Good Move

I packed for Denver still hoping for Hillary. I'd never seen a major campaign miss a move this obvious. But unable to reconcile himself or many of his supporters to the idea Obama at least went with a very plausible alternative.

Joe Biden adds experience, foreign policy expertise, a certain old slipper familiarity, at least to Washington types, and when he isn't in full-throttle-expound mode, a pleasant almost folksy charm. A Scranton born Catholic, he helps in states where Obama got swept in the primaries and that he must now sweep in the general election.

If Biden can get the whole ready, aim, fire thing in the right order he'll be a great running mate. His warmth complements and calms. There's still excitement in Obama's base but restiveness in other places; in a few, even creeping despondency.

It's all overdone. There's cause for concern, but certainly not alarm. Bill Clinton trailed heading into his first convention. Of fourteen presidential races since World War II, five had margins of 2% or less. In the four we call landslides--`56, `64, `72 and `84-- the loser got 40% of the vote. In presidential elections, close calls are the rule, not the exception.

Still, we're in a dead heat when all other signs would point to a landslide: The middle class is being slowly hollowed out. The so called 'Republican brand' has been taken off the shelves. McCain makes Bob Dole look like Justin Timberlake. So what gives?

For two months Obama's campaign has played like a listless sequel to a lame summer flick; the God fearing Republican 'populist' versus the pampered Democratic elitist; NASCAR v. Fauntleroy. I've not only seen this movie-- I've been in it. Unless someone calls rewrite fast, you'll hate the ending.

The real culture wars ended years ago. Everyone agreed: liberals had more fun in college, conservatives have made more money ever since; why not just call it a tie and get on with the business of living.

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Today's culture wars are a Republican cottage industry. They lie dormant for three years, then come to life just in time for a presidential election. How effective are they? Three times Republicans made America think some hapless Democrat was more elitist than the Bushes.

This time out, their guy's an admiral's son; wed to an heiress; proud owner of eleventy seven homes. Our guy's an ex-community organizer, raised by a single mom, married to a gal from Chicago's South Side. And the elitist is? Oh, you heard.

Obama will use his convention to counter these themes. It' a big job and his team is new: for many it isn't just their first time at the rodeo; it's their first time on a horse. Still, they've done fine up to now, and have tons of experience handling big crowds.

Obama can't treat his problems as if they were merely thematic. Democrats regard specificity as a form of extremism. We're so frightened of being tagged as liberals by Karl Rove we end up being rejected by voters for standing for nothing at all.

An April 2007 profile in the New York Times magazine depicted David Axelrod as thinking Democrats lose because they get mired down in issues. It said he wanted a new politics of biography.

I wondered then if Axelrod missed "The Man from Hope" or Lieutenant Kerry reporting for duty. I wondered too where all those issue soaked Democrats had been hiding. If Axelrod knows where they are, now would be a good time to ring them up.

Many opposed Hillary Clinton because they wanted to move beyond Clintonism, to enact the systemic changes Bill Clinton talked about but couldn't deliver, to send corporate interests packing; to resume sensible economic regulation and the fight for social justice.

It's time for Obama to call McCain out. The Iraq war was driven by oil and testosterone, the other fossil fuel. It's time America learned that acting like a man means acting like an adult. If it's too much to ask in our personal lives we can start with foreign policy; which means not hiring another spoiled, belligerent frat boy to be commander in chief.

Fear works till you name it; culture wars only in a vacuum. Obama must now stand up like Democrats did in their glory days, as a tribune for working people and a defender of the public interest--and he must tell us how he'll do it: prove to us that the change we can believe in is the change we need. Biden can help.

Comments

[PumaAnn]

We all know why he didn't choose Hill. What we're not real sure is why he chose Biden, other than for appearance sake.

[jsinclair]

"(Clinton) asked not to be vetted unless she was going to be picked, two officials involved with the search said."

So, what's that? "I'll only give you my vetting information, if --before you look it over--you guarantee me the job!"

ROFL. "Vetting process", Hillary. It's not the same as "entitlement".

[marthlois]

IF I HAD ONLY ONE CONVENTION WISH: It would be that everyone would open their eyes and realize that there are only two-four people who really know what has gone on between the Clinton and Obama camps. Everything else is pure speculation and he said/she said by voters coupled with the media-hype that is bound and determined to make them tons of money & securing their jobs by keeping this drama alive. It is so sad to watch. The media is playing us like pawns. We cannot let these mind-reading scenarios broker us into another four years of hell. The hot topic of yesterday was election finance reform. Soon to be election MEDIA reform, seriously! So when things get really rough, please try to remember that Hillary and Barack are the only people (perhaps two more spouses) who know the true story and let us let them lead us out of this crap.

[exhale09]

While so many people are hand wringing over Hillary, they seem to keep forgetting that when considering Hillary you have to also consider Bill. It's not just "Hillary" that would have been vetted...Bill would have to be vetted, and there-in, I believe, lies the problem. There have been reports, slightly under the radar, about Bill and possible questionable foreign business dealings that have not been vetted...that would have been used by republicans to pound on the Clintons, along with happily dragging out all the other Bill Clinton memories.
You think Republicans wouldn't have turned the entire election into a Bill Clinton slime fest, again?
You think Republicans were silent about Bill during the primaries because they are nice people? Republicans wanted Hillary to win the Primaries! It would have been the gift that kept on giving for them.
Wake up Clinton people! Republicans spend millions of dollars to make up lies and manufacture slime where there is no slime! The idea of Hillary's husband "Bill" in the White House again, would have saved them a fortune in paying opperatives to THINK up stuff for their Swiftboat strategies...the material is already there....they were just waiting, drooling and licking their chops, for Hillary to get the Primaries nomination.

[ssb752]

An excellent assessment, Mr. Curry.
"not hiring another spoiled, belligerent frat boy to be commander in chief." I had run ins with these guys while in college. You would be enjoying yourself and friends at live music and drinking establishment (showing my age) when the frat rats would come in with the football players and start being obnoxious and throwing their money around. The leader of this group would have the biggest mouth and the smallest b alls. I swear, GWB had a twin brother in the midwest.

[HeidiRenee]

Why can't people realize that Hillary DID NOT WANT to be VP? She didn't want to go through the vetting process. Obama saved her dignity by allowing her to quietly avoid this process so that her husband's dealings weren't made public.

It's time to move on, please.

[jsinclair]

Exactly! Anyone who knows anything at all about their finances (missing 2007 tax return; Bill's role as a paid lobbyist for the Colombian government--at least $800,000 into their joint account; and many other aspects of their finances would UNDERSTAND that Hillary didn't WANT to be vetted.)

Obama is letting the Clintons save the embarrassment of looking as if they have something to hide.

Too bad their "supporters" still just don't seem to get it.

[riverhippie]

Hillary didn't want to be vetted for VP, but she wanted to run for president? That makes a lot of sense jsinclair. lol

[marthlois]

She was told that the Clinton Library donations had to be made public.
And then............. 'nuff said! Those were the same donations that they were
on record as saying they would not bring forth until after the election.
WAKE UP - move on!

[gogrclient]

I could not agree more with everything you said.

[illinoisan]

I'd agree but what made her or her supporters think she wouldn't have been vetted the hard way once she won the nomination? It would have been a torturously slow parade of Presidential Library donors that would have steadily ground her candidacy down into the ashes.

[FACINGREALIT]

Because she publicly stated, along with Bill, that they had already been vetted more than any political candidate in the last 30 years. Did you not notice how they did not provide full disclosure during the primary - saying that would only happen if Hillary won. Obama's vetting team did ask for Clintons library donor list and his most recent business dealings and he refused. This request for information was one of the reasons Bill has remained upset because he had a 'how dare you' attitude. He refused - so Hillary wasn't vetted for lack of trying she flat out refused, but wouldn't say this publicly so as to save face with her 'supporters.'

[Laffy]

I have a serious question for the Hillary-worshippers:

Her most used line was "I'm ready to lead on Day One."

And yet, by her own internal memos, her campaign was a complete and total disaster.

The staff did nothing but fight with each other. She couldn't make an executive decision to save her life. They were millions in debt. And so forth.

So, how can you say, with a straight face, that she was the most qualified?

[jlgcox]

Laffy,

We are ALL democrats and we need move on and focus the general election.

[Laffy]

1) I'm not a Democrat

2) You need to give that sermon to the Hillary-worshippers who are still crying she wasn't picked and are going to vote for McCain.

3) Can you answer my question?

[FebM]

Now lets stop talking about who lost and how many Clinton supporters are not on board. Obama/Biden attracts more independents than any other combination. If democrats mobilize their base, this thing is in the bag

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/08/23/can-biden-out-hillary-hillary.aspx

[LastLiberalRepublican]

Mr. Curry,

You have to be kidding about any idea of HRC having been a viable candidate for the vice presidency. With her along as baggage, if Obama were to be elected, he's have to race from the Inauguration back to the White House to ensure all the locks and phone numbers were changed - ideally unlisted numbers.

This Republican can see his way to voting for Obama, but no way with HRC riding the train as Veep designate.

[AdvancedDegree]

Obama, Obama, Obama.........and Biden.

Let's get to work people. We have an election to win.

[cafemocha]

Biden is a splendid choice among a field of worthy heavy weights that would not bring the volumes of heavy baggage as would Hillary. So far as I can see... the only grist for the republican attack machine are his few miniscule verbal gaffes. (And remember a gaffe is only as monumental as the MSM or republican party decides it is - thus the unwarranted hyper-furor over "articulate..."!) He's delivered many eloquent comments with comparatively few gaffes over his career. Consider that he can with a precision snap of his wit annihilate a candidate like Rudy G using one well placed comment that most people can easily get their minds around: "a noun, a verb, and 9/11". I look forward to his comments about the McCain candidacy, his abysmal record, his promises for 4 more years of Bush.
...And thankfully, we've finally made a break from the Clinton era. Come November we'll make the break from Bush era!
Vote O/B, to make America free!

[jsinclair]

Yes, her supporters would do better seeing if she really wants a cabinet job that would be (1) more rewarding for her talents and (2) wouldn't require the vetting a VP does.

Focusing on VP really does her no favors.

[riverhippie]

Right, a vetting by Obama's vetters is much tougher to get through than a Senate confirmation.

[hrayovac]

"The real culture wars ended years ago. Everyone agreed: liberals had more fun in college, conservatives have made more money ever since; why not just call it a tie and get on with the business of living."

Curry, I've been a working musician for many years and when hired by Republican leaning folks I can tell you first hand..they always have had a lot more fun at parties, and I might add they are more honest off camera about their narcissim and greed:

About Hillary ..I think you've imagined that her overall grassroots popularity amongst Democrats was a lot bigger than it really was. How do you explain any real Democrat actually saying now they would vote for McCain instead of Obama? There were Republicans crossing lines on this one..in some cases urged on by the Limbaugh and there were others simply drawn in by psychological women-targeted appeals based on "getting even." Plus if you want to get down to it, there was jimmying by some neocons with the election results in New Hampshire to extend the primaries. It has always been a long shot for Hillary in terms of public trust. Remember that her Iraq war vote and NAFTA will be the true markers when history is written..

[jgaines7]

Exactly. When I hear talk of her millions of supporters, I wonder why her campaign struggled financially. Why didn't all those supporters donate? Maybe, as reflected in your analysis, they all weren't really supporters. Many of those "supporters" were probably part of the mischief created by Rush Limbaugh.

[foreffectivegovernment]

jgaines7: Why is it so difficult to realize that Hillary Clinton's supporters are Wal-Mart shoppers who don't have parent furnished lunch money and allowances to donate to her campaign. Obama stole her big money bundlers at the start of the nomination process that allowed him to buy superdelegates with his PAC money which guaranteed him the nomination from the beginning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLPoV4diMjk
In a few weeks the historic 2008 Democratic Party Presidential Primary between an African American Man and a White Woman will end. The two candidates competed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. At the end of these contests, neither candidate had earned enough pledged delegates to garner the necessary 2118 needed to win the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Hillary Clinton earned 1640 pledged delegates while Barack Obama earned 1763 pledged delegates. A paltry 123 pledged separated the two candidates at the end of the primary season. Since there was no clear winner, the superdelegates would determine the Democratic nominee.
http://tinyurl.com/5wnc3l
Money Chooses Sides
In a barn-burning, record-smashing fund-raising campaign season, Barack Obama tapped a new breed of Manhattan donors and won the expectations game. But because of the new primary schedule, excess is barely enough

[riverhippie]

Biden voted just like Hillary.

[Romeover]

Republicans have fun the way they do everything else.

At other people's expense.

[Weasie16]

I supported Hillary, but I'm happy Joe Biden was chosen. I just wish the same "compassion" for his vote on the war and comments about Obama's inexperienced would have been afforded to Hillary during the primaries. I don't think I'll ever understand how the same words are measured more harshly for some and not for others....something is just unjust in that situation. Congrats to Sen Biden. Now we have to win this thing.

[FACINGREALIT]

Joe came out blasting the Bush administration when he found out what they had done - he also had given politically correct information as it related to what needed to be done prior to any act of war and Bush totally disregarding Biden's advice and did it his way.

Hillary would not repent - she refused to acknowledge her vote was a mistake. There is a big difference - Biden not only admitted his was a mistake he blasted Bush on the Senate floor. Biden was also the originator of the 'surge' idea - long before McCain came on board as McCain and Bush has called it 'mission accomplished.'

[Pepper14]

I am so disgusted with Obama that he has turned out to be just one of the good ole boys from the senate. Biden is an old man who has been in Washington forever and this is what you call change.
His pick reminded me when Bush picked Cheney. The media gushed over Cheney and his foreign policy experience at the time as they are now doing for Biden. Obama message of change has just turned out to be a lot of hot air and he seems to be very insecure which I didn't see when I voted for him in the primary but I see it now and I won't vote for him in the general election. I remember when he
harped that Hillary voted for the war and then he turns around and picks someone that also voted for the war what a slap in the face to Hillary.

[YankeeCanuck]

Biden is as far from a good ole boy as you can get. And wait til you get to know Jill Biden. An impressive, dignified woman. She and Michelle exemplify dignity in the spotlight.

Yes, the HRC campaign uncovered a streak of mysogyny in this country-- but she also took some very bad tactical advice from Mark Penn and that made her campaign's demise.
Still, I'm pretty sure she will play a very important role in the next administration.

Once you calm down and observe, you will come to realize that you need these two as leaders, and that they hold their wives and the women in their families in very high regard.

Joe Biden's 93-year-old mother lives with him and his family. He refers to his sister Valerie ( who has run every campaign for him) as "a better version of myself."

[ebethgay]

A couple of issues going on here with your disgust, Pepper.

First, Biden admitted he made a mistake in voting for the Iraq war and has been outspoken in trying to end that occupation. Hillary refused to make that same admission. So no slap there, one person was able to admit their error in judgement, the other was not able or willing to admit they made a mistake.

Second, Cheney was put in charge of vetting Bush's VP candidates and he selected himself. That deal was a set up from the start. Biden went through a stringent vetting process and was deemed to bring the best skill set, plus perhaps had the best chemistry with Senator Obama.

Finally, while it's true that Biden has been a Senator for a long time, he's never had a residence in Washington. He's always kept his roots in Delaware. And he's not the one who's running for president. He can provide guidance from his extensive experience about how to achieve the change Senator Obama is seeking for our nation.

[FACINGREALIT]

Biden went home to Delaware EVERY NIGHT! He was NEVER a 'Washington" insider! He is about changing the way politics work and you will come to know that about him in the coming months. Although I was more interested in Kaine (legislative skills/state of Virginia) or Clark (military) - Obama could not have done better by combining these two talents and selecting Biden.

[exhale09]

How nice there are so many Republicans pretending to be Democrats. The Limbaugh plan for "Democracy " ...how telling.

[Yasmine]

Bill Curry, I fail to understand you...................Hillary and Bill were semi-Republicans during their time, and also HAWKISH................and that is why the AMerican OLIGARCHS allowed them to be in POWER.........that is why Hillary did not want to apologize for her IRAQ vote.
HOW come you wanted HILLARY who wants to be centrist but had to become POPULIST in order to win the primaries , but yet expect OBAMA to be acting as fairly LEFT now, before the ELection??
PLease let OBAMA be a CENTRIST UNITER who will with a Majority Democratic Congress and Senate be ABLE to work on the ISSUES for the MIDDLE CLASS on Education and healthcare and this Energy thing.
The Republican Right have ruled as TERRORISTS over America, terrorizing and intimidating all LBERALS.
BE REAL Mr. CURRY
it is easier said than done !!! when the YOUNG have not wanted to VOTE for the past ...years .

[jbgnyc]

I, too, still thought Hillary would be a great choice, especially as Obama's numbers started going south. But as much of a Hillary supporter as I am (and I worked my tail off for her), my party made another choice and I'm a Democrat first and foremost. Biden, if fact, was my second choice, behind Hillary for president early on. So, to me, and for many Clinton supporters I know. Biden is a wonderful choice. Super, far-left Dems who've lost race after race will never accept Hillary or Bill, but, many others of us remember the GOOD things about the Clinton years: balancing the budget, creating a huge surplus, really tackling welfare (it hurt, but it was a badly-needed corrective made with a Republican congress!!) Was Bill perfect? Of course not. Is Hillary, of course not--and, shocklingl for some to admit, neither is Obama. But it's time to get behind OUR pick. Stop the grousing and back-biting. CELEBRATE and work hard to make it happen.

[jlover]

obama has to ATTACK , ATTACK, ATTACK !!!!!!! mccain is nothing......the reubs are trying to make this about obama...so now obama should make this about mccain.... ..he too,has ambitions to be president......obama should ask mccain what will he do for america besides defend her from islamic extremism....besides tax cuts andor tax credits for BIG BUSINESS.BESIDES DRILL HEREDRILL NOW NONSENSE (oil which will be sold at market prices) what about jobs for americans ? what about tax cuts for the middle and working class ? i could go on and on......it's time to shed light on john mccain....ATTACK OBAMA CAMPAIGN ATTACK !!!

[FACINGREALIT]

Obama has always had a commanding lead in the electoral votes - the MSM made the National polls seem close for ratings and to help McCain mobilize the repugs base but McCain is losing far worst then the media will let on. If you look state by state - Obama is on mission for a landslide.