Cell phones around the country greeted their owners this morning with text messages proclaiming that Barack Obama had chosen Joe Biden as his Vice-Presidential nominee. An interesting pick; I would have been more excited by Kathleen Sebelius or Wesley Clark, but I can live with it.
The things you need to know about Joe Biden are: (1) He has been a Senator forever (half of his life). (2) He is a smart guy, not a stuffed suit. (3) He has formidable expertise in foreign policy. (4) He is somewhat prone to gaffes. (5) He is feisty, and effective in attack-dog mode. (6) He can be a bit of an asshole.
The best news about the pick is that it shows Obama wants to take the fight to the Republicans, especially on foreign policy. There is nobody McCain is likely to pick for VP whom Biden would not be able to make look silly in a debate. As Ezra Klein points out, all you need to know about why Obama picked Biden is contained in this very short clip:
He can think on his feet — literally, and apparently while chewing peanuts or something — and manages to effortlessly eviscerate Rudy Giuliani with a single sarcastic look. Most importantly, he gives the impression of being completely comfortable with the intricacies of foreign policy; this will contrast well with McCain, who loves to talk about foreign policy but is somewhat fuzzy on many of the actual details.
Biden is far from a perfect pick. He is a Washington insider, with a long track record of votes to be sifted through for ammunition for the other side. He voted for the Iraq war, even if he did try to craft a less-crazy resolution than the one that eventually passed. He has criticized Obama and praised McCain in the past. He voted to confirm Clarence Thomas. He said that Obama was the first “articulate and bright” African-American national politician. During a previous Presidential run, he had to drop out after a speechwriter plagiarized from British politician Neil Kinnock — including giving Biden some Welsh coal-mining ancestors he never had.
Nevertheless, I can live with the pick. Politics aside, I think Biden would be just about a perfect Vice-President, except for one thing. That is, he would be great at the actual duties of being a Vice-President — he will be a loyal and forceful advocate for the administration’s policies to the outside world, will provide invaluable inside expertise and ability to get things done, and will be an intelligent and loyally-critical voice during internal deliberations. He won’t be a yes-man, nor will he be a Cheneyan separate branch of government. The one downside is that I wouldn’t actually want him as President; he doesn’t seem the type to successfully steer a complex administration through the inevitable bumps in the road.
So here’s hoping that Obama wins the election, and goes on to a healthy and productive eight years in office.
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:57 am
Ah well - I’d still rather’ve had Kerry, but I do like the sound of this guy. Here’s hoping.
So Clinton as Surgeon General or head of the War Crimes Tribunal?
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Biden’s a disaster. This has got to be God’s gift to the GOP: Obama and Biden, birds of a lying, deceitful feather…
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
According to the authorative wikipedia Biden either said: “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy” or “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American, who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy” both aren’t necesarily well thought out statements but I don’t think it can be taken as fact that he said “Obama was the first ‘articulate and bright’ African-American national politician.
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Biden — the perfect foil for Palin!
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
HAHAHA Your post makes me laugh. The Democrats just handed the RNC a victory! Biden adds absolutely nothing to the ticket. Historically, people do not vote for VP. They vote for president.
McCain is already hitting Biden. Look at this video:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/mccain-rolls-out-new-ad-with-bidens-words/
Does Biden think Obama is now suddenly ready to be president?
Biden VOTED for the Iraq resolution!
You know the same resolution that Obama and his campaign used as a wedge to divide the democratic party with! Dems need to stand as one on Iraq but Obama thought otherwise. Uniter?? riiiight.
Obama and his nasty campaign criticized Hillary and her Iraq vote with severe prejudice. Will Obama criticize Biden over the same issue??
I like Biden and I feel so sorry that he decided to board a sinking ship.
I would vote for a Obama Hillary ticket probably but never a Biden Obama ticket. I’m glad he didn’t pick Hillary.
Expect no one to care who he picks. ditto McCain.
Obama will lose in November because he does represents same old Washington politics and the the dems are divided.
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Sorry I forgot to mention one important thing:
I think the Obama campaign made an enormous mistake by not even trying to give the ILLUSION that Hillary Clinton was being vetted.
She received more votes (over 18 million) than Obama did EVEN with the fraud people call a caucus. Biden received 9,500 votes.
This was a mistake and he needs her supporters much more than she would’ve needed his.
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Just a meta-comment, I am always amazed at the degree political coverage mimics sports coverage. Here and elsewhere it is almost impossible to find any commentary on how this (or anything else) is likely to effect future policies, it is all about the horse race.
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Charge up that base…
Daily Kos
.
Buh-Biden
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
My two cents:
There are two important features of the VP candidate:
a) Does s/he encourage the base and independents?
b) Does s/he fire up the opposition?
For a), I guess:
- Clinton: Yes
- Biden: Yes
For b), I guess:
- Clinton: Yes
- Biden: No
On these grounds, I think Biden is a better choice than Clinton for VP candidate.
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Americanneocon: A few comments: 1) There is no god, 2) “lies and deceit” have been the GOP’s field of expertise for the last 8+ years, 3) Biden’s idea of straight talk makes me hope for the most entertaining campaign ever.
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Kurt said: “. . . people do not vote for VP. They vote for president.” And then he said: “I would vote for a Obama Hillary ticket probably but never a Biden Obama ticket. ”
Hmmmm. Kurt, I guess this just goes to show that you’re no ordinary person.
As for me, I would have preferred Hillary, but Biden is a good pick. Let’s see if McCain picks Romney . . . given how much they dislike each other, that will be interesting.
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I am well-enough pleased with Joe Biden being picked as Obama’s running mate. I think he brings lots of experience and “gravitas” to the ticket. I just hope he thinks about “the little guy” and is willing to accept Barack’s credit card reform proposals. Since he’d be at the national level, I suppose he can sough off the influence of business interests (for which he sadly picked up the derisory appellation “Mr. MBNA”) in DE.
BTW, my search on Google tells me (unless I am mistaken) I was first to propose “BO-Joe” [sic first two caps of course] as the cute Hollywood-style nickname for the team. Yeah, there’s a bumper-sticker joint advertising “NO BO JO” already as a proposed design, but I think I beat them by a few hours, heh.
However we already see the Greedy Old Plutocrats taking advantage of Biden’s criticism of BHO as “not yet ready” due to inexperience (especially FoPo) and that will hurt. I suppose BHO will just have to say, “The [Primary] voters made that choice, and my running mate understands that vision is as important in leadership as experience” blah …
Good luck to them and I will do what I can to get this “cute” pair elected! Don’t take any crap off John McCain’s crew, fellows!
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Wow, no matter who he picked the GOP and Clinton supporters would find fault.
I think you Americans had better make sure you don’t let Obama’s choice for VP decide your vote in the general election. I remember a wise person saying “the rest of the world forgives you for electing George W once but will never forgive you for electing him twice”.
There is very little difference between Bush and McCain, another 4 yrs, you must be joking right.
An interested Canuck.
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
[…] Like all of you, I’ve been reading the buzz today about Obama picking Joe Biden as his running mate. Most stories mention he’s “feisty“: […]
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:53 pm
The plagiarism charge against Biden (for the Neil Kinnock speech) is baseless. Biden made many speeches where he quoted Kinnocks’s remarks and gave him credit for them. Then he made one speech where he forgot to mention Kinnock. Forgetting to mention it one time when you’re making a speech in a different town every night doesn’t constitute plagiarism.
August 23rd, 2008 at 4:30 pm
BTW, here is a good take on the Obama/McCain smackdown:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJWFctQN5EQ
August 23rd, 2008 at 5:07 pm
“The things you need to know about Joe Biden are: (1) He has been a Senator forever (half of his life). (2) He is a smart guy, not a stuffed suit. (3) He has formidable expertise in foreign policy. (4) He is somewhat prone to gaffes. (5) He is feisty, and effective in attack-dog mode. (6) He can be a bit of an asshole.”
In other words, he’s kinda like John McCain.
August 23rd, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Obama-Bidennow !!!!!
What a great name to shore it up !!!
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Michael Bacon- You are right. Let me be completely clear.
“Historically, people do not vote for VP. They vote for president.”
This is true. There are many studies, polls etc out there to give support to that claim.
BUT “I would vote for a Obama Hillary ticket probably but never a Biden Obama ticket”
So what’s your point?
Can you please understand the difference between what PEOPLE USUALLY do and what I personally would do in this election?
This has nothing to do with me being an ordinary person-which by the way I am not. I’m Batman.
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
America is so ready for the big O…
Biden is the perfect choice, he will be able to act as a political navigator once in office.
His choice as VP says that Obama is focused on who will help him lead effectively once in office, not just who will help him get elected…
August 24th, 2008 at 1:56 am
So no one here will point out Obama has totally lost he was all about for?
‘Change’ suuuure…
Let’s hope he won’t lose the base, those out there really thought he was ‘different’ …
It’s all string theory… no wait…politics
G
August 24th, 2008 at 2:14 am
Biden is better than he appears. And he definitely does not appear as Harvard-educated hipster, Obama’s weakness.
He remarked once that Giulinani stump speach consists of sentences “Noun-verb-nine-eleven.” I though it was pretty funny.
August 24th, 2008 at 3:26 am
I love this choice. The Daily Show website currently has all the interviews with Joe Biden on the front page — I didn’t really know anything about the guy before, but he comes across really well — articulate, funny, self-deprecating. It will be good to laugh at the VP because he’s witty, rather than because he shot someone in the face.
August 24th, 2008 at 4:19 am
Joe Biden should have been publicly flogged for the way he treated Judge Robert Bork. Biden has no meaningful respect for the Constitution, but he does have the ethics of a rabid weasel.
August 24th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Kurt/Batman,
My point was that you don’t think of yourself as an ordinary person and apparently you agree
August 24th, 2008 at 10:31 am
The current put-down meme of the Right (and netroots would say, soon to be of what I call the MSMemia as well) is that Obama isn’t expressing his move for “change” by picking Congressional veteran Joe Biden. But that is a fallacious argument. The top of the Ticket provides direction, and makes use of the skills of the VP in a complementary way. It’s like a young CEO hiring a seasoned scientist or engineer as VP to help manage a tech company - it makes perfect sense.
Go BO-Joe!
August 24th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
[…] Cosmic Variance […]The things you need to know about Joe Biden are: (1) He has been a Senator forever (half of his life). (2) He is a smart guy, not a stuffed suit. (3) He has formidable expertise in foreign policy. (4) He is somewhat prone to gaffes. (5) He is feisty, and effective in attack-dog mode. (6) He can be a bit of an asshole. […]
August 24th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
McCain would make a mcRotten president This is the 21st century,we’ve already had 2 evil idiots return us to the dark ages.Why did the Soviets attack Georgia? Because they could,and why is that ? Because these shiftless criminal mostly Republican dark forces weakened our country’s security,plain&simple-what ya wanna fight about it?Yea let the idiot McKook antagonize the Russkys some more, put a few nukes here,a few there-yeah thats the right course huh;now that we are 9 TRILLION in the hole,and they got all the oil in the North Pole-vote for McQuack to keep corporate welfare flourishing’these greedsters are turning our economy into Freddy Mac-mush,and they are still stealing every dime they can until January 20th; and America will pay an unreversible declining price,our value will go down like Confederate money;and the evils of this Cheney /Scalia/Wolfowitz legacy will leave a permanent stain on our sense of fairness in the world,we will become nothing more than a cruel corporate entity’losing value as the 3rd world nations become starker,a lost voice in the forest-yes my friends this will surely happen I’m afraid-if you vote McPublican
August 24th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
My husband and I would have been so happy if he had chosen Sebelius, too. Hillary would have been a smart choice also.
Like Obama, Sebelius is an inspiring figure, but in a very different way. Effective, smart, down to earth and with real integrity. I think Obama should have chosen her and played to his strengths - real change, visionary leadership - rather than his weaknesses as he is doing with Biden.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:09 am
You people really don’t know what you’re talking about. If you look at Obama’s corporate relationships, you shouldn’t expect a great deal of change, change, change. An Obama administration will be much like Bill Clinton’s. He’ll be better than Bush, but don’t expect a government that is radically different from what we have now.
We’ll get our army out of Iraq - eventually. But we won’t give up on our 60-year project of trying the entire planet. A few more children and low-income folks will get health insurance, but we won’t get the unversal coverage common throughout the rest of the industrialized world.
Everyone expecting big change should start lowering your expectations now to reduce your disappointment later.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:22 am
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August 25th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Obama-Biden sounds too much like Osama bin Laden to me. Obama bin Biden?….freaky
August 25th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
New McCain campaign Slogan: “Mansion Accomplished”
e.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:14 am
What can I say about Obama’s choice. Let us keep in mind that anybody he chose would have been a person who has been in the political system for quite sometime. So to imply that he won’t command change because his VP isn’t a valid representation of change is crazy. Let us be honest, Obama has very little foreign policy experience, and that really is the only thing that has kicked this man in the head over and over. So of course, he was going to pick Biden. What other option did he have? Hillary would have been the best choice, if she would not have been so down right dirty in her attacks on his campaign. She was just ruthless, and I, myself just did not like her after this year. I just don’t know what to say about her. She called his constituents stupid, for even standing up and saying we wanted change and HOPE. We are supposed to be the country that believes in hope. And yet every chance we get That is why America stands. That is why our country is a melting pot. It is not perfect. It is going to take time, I am hoping not a whole lot of time, because we, as Americans don’t have time. Our economic basis is shrinking, our money is shrinking in value, and truth be told, I don’t think we could survive another 4 years of Republicans. I was amazed that they got the last 4 years, but I digress. Bush’s past 8 years have put us in such a whole, I cannot even fathom how any President can bounce back from this. So, even as I hope and pray that Obama-Biden wins in November, I also hope and pray, that our politicians realize the urgency in unification, and just get on board. All this distension in amongst the parties and within the parties, needs to stop. Because with all of our hope, they are the ones who govern, control, and need to fix these problems. All we can do is rant, rave, and every now and again riot.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
We need a state -by-state voting systems report; I just know these bastards are up to something other than their traditional slander and division. kind of like Fox News harping about this ayers dude everyday;Obama was 8 years old-like noone ever got fragged in Nam and George Bush wasn’t rotten enough-now these Fascists are playing this angry Hilary angle to try to disrupt the DNC agenda-lots of Hillary’s so called independants were disenchanted Republicans not Democrats-they don’t care if children go to war-their agenda was simply feminist so they want to use this so-called Hilary diss to go back bitterly to their greedy values,never Democratic values.Obama perseveres through all the fear and lies they mouth,1/2 truths;incomplete sentances,Hannityzed lies-they live on venom in the interest of money and selection ,unless they are defeated American society heads more chaotic SOLDIERS FOR OBAMA DEFEAT THE EVIL
,
August 29th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
kurt, What an ASS you are.
The only FRAUD that happened with the Dems is Hillary being slick and pushing to have votes counted in TWO states where HER NAME WAS THE ONLY NAME ON THE BALLOT!!
What a joke.
Despite that, Obama still got 18 mill - she got 18 mill.
After trying to run a general election campaign during the primary and going for blood with Obama - personally demeaning and deriding him multiple times while ENDORSING the opposing PARTY’S candidate (!?!?!?!) - she left Obama with NO choice - he had to look in another direction.
The job of a president is to “preserve, protect and defend” the constitution, as a constitutional law professor (former president of the Harvard Law Review) he is well able to do that.
More importantly, millions agree with his vision.
McCain is a war hero.
Great.
I’m not trying to elect a bellicose war hero with a hair-trigger temperament.
I’m electing a president whose judgment and vision I agree with.
Elect McCain and you fools DESERVE what you get - wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and God knows where else.
Unofrtunately - the real Democrats will have to suffer along with the ride.
August 29th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
and before any troll says anything - DUH - yeah I know Kucinich had his name on the ballot too - I’m referring to the MAJOR candidates who stood a chance in the first place.
September 3rd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Issues that concern me:
Energy independence, developement of solar and wind clean coal. To me the democrats supported immorality when they supported the “Gay” agenda. and have lost my vote as a lifelong democrat as a result of that support. I will not vote Republican because it is just as immoral to profit from war and make excessive profit from oil. The democratic party needs to support moral issues as well and not sell out. You cannot call evil good. We need health care, fair wages and since when did the labor union become a dirty word? We need fuel effitient cars NOW. It took me 30 years to get my VA benefits after winning two CUE victories in the federal VA system. No more lip service, the democrats have not solved our energy problems either, so you are just as responsible for our plight. All we ever get is failed promises while you guys play the middle and get persuaded by lobbyists. I hope you get the message!