Posted by Damozel | There certainly is an interesting range of opinion among Democrats. I found on the whole that my enthusiasm for Biden increased as I read. This is doubtless because I was aware of his drawbacks (actual and alleged), but less tuned in to why he was the best choice. But you can judge for yourself....
Andrew Sullivan considers what the choice tells us.
I'd say it suggests a serious, adult attitude toward the enormous burden that the next presidency will be, especially in foreign policy.
We've learned how disastrous a vice-president can be, in the current administration. No vice-president in American history has done as much damage to national security, constitutional integrity and the moral standing of the United States as Dick Cheney. Biden has aspects of the Cheney pick - he's older, more seasoned and more adept at foreign policy than Obama. But no one imagines that Obama would delegate - and all but abdicate - critical decisions to Biden the way Bush has to Cheney.
Nonetheless, it seems obvious that Biden speaks his mind frankly, and would have real heft and independence in the office.
Of course, an article by Ron Fournier ("AP’s concern troll…er, Washington Chief", C&L) suggested that the pick reflects Obama's "lack of confidence."
To which Nicole Belle said, "Actually, is there any way to do a forensic search of Karl Rove’s fax machine to see if the article originated there?" (C&L) If you're not familiar with Fournier or why Jane Hamsher would publish an action item calling for AP to remove him from covering the presidential campaign, Majikthise has some background.
Bill Kristol, as previously noted, did a spot of "concern trolling," worrying about Hillary's "glass ceiling."
There'll never be enough shut up to deal with Bill Kristol. Andrew Sullivan briskly sees him and his article off:
He discovers his inner feminist. The post would be funny if it weren't also so transparent.
Jack and Jill has done a great round-up of black reaction online to Biden. Jill Tubman writes:
Overall, I’d say there’s at best a resignation factor e.g. it could have be worse. A shrug factor. A sigh. A yawn or even eye-rolling cynical sentiment among black folks. There’s a willingness to try and see the positives - Joe’s not without supporters in the black community. There’s also a hint of concern about some of the things Biden has said — and what he might say. And a little hostility for some.
In response to a friend's comment that Biden's a good attack dog, she makes what might be my favorite comment of the whole week. "Tru dat. In McCain vs Biden, we have got some white hair Crazy-on-Crazy competitive action coming up." (Jack and Jill) Hee! Sadly, she expects McCain to win "hands down."
At The Reaction, Carol Gee weighs up the pros and the cons and finds Biden a reasonable choice. She too emphasizes his value as an "attack dog."
Senator Biden will know how to fiercely oppose Senator McCain. He has known the Arizonan since he came into the senate. I have no doubt that he will be able to make the case that McCain and our current president (OCP) are "one and the same." I remember many times when Biden was standing before MSNBC's cameras roundly criticizing OCP for his latest misstep without holding much of anything back. He can serve the traditional Vice Presidential role of attack dog quite adequately. But he will do it with class.
Taylor Marsh is equally enthusiastic about this aspect of Biden, while remaining a bit surprised that it wasn't Hillary after all.
Can Democrats fight like Republicans? Translation: can we fight dirty in order to win? Absolutely, but will we? That's just one reason picking Joe Biden is a strong indication that the close contact is about to ratchet up. It finally did yesterday.
It's also a nice change to see a vice presidential candidate who isn't afraid to throw an elbow or two, maybe even stick his foot out when the other guy isn't looking. Watching Lieberman and Edwards in 2000 and 2004, respectively, getting their clocks cleaned by Dick Cheney is something no one wants to see again.
At Lean Left, KTK calls it:
[N]ot a bad choice, not a homerun smash either. Probably the best possible choice but not the best choice; the best impossible choice is Hillary - that would have been a homerun smash, but, as I say, impossible.
But based on this analysis, KTK concludes:
....Biden comes out as the strongest possible choice because he is almost as solid as Hillary within the party, has much lower intra-party negatives, and, most important, is vastly more popular among swing voters. And, although they have different styles, he’s on a part with Hillary in political infighting and debate. Of course the statistical analysis treats pre-announcement popularity polls as if they’re static. The announcement alone will force some people to shift their opinions, and there’s a lot of political dynamics between now and the election. But, given what they know now, there’s a strong case to be made for Biden, and - crucially - not as strong a case to be made against him, compared to Hillary - in terms of voter appeal plain and simple. Which makes Obama’s choice easy to justify on those obviously important grounds.
But almost as good as Jill Tubman's note was KTK's sheepish comment (in tiny print): "Yes, I’m now officially on record as calling the VP candidate on the ticket I’ll undoubtedly vote for a “dumb motherfucker”. But, you know, I meant it in a good way." Heh. KTK won't be the only one who lives to retract previous comments about Biden.
Jake Tapper says:
If the sparks fly, so be it. Not a bad slogan for Mr. Biden.
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Dela., has long said what's on his mind with that attitude.
He's got a mouth on him. The sparks have flown.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and his team are hoping it's a mouth that does them good, not ill.
His piece includes a few examples of things Biden has said that have caused the sparks to fly.
Melissa McEwan, equally aware of them, says she is going to turn in her punditry credentials.
"Okay, [Biden as prospective veep] has got to be a joke, right? The DNC is just fucking with the press, who's dumb enough to fall for the suggestion that Joe Fookin' Biden is 'believed to be at the top of' Obama's veep shortlist. Because there's no way in blue hell that Obama could be foolish enough to be seriously considering for one blinking second putting on his ticket the speech plagiarizing, bankruptcy bill voting, Bush-coddling, racist, sexist asshat Biden, a consummate gaffe machine who launched his own '08 presidential bid with a screeching dog whistle that declared Obama 'the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy'."—Me, one week ago.
She has an excellent analytical piece up at The Guardian.
Roy Edroso observes:
[T]hat longtime Senator Biden does not represent the sort of "change" represented by the Obama cause is absurd, given that we are in the thick of a campaign already wholly devoted to meaningless symbolism of a more traditional kind -- military cred, elitism, populist blather, etc. Conservatives who have been dunning Obama for portraying himself as an alternative can't seriously believe that choosing an ideologically appropriate running mate from the old school -- instead of, what, a female or Hispanic politician, or someone even more new to politics than Obama -- is a betrayal of anything except the caricature of Obama they've painstakingly crafted. But they've been working with that to good effect lately, so I guess it's worth a try.
Last year I noted that in the Democratic debates Biden was "difficult to follow when he is being genial, but extremely lucid in his bursts of anger" on subjects (mainly in foreign policy) that animate him, and wondered if this were "the kind of behavioral mix voters trust with the football." Certainly Biden is gabby, and we'll see how voters react to his style of discourse now that they have to pay attention to him, more or less, for the next eleven weeks.
At The Moderate Voice, Jill Miller Zimon lists several reasons why Biden is an excellent choice for Obama and fills in some of what I'll call "the gaps in his resume." Among others, she lists:
I fell for this choice immediately because Biden has what Obama lacks: the double-edged sword of entrenchment. For all the ways in which it was used as a negative against HRC, entrenchment also carries with it many goodies for people who are elected to be in D.C. One of my concerns with Obama has involved the length of time it takes to build connections that can help you get what you want done actually done. My concerns included confidence that Obama and his people, as new and fresh as many, though not all of them, are, could and would find the literally thousands of people they’ll need to get done what they and we want them to get done. These are the realities of governing a federal government....
Sideshow's Avedon Carol considers Biden's position on the issues:
Joe Biden on the issues - It's a mixed bag, and I can't say I'm thrilled with the way it's mixed, but I suppose you'd say he was straddling something closer to the real center than most "centrists" ever do. Not many people noticed that he regretted his AUMF vote in 2005, and he has made statements advocating that we get out of Iraq. Generally pro-choice record, though ambivalent on D&E termination, and opposed publicly-funded abortion. Voted for bankruptcy bill but has low rating from "pro-business" groups. Mixed on most other issues as well, although the NAACP rather likes him. On some things, he seems to have been moving to the left from less attractive positions over the years. Bob Herbert likes him for bringing the populism. He's very pro-Amtrak and takes the train to work. He's also pretty much as un-monied personally as Senators get. Of anyone Obama was likely to have chosen, I expect Biden was probably the best.
Avedon Carol further remarks: "I'd like to think Obama's position on this - which is, make no mistake, important - tells us something about where he really is on the issues. My problem is that so much else that he does appears to be working in the other direction, undermining one after another of liberal voices, causes, positions, strengths." Mine too.
Finally, see this very interesting analysis at FiveThirtyEight (referred to by KTK at Lean Left, above).
But the best and most reassuring post was written by Shaun Mullen at TMV. He has known Biden since they were teenagers. Here's where he comes down, though you'll want to read the whole of it.
In 2008, world affairs expertise, policy-making chops and a bite to back up his bark is more important to a Democratic ticket led by a younger and less-experienced politician than the hoary view that a vice presidential running mate must come from a populous state — and better yet a swing state — to give the guy at the top a bump.
While many pundits will damn the babe magnet on the beach of my youth with faint praise and some will complain that he is the antithesis of the change that Barack Obama advocates, he has worked tirelessly for little Delaware and big America, and Obama could not have done better. (TMV)
That one made me feel way more enthusiastic. I highly recommend it.
Obama sent me an e-mail suggesting that I send a welcome message to Joe Biden. This is what I said:
Welcome Joe.
I hope that you will be pointing out on the campaign trail that the
age of scurrilous, Rovian politics is about to end. The Republican
and neo-con rightwing attack machine must be destroyed along with any chance of its ever resurrecting itself. It needs to be consigned to the dustbin of history, and hopefully a Democratic sweep in November will ensure that things like that become a tarnished legacy of the Bush years and nothing more. Americans need to concentrate on positive issues, not slime, and Karl Rove and his ilk need to be forever banished from American politics.
Eight years of incompetence and greed have nearly destroyed America, and it's time to end the senseless war in Iraq, rebuild America's infrastructure and end the Republican legacy of depression and recession. Franklin Roosevelt put thousands of Americans to work with the National Industrial Recovery Act and similar programs, and a Democratic Administration could propose similar programs to rebuild America's infrastructure, put the unemployed back to work and start to build confidence in the future again.
We also desperately need universal health care for all Americans, tax equity so that the rich won't be the only ones enjoying whatever prosperity finally emerges, and we need to rebuild our military so that we can once again speak from a position of strength when dealing with the bullies of the world.
Good luck with all of those things, since I know that you believe in them quite as much as I do.
Posted by: webmaker02 | August 24, 2008 at 04:13 PM
Please note that most of the quote you attribute to me is actually Weldon Berger at BTC News.
Posted by: Avedon | August 24, 2008 at 06:45 PM
Go Sarah. Finally, a real woman is headed for the Whitehouse. She is a self-made woman -- bright, energetic, and with great core values.
Posted by: JD | October 01, 2008 at 08:26 AM