Why Joe Biden should be Obama's VP
The rumors seem to have Senators Bayh and Biden, and Governor Kaine, as the top three VP choices. I think all three could bring what Obama needs most. A couple weeks back, in a post which was mostly dedicated to discussing why Obama should not pick Sam Nunn, I conceded that someone like Nunn could help Obama with one of the things he needs most: "he could help reassure older white Democrats that Obama will look out for their interests, too, and not just those of the black and younger white voters who constitute his base."
Bayh, Biden and Kaine are different from each other in several ways, and each has his own strengths and weaknesses. But I think that all three could help reassure older white Democrats who are a little leery of voting for Obama (whether because of his race, or because of attempts to paint him as a radical/secret Muslim/whatever else the GOP comes up with).
Personally, I would love to see Biden in the VP slot. His most obvious strength is that he's a legitimate foreign policy heavyweight, and would fit in perfectly with the Obama campaign's emphasis on soft power. Just as importantly, picking a household name like Biden would probably be Obama's best option for assuring older white Democrats that "Change We Can Believe In" doesn't involve ignoring older voters like them. Everyone loves to attack Biden for being too "gaffe-prone," but most of his "gaffes" have involved not being politically correct enough (like his botched comment about Obama, which wasn't mean-spirited at all), and call me crazy, but I don't think failing to be politically correct enough is why the Democratic Party has lost the last two Presidential elections.
And for some reason, no one seems to give Biden credit for the punches he does land - which include some of the best stuff Democrats have had to offer during the Bush years. Am I the only one who remembers his quote from the Abu Ghraib hearings? Biden, one of the only Senators with a son or daughter serving in the military, attacked the administration on the grounds that using torture would end up hurting our own troops: "That's why we have these treaties. So when Americans are captured, they are not tortured. That's the reason, in case anybody forgets it."
During this year's presidential campaign, he hit Rudy Giuliani with this devastating critique: "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence - a noun, a verb, and 9/11." I thought that was the best political counterattack I've heard in years (and I was in NYC on 9/11, and it was the worst day of my life, so please don't waste your time sending me an email whining that I'm insensitive, or that Biden is somehow).
I think Bayh and Kaine could be great VP choices, too, especially since their states are in play. But of the three, Joe Biden would do the most 1) to repudiate the Republican Party's failed approach to foreign policy, and 2) to shore up support among the older white Democrats who have become the key to this election. Finally, I would love to see Biden facing off on issues like Iraq, Iran, and the Russia-Georgia conflict against whichever young, pretty-boy businessman-turned-governor McCain picks as his VP.
Bayh, Biden and Kaine are different from each other in several ways, and each has his own strengths and weaknesses. But I think that all three could help reassure older white Democrats who are a little leery of voting for Obama (whether because of his race, or because of attempts to paint him as a radical/secret Muslim/whatever else the GOP comes up with).
Personally, I would love to see Biden in the VP slot. His most obvious strength is that he's a legitimate foreign policy heavyweight, and would fit in perfectly with the Obama campaign's emphasis on soft power. Just as importantly, picking a household name like Biden would probably be Obama's best option for assuring older white Democrats that "Change We Can Believe In" doesn't involve ignoring older voters like them. Everyone loves to attack Biden for being too "gaffe-prone," but most of his "gaffes" have involved not being politically correct enough (like his botched comment about Obama, which wasn't mean-spirited at all), and call me crazy, but I don't think failing to be politically correct enough is why the Democratic Party has lost the last two Presidential elections.
And for some reason, no one seems to give Biden credit for the punches he does land - which include some of the best stuff Democrats have had to offer during the Bush years. Am I the only one who remembers his quote from the Abu Ghraib hearings? Biden, one of the only Senators with a son or daughter serving in the military, attacked the administration on the grounds that using torture would end up hurting our own troops: "That's why we have these treaties. So when Americans are captured, they are not tortured. That's the reason, in case anybody forgets it."
During this year's presidential campaign, he hit Rudy Giuliani with this devastating critique: "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence - a noun, a verb, and 9/11." I thought that was the best political counterattack I've heard in years (and I was in NYC on 9/11, and it was the worst day of my life, so please don't waste your time sending me an email whining that I'm insensitive, or that Biden is somehow).
I think Bayh and Kaine could be great VP choices, too, especially since their states are in play. But of the three, Joe Biden would do the most 1) to repudiate the Republican Party's failed approach to foreign policy, and 2) to shore up support among the older white Democrats who have become the key to this election. Finally, I would love to see Biden facing off on issues like Iraq, Iran, and the Russia-Georgia conflict against whichever young, pretty-boy businessman-turned-governor McCain picks as his VP.
posted at 9:57:00 PM | permalink
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