I just posted in another thread to say that Obama used the pronoun "he" four times today in talking about his VP pick, seemingly ruling out Clinton and Sebelius. I also posted about Biden walking back his "I'm not the guy" statement from earlier today. Let's get some thoughts on the undisputed frontrunner for VP (as of today anyway). As for me, I am totally thrilled by the idea. I've always loved Biden. He's a regular guy, a straight shooter and smarter than hell. I even like the fact that he shoots his mouth off too much. The more I think about this pick, the happier I am. I'm not just happy about the prospect of him on the trail either -- I'm very excited about the prospect of him as a sitting VP. What do the rest of you think?
I think he'd be a great choice. I don't know much it helps him electorally, but it would be especially good on the actual governing side. I do think it leaves an opening for McCain to reshape the election by choosing a relatively moderate GOP woman (EBay CEO, Kay Bailey), but it doesn't seem like he's leaning that way.
If it's Biden, the "experience" and "balance" arguments would appear to have prevailed. But don't put it past Obama to use the pronoun "he" and it be a woman.
First and foremost, you need a VP who can be President if needed. That alone rules out Kaine, Bayh and Sebelius. Period, end of story. So that leaves you with Hillary, Kerry, and Biden as the last men standing.
I think the same as you that Biden would be a terrific choice. He isn't boring, thank god, and has vast experience in areas where Barack doesn't. If Barack needs someone to deliver a tough message, either to Congress behind the scenes or to a foreign ministry, he's a person everyone knows and respects. I think they look great on a stage together, as you've mentioned before, and he can connect with the "average joes" out there. He is excellent on the "talking head" shows. Biden addresses the "experience" factor to a T. Compared to the more "conventional" choices, the relatively boring ones, Biden would generate at least some excitement. I wouldn't be surprised if we even got a Bentsen Moment out of Joe. Shoot, even his first name resonates with all those "average joes" out there. I like him a lot. Impeach Bush/Cheney.
I think Biden would help in Pennsylvania, where he is well known (if any help is needed there), and certainly the Northeast in general. No, he wouldn't help in the South, Southwest and West, not in the conventional sense, but he would help regardless, I think. I would really like the choice, if he gets it. Impeach Bush.
Dems love Biden, repubs love Biden (they won't admit it), and indys love Biden -- he's the logical choice.
I think Biden would help because he's tough enough to talk straight in rebuttal to GOP attacks. Biden would go for the throat in a VP debate. Biden also has a son deployed for Iraq. Biden seems to have been trying to show that he doesn't talk out of turn lately, and if he can keep that discipline then it's a great pick.
if he was such a foreign policy expert he wouldn't have supported the iraq war imo but post war he has been ok i guess
I find Biden far, far more appealing than any of the other major candidates (Bayh, Sebelius, Kaine). Obviously I'd prefer Hillary, but of the realistic options at this point, Biden would really make me enthusiastic about the ticket. He's a straight shooter with a great depth of knowledge and experience that would balance any perceived weakness of Obama's.
I like Biden. He is not boring as has been said. Addresses the experience angle. I didn't know he was so liked by Republicans and independents. I like him better than Bayh (uggh) and Kaine, unknown. Sebelius is unknown also. Anybody know if Biden is considered a liberal? Obviously he voted for the Iraq War and has been pretty hawkish on the Georgia-Russian situation.
Here's some info on Biden in terms of likability and the like from 538: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/08/do-voters-like-joe-biden.html Do Voters Like Joe Biden? I think I've written extensively about just about all of the leading Democratic Vice Presidential contenders at some point, except Joe Biden, who at this point seems to be the favorite for the position. I like Joe Biden reasonably well personally; if I were trying to choose from among the VP candidates to support in a Democratic primary, he would be fairly high on the list. But I think the Democrats may be overstating his electoral appeal. Rasmussen has conducted polling on Joe Biden at various times; I have included a recent poll where they took voters' temperatures on some of the potential VP contenders, as well as a poll toward the end of Biden's primary campaign, and then a baseline reading from 2006. In each case, Biden's favorables/unfavorables were pretty close to even: VF = Very Favorable SF = Somewhat Favorable SU = Somewhat Unfavorable VU = Very Unfavorable Date VF + SF = Favorable SU + VU = Unfavorable 7/27/08 12 + 23 = 35 17 + 17 = 34 12/9/07 10 + 28 = 38 21 + 16 = 37 11/11/06 10 + 23 = 33 21 + 15 = 36 These are not terrific ratings, and they get a little bit worse when you look at the depth of the sentiments, as Biden's strong unfavorables exceed his strong favorables by 5-7 points. Basically, I think he is identified enough with the (unpopular) institution of the Congress that he will be viewed by a lot of people as a partisan, but doesn't compensate for that by generating enthusiastic responses from the base, the way some other candidates might. Biden is fairly well-known -- by far the best know candidate of the Bayh/Biden/Kaine/Sebelius group -- so perceptions of him are liable to be fairly entrenched, and may not be enhanced by the fluffy sort of treatment that the VP candidate usually tends to get from the press. There are some positives, though. Biden's numbers are quite strong among seniors, a group with whom Obama is underperforming, and fairly strong among moderates. He would probably lock up Pennsylvania for Obama -- both because he is well-known in the Philly burbs and because Pennsylvania has an older electorate -- and might play well somewhere like Florida. (I don't think he'd perform as strongly in states like Colorado and Wisconsin, which are a bit younger and tend not to like the Washington establishment). I understand that there is more to picking a VP than favorable/unfavorable ratings -- elections aren't won by out-nicing the other ticket. There is no doubt that Biden would perform well on the talk show circuit, and that he'd assuage the concerns of a certain number of older, foreign-policy-focused voters. That might be enough to make him a worthy choice. But I don't think he'd quite as appealing to the electorate as the conventional wisdom seems to hold.
Geez, I remember that god awful 9/11 joke/rant he made about Giuliani during a primary debate. Not sure I want to see clips of that on a mid-September campaign ad.
Having Biden on the ticket slightly increases the very long odds that I would vote for Obama for president. I thought he was the best presidential candidate for the Dems out of the chute.
Can't stand the senator from MBNA. He voted for in support of the Iraq war. He was one of 15 Democratic senators to vote in favor of the horrific Bankruptcy bill. If he's picked, expect to hear a lot about his past plagiarism.
I'm with gifford, maybe it's because I defend people sued on credit card debt for a living, but the Senator from MBNA just doesn't sit right for me in these times. Biden has too many RECENT votes that make me want to puke. Namely the War and the 2005 Bankruptcy Bill. I think Biden's time has come and gone. The rough and tumble Joe Biden that fought Clarence Thomas and Bork was a long, long time ago. If it's a senator, I want Jack Reed. A senator with the courage to vote against the Republicans in the two most crucial votes over the last ten years. Just because Biden would be better than Bayh, Clinton or Kaine doesn't make him a good choice.
I'm not going to rake him over the coals behind a bankruptcy bill. I don't much about the bankruptcy bill but I don't have a fundamental problem with it. Its not like you're sending to people to debtor's prison. We have very lax bankruptcy laws imo, but i have no strong opinion either way. Yes I understand Biden takes a lot of money from MBNA, he's from Maryland. Unfortunately, that's how politics work, texas senators take oil money, midwest senators take farm money, and so forth and so on. as far as the iraq war is concerned, well that's a stain on alot of senators.
Biden was my pick. Batman, my father is about 71. He's been waffling on who he'll vote for. He's voted Republican his entire life. He asks me all the time if I think Obama will be tough on terrorism....or if he'll lay down on foreign policy issues like he perceived Carter did. He told me if he picked Biden, he'd feel better about it. Antecdotal, to be sure...but at least there's some notion out there that Biden provides some experience in that realm.
