Joe Biden has a lot going for him. First there's his age. At 65, if Barack Obama is president for two terms, but could be the heir-apparent. He'd only be 73, the age of John McCain.
He is a Washington-insider. As vice president he can apply his intimate knowledge of how all the mechanisms of government work to operate behind the scenes when political or legal obstacles get in the way, without even the president's awareness. After eight years of Dick Cheney, we all know how worthwhile that can be.
Unlike Cheney, he believes in explaining his decisions and thought processes in public. And explaining. And explaining. By the time he is through with a speech, we know every nuance, every intricacy that's involved,to say nothing of any childhood memory that might have something to do with it. Or not. And if he is at a loss for words, he's shown a willingness to use someone else's
This is somebody who absolutely believes in the public's right to know. He has appeared so many times on "Meet the Press" that it wouldn't be surprising if he was among those NBC was considering to be the next Moderator.
None of these snarky observations will bother Joe Biden one bit. He has a great sense of humor. He'll need it when the he's asked is about his previous comment that Barack Obama was "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy". And if Mr. Racial Sensitivity gets past that one, he'll still have some explaining to do about his observation that Obama was "not yet ready" to be President.
But, as mentioned, Biden has a wonderful sense of humor and the questions will give him a chance to show it off. At the same time, we'll get a quick look at Barack Obama's.
In all seriousness, Biden is a formidable choice. Not only does he have a depth of knowledge about the law, social issues and international relations, after decades of Senate leadership in all those areas, he is a truly nice guy, with a real common touch.
He's even gets along with his colleague John McCain. In the Senate, that alone makes him a standout.
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After months and months of thinking we're going to get an all new, complete overhaul of the crappy way Washington is run -- we get a guy who's been in Washington for 36 years. Since Nixon was president. Since "Gunsmoke" was on TV. Since Nissan was known as Datsun. Since computers were the size of barns and used cobalt to communicate. Since the Colts were in Baltimore playing the LA Rams. And since the Carpenters were the top pop group on the radio.
When Biden talks about Washington being a mess, won't he be part of the problem? When Barack mentions "Change You Can Believe In", won't Biden be the antithesis of change? When we all decide we're going to bring a fresh new face to the old way of doing things, won't Biden's 66 year old wrinkled look blow that out of the water?
No, I'm not enthused about this at all. But, I'm holding out hope that something dramatic may still happen.
And as far as being an "antithesis of change," lets be blunt, you can't throw the baby out with the bath water. The Founders didn't design our government that way. Joe bridges that gap.
I think it was an excellent choice.
We're in for a great campaign and an opportunity to showcase what Democrats can do, given the chance.
The pundits are already speculating whether Biden can help the ticket with Pennsylvania, neighboring Delaware, because Biden was born in Scranton, PA. Other than the possibility of hoping Biden’s birth place can bring in PA, there are no other swing states that Biden has significant influence.
Obama ‘s campaign message has been about change, as soon as he ran into problems focused on his inexperience in foreign affairs, Obama hitches himself to a Washington insider who has spent three and half decades in the beltway. Obama’s counter attacks on McCain may be weakened now that he has selected someone who, as of November, will be only 6 years younger than McCain, who has spent one decade less in Washington than Biden.
On the flip side, Biden is a “seasoned” politician, a Washington insider, a man who knows the political play book. Biden’s had prominent roles in the Senate, most important to Obama, he chairs the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs, and he has participated in numerous subcommittees focused on foreign affairs and terrorist issues.
It will be interesting to see how Obama’s choice plays out in the coming weeks.
END OF STORY.
All the lame slaps at Biden's occasional verbosity emerge as childish tittering, given the irreparable damage done by a VP with the exact opposite approach.
When you KNOW a lot, you have a lot to SAY.
Voters who don't do 'details' or 'nuance' have everything they could wish for in Cue-Card Johnny.
Further, this demonstrates Barack Obama's JUDGEMENT and MANAGEMENT skills are superb.
These two men of ACTION will redirect the focus from our investor class (w/annual financial bailouts) to the MIDDLE CLASS they both came from.
... for someone with a major Clinton hangup.
Honest to goodness, folks.
This is a great, solid choice for a young senator from Illinois to have available and take advantage of.
Like they say about birds that quack like ducks....
Hamlet's "words, words, words" is the admonition.