For an office ``not worth a bucket of warm spit�� (see John Nance Garner), the Obama campaign certainly kept everyone on the edge of their seat wondering who the Illinois senator�s running mate was going to be.
A text message was reportedly sent out from the Obama campaign to supporters at around 3:00 a.m., but most major news organizations confirmed Delaware Senator Joe Biden was the choice a few hours earlier, including The New York Times, which sent out a news alert to online subscribers at 1:04 a.m. (EST).
So now the analysis begins. Did Team Obama make the right call?
Given Obama�s weak spots: lack of foreign policy experience, unable to attract working class voters, including Catholic voters, Biden was the obvious choice.
The Delaware senator, a Roman Catholic, who comes from a working class background (son of a car salesman from Scranton Pa.),was first elected to the Senate in 1972, and currently chairs the Foreign Relations Committee. He also serves as a member of the subcommittee on European Affairs, and on a subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security, among others.
Biden certainly doesn�t hurt Obama, unlike Dan Quayle and Thomas Eagleton, voters know what their getting; he�s already been thoroughly vetted warts and all. Most voters know about the plagiarism charges from 1987, they know he�s carelessly voiced insensitive remarks about blacks and Indian Americans. And as NBC�s Brian Williams reminded him during one of the debates, he�s been described as a ``gaffe machine��, meaning, his loose tongue and tendency to deviate from the script has landed him in hot water more than once.
In spite of being a little rough around the edges, the well-traveled Biden brings invaluable combat experience having run for president before,credibility in world affairs, and decades of experience as a seasoned legislator.
So Biden, 65, comes to the table almost as a wise sage advising his apprentice on the finer points of public policy, how to read the tea leaves of foreign leaders, and if elected, how to prepare a blue print to successfully ram a piece of legislation through the halls of Congress.
The reaction to Obama�s selection seems to be a mixed bag.
Morris P. Fiorina, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a Professor of Political Science at Stanford University, thinks ``it's an excellent choice from the standpoint of choosing someone qualified to step in should a President Obama become unable to serve. I thought a year ago that from the standpoint of qualifications, Biden and Richardson led the Democratic pack.��
Unquestionably, Biden�s foreign policy knowledge is nothing but a boon for the freshman senator, even more so since the Illinois senator's tour through Iraq, the Middle East, and Western Europe, failed to convince voters he's experienced enough to handle dust-ups across the globe.
But what about the woeful economy, and white middle-class voters, another important voting bloc that the Democratic nominee is struggling to attract. Does Biden help or hurt?
According to Stephen J. Wayne, an expert on the American Presidency at Georgetown University's Department of Government, and author of ``The Road to the White House'' (now in it's eighth edition) `` he [Biden] does not help Obama on the economic issues nor do I see him as the push-back person Obama wanted. Hillary Clinton, Professor Wayne insists, would have been a better choice at this point for a candidate that still has not coalesced his base and still has not won back her supporters.��
All things considered, the presumed Democratic nominee seems to have helped himself in the credibility department. It was important to have a running mate that could counter John McCain�s charges of the Democrats being inexperienced in foreign policy, such as being nave regarding another terrorist strike from Al Qaeda, a menacing Iran bearing down, and preparing a credible timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
Biden undoubtedly is familiar with all the grenades the Republicans� will throw at them, and he�ll be able to bat down those charges much more ably than Obama.
But a missing ingredient from the Biden choice was the lack of the ``wow factor.�� Could you imagine the euphoria inside the Pepsi Center in Denver for the start of the Democratic National Convention if Hillary Clinton would have gotten the nod? Her supporters are already queued up waiting to erupt when the New York senator takes to the podium on Tuesday night. It would have been sheer pandemonium seeing Barack and Hillary arm-in-arm preparing to do battle against the Republicans.
In addition to injecting the ``wow factor�� into the campaign, Hillary might have very well propelled Obama�s standing in the polls before the start of the convention. Most polls show Obama practically deadlocked with his Republican rival.
Another problem with an Obama/Biden ticket is that it might tilt too far left. The National Journal�s annual congressional vote ratings, for example, puts the Delaware senator at a 94.2 liberal score, making him the third most liberal senator, just two pegs behind Obama.
While Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana might not have the most electrifying choice, he would added a centrist element to the ticket, not to mention possibly being able to swing Indiana to the Democrat�s corner. While voting to authorize the war in Iraq, Bayh also voted to suspend Russia�s participation in the G-8 in 2005, voted NO on extending the PATRIOT Act's wiretap provision, and serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Armed Services Committee. And besides, Bayh is a FOH (Friend of Hillary), which would have added a little extra punch to the ticket heading into the convention Monday night.
So while Obama/Biden looks on the surface to be a well polished formidable ticket for the Democrats, you can�t help but think one commercial the Republicans are already cooking up is a split screen of Obama borrowing (some say plagiarizing) the words of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (when he was in Milwaukee in February); while another screen shows Biden reciting the words of British Labor leader Neil Kinnock.
What will the Dem�s counter with?
Let the games begin.
Footnotes about Joe Biden:
� Joe Biden is tied with Senator Pete V. Domenici as the 20th longest serving U.S. Senator
� Through February 7, 2008, Biden has cast 12, 635 votes in the U.S. Senate.
� Biden's son, Beau, an Attorney General in Delaware is a member of the Delaware Army National Guard, and is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq on October 3, 2008
� Biden currently owns a 1967 Corvette
� Favorite Book: ``Irish America''
� Favorite Quote: ``History says, don�t hope on this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime the longed for tidal wave of justice can rise up,
and hope and history rhyme.''
-Seamus Heaney (from The Cure at Troy )
***
Websites to Keep in Mind:
Joe Biden Timeline (From Sen. Biden's Website)
Joe Biden: Project Vote Smart (Biography, Voting Record)
Joe Biden: Bio Guide (Biographical Directory of the United States Congress)
Contributions to Joe Biden (By State) Through 7/31/2008 (From The FEC)
Joe Biden on Meet the Press: (Asked If He Would Accept the VP Spot)
Joe Biden Archive C-Span
Courting Catholics in 2008: The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
Party Affiliation among Catholics (Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
-Bill Lucey
August 23, 2008
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