Let me preface by saying I actually rather like Biden, or at least I did 20-30 years ago. He's a curious choice however for a campaign that has been built on the idea of "Hope" and "Change." "Change from What" has always been the question. The answer in the winter and spring was supposed to be "Change from politics as usual, and Hope for a political dialog freed from the partisan rancor of the past 16 years." In the summer however, it's become increasingly clear it's merely "Hope to Change the party in control of the White House." Biden's, the ultimate Washington insider, elevation is a definitive signal that the new mantra is "just win baby." even on that score however, it's a puzzling choice. The idea I suppose, is that Biden offers some of the gravitas and foreign policy credentials Obama so obviously (after his his magical mystery tour and weak response to the Georgian crisis) lacks. A "Cheney in 2000" if you will. Biden however, is no Cheney, at least in terms of what Cheney brought to the ticket at the time. Biden is hardly a calming, steadying, influence. Rather than gravitas, he merely has seniority. He voted for the Iraq war, was certain Iraq had WMD, both of which will cause problems for Obama in some quarters, and he hatched a bizarre plan to partition Iraq, and denied the surge's success, which will cause problems elsewhere. His hands are all over the bankruptcy bill and the current credit crisis, and his famously (it's refreshing!) un-PC personality can just as easily cause embarrassing gaffes, which will distract from the campaign's message. and then there's the neil kinnock thing (overblown IMHO), but the Biden/Kinnock/Obama/Patrick ad almost writes itself...and Biden does nothing to placate the many disillusioned Hillary supporters No, what selecting Biden does most is call into question Obama's judgment, the very thing he's spent the past 18 months telling the world was his most important quality, and the very thing McCain has spent the summer attacking. If Obama needs a tutor, how can we trust his judgement? The conventional wisdom has been that as long as Obama could make the race about vague notions of "Hope and Change" (never mind the messy details), and tap into the vague sense of unease that much of the media relentlessly tells us the country is experiencing (never mind the truth), he would win. McCain, on the other hand, had to make Obama himself, his judgment, his lack of experience, his church, his pride, his self-importance, the issue. Obama, in a single (EPIC FAIL) SMS, has done McCain's job for him. He may still win, but there's no doubt now what the race will be about.
A counterbalance to basso's assertions (which I’m sure he came up with all by himself). What Barack Did Today and What it Shows Us By John Nail - August 23, 2008, 11:11PM McCain lost his moral compass and decided to try "celebrityboating" et al and now he is getting hit back. Joe will hit his friend hard. Politics ain't beanbags and Obama is from Chicago and understands that. Now that McCain has laid his marker on the negative campaign the gun is coming to the knife fight and Joe Biden will be wielding it. So lets try a different list in looking at the way he addressed this key decision and what it shows about the man: 1) Responsibility - He chose a man ready to lead and be President if he were thrust into that role w/ proven knowledge and credibility 2) Judgment - His self confidence is secure to bring in an older and experienced expert, like Kennedy, Reagan, Bush and others have done to join his team and advise him in an area that he needs help 3) Management Discipline - it never leaked. Compared to the Bush White House or the Clinton's this is amazing and speaks to Obama's skills. 4) Control - the campaign owned us all all week and did things their way, again with total discipline, unlike anything I have ever seen. 5) Realism - he chose a man that will help build the voting majority he needs to win in certain states, demographics et al 6) Shrewd Politician - People are finally understanding that Obama plays to win and works that way. 7) Insider Politics - in order to govern and get things done Obama needs to get work done on the hill and Biden can get that done as a skilled legislator and insider. The message of hope and change is only worth anything if he wins and Obama has acted responsibly to complete his ticket to accomplish his goal. If you folks haven't figured it out yet you don't go from giving a speech 4 years ago to coming from 30 points down to beating the Clinton machine by being shallow and inept. That requires brains, discipline and a connection to the people that taps their needs. Obama has done that and now he has put the last piece in place to sprint for victory. http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/08/what-barack-did-today-and-what.php
Let me start of by saying, i'm not reading your post. I just wonder why the moderators let you make this your personal blog. why does your myopic sense of importance make you feel the need to start a new thread aside from the official biden thread. I know you are here to stand up for america for us, but really, its tired.
The change Obama talked about before still seems to be the change he's talking about now, and he's following through far better than most candidates before him. Of course even back then you were still claiming it wasn't real change though now you pretend like there's been a shift in your thinking, and that initially you believed Obama was talking about a change in the tone of bi-partisan politics. Defending oneself from meaningless off-issue attacks from the other side, doesn't equal going negative and doing whatever it takes to win. You somehow mention Obama's European tour as showing that he needs foreign policy help? The tour was a big success for Obama, and he got along well with foreign leaders, who all seemed eager to work with him. His response to the Georgia crisis was appropriate. Even if you disagreed with his response to the Georgia crisis it was hardly as catastrophic as not knowing the difference between Sunni and Shiia, or the fact that Iran wasn't training Al-Qaeda, or not knowing how many U.S. troops were actually in Iraq. All of those more urgent matters were blundered by McCain while Obama merely had to call him on the mistakes. Furthermore it's hypocritical to sit there and discuss Obama's partisan attacks but then bring up Biden's ancient plagiarism scandal and try it to the non-scandal between Obama and Patrick which wasn't plagiarism at all. Your post is just a large set of contradictions really.
Kind of agree... that this should simply be merged with the Biden thread. I mean, I don't know what's next from basso... [OBAMA]I farted after eating wilted lettuce and it smelled like Biden. Just put that in an existing fart thread or an existing Biden thread. And in this case, we've got a nice, new, lively Biden thread! Sheesh.
Isn't Joe Biden's son a lobbyist? Yeah, if choosing Biden doesn't signal that Obama is moving away from the hopey/changey/happy brand of politics that his brain-dead cotton-candy eating followers have embraced, then I don't know what does... It's a puzzling pick by Snobama. I guess Obama had to find someone more vain than himself (Biden does have hairplugs, you know). Or maybe he's trying to reinforce the name similarity with Osama bin Laden. Obama n' Biden. Say that five times fast and see if you trip up. HILARITY
Hunter Biden is a lobbyist. Read it and weep pgabs. http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080824/pl_bloomberg/a6qrvqdtzkv4 Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying Hunter Biden, 38, described as a lawyer in the biography of his father distributed yesterday by the Obama campaign, lobbied for clients that paid his firm at least $380,000 in the first six months of this year, federal records show. ...just more hypocrisy from the joke of a marketing campaign that is Barack Obama. The fad is fading...
Seen the trend of the polls lately? New poll out today that shows New Mexico is +4 for McCain. That's a troubling sign for the hopey make changey crowd. Sorry Three 6 Mafia fans.
That's the other son, pgabs (who by the way is on his way to Iraq, not serving there). GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT Edit: Looks like you edited your original post, but I caught you first! bwa ha ha ha ha. EMBARRASSING 2 u.
Democrats serving in the military doesn't matter. Remember, you can accuse a Purple Heart winner of being a traitor or of causing the injury to himself, but you cannot say that being a POW does not make you fit for President. It's rule #124 of the Rove Republicans' playbook, right between 123 (Republicans can cheat on their wives, while Democrats cannot) and 125 (Republicans can have sugar mamas, while Democrats cannot). Sometimes I sit and wonder how they can actually say some of the stuff they do without laughing at themselves. I'd laugh along with them if they weren't ruining the country.
A few minutes ago, you thought he only had one son who was some type of dual lobbyist/commando. Now that's a negative. Step 1: Collect facts Step 2: Form an opinion Step 3: Decide if you can come strong enough to challenge The_Conquistador Step 4: Admit defeat.
