses to “My Take On Biden”
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We Can’t Tax Our Way Out of the Entitlement Crisis
and so it goes on and on.
Let’s read what the rest of the world has to say,
shall we.
Jeff,
The amount of media coverage Obama got with this was amazing. I think the Obama campaign handled it well; however, that is easy to do when almost the entire media is fawning over your campaign!
It is interesting that Biden takes the Amtrak train home each night. He is still a Democratic Insider and a DC insider. He has been a Senator for 36 years Jeff…
Mike Sylvester
A coward’s pick.
Right on Keith!
http://tinyurl.com/3nre29
How could picking Biden possibly be a coward’s pick?
Well, I thought it was obvious, but I’ll spell it out.
Instead of change, instead of the audacity of hope, instead of being above politics, its party first and politics as usual as BO picks someone who’s deeply enschonched in the system he’s been railing against.
Jeff you say “Biden is the kind of guy with experience to make change happen.” Are you kidding me? I don’t even know what that means. Is that kind of like a “its hip to be square” analogy? Maybe next time we select Strom Thurmond as VP, “he’s so dead, he’s alive!”
I guess Biden was just waiting until he had 36 years under his belt in the Senate before he really went after the system. Yep, that was the plan, take advantage and become a part of the Establishment, and then really give them hell in Year 37.
OR, Obama just shut off his brain and went with conventional wisdom and party politics.
Well we definitely disagree on this.
It’s not cowardly to pick someone that’s well respected by nearly everyone including Republicans.
It’s not cowardly to pick someone who has more foreign policy experience than probably any other elected official.
It’s not cowardly to pick someone who comes from a humble background and knows what it means to be part of the middle class.
It’s not cowardly to pick someone that’s been extremely critical of you in the past and won’t be a “yes man”.
It’s smart and pragmatic but definitely not cowardly. If he would’ve picked a true change candidate then the talking point would’ve been “inexperience”. Such is politics I suppose. But I do know this - Obama and Biden represent change to voters much more than McCain and X will…
Obama bin Biden…
Change You’ve Seen Already
It would be like Ralph Nader picking the Chairman of Exxon Mobil as his running mate.
Jeff, I didn’t say it was a dumb pick, I said it was cowardly. I stand by it.
After drinking the Obama kool-aid, I’m convinced His Saviorship’s followers would praise ANY VP picked by His Most Divine and Merciful Hand. If He’d picked Dick Cheney, we’d be hearing about how He is “post-partisan” and “beyond politics.”
Just listen to the last minute of Senator Biden’s thoughts while trying to run for president in 1988.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1j0FS0Z6ho
While it’s 2008, I do not understand what this VP pick will deliver to Obama’s campaign.
I question their education…have either one of these laywers ever used their law degrees to the extent that one of them have presented a case in the court of Law?
From the Charleston Post & Courier…
It was Biden’s second try for the White House. The first ended badly in 1988 when he was caught lifting lines from a speech by British Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock.
http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/aug/23/obama_picks_biden_veep/
In the decades since, Biden voted to authorize the war, but long ago became one of the Senate’s surest critics of the conflict. Ironically, perhaps, his son, Beau, attorney general of Delaware, is due to spend a tour of duty in Iraq beginning this fall with his National Guard unit.
We do have a volunteer military. Ironic.
Well folks…. We may not be thrilled with Biden but………… In looking at the last 8 years and, seeing the Bush twins (John and George) standing around with their arms around one another, one can only hope SOME change will come from the Obama camp.
And, also remember, Mcain is technology challenged. Or, is it mentally challanged (I’ll have my staff get back to you)?
I’m not 70 yet and I have difficulty remembering just what my wife told me to do with the broom. Let alone where I put that darn “RED PHONE”!
John,
I can not pass this up… so take it with a grain of salt….
McCain at least has been around long enough to know there is a RED PHONE some place and what the use may be for it…..
McCain may be technology challenged but at least he knows how to use paper and pencil…. If the battery runs down or the power goes out at least he can still get something done…
I just could not let them slip by… Have a good one.
J.Q:
Are you sure McBush knows what that phone is for? He may think it’s for ordering take-out! You right about one thing. He HAS been around a long time. But, 4 more years of what the past 8 has brought is not for me. Maybe Bob Barr IS the way to go. And….. Never let a good chance go by. As my ‘ol Grandpa used to say… Any landing you walk away from is a good one! You have a good one too.