August 23, 2008
The Biden-Obama Ticket (John Feehery)
My wife likes Joe Biden and I agree with her that there is a lot about him to like. He seems like a good guy, he is outspoken, he doesn’t seem to completely full of himself. He is also blunt and pretty honest in his expressing his feelings.
Biden would be a good guy to have a few beers with. He would probably tell some off-color jokes, he would always be entertaining, and he would know everybody at the bar. So, from my perspective, there’s a lot to like there.
Which makes me wonder why the Democrats would nominate Barack Obama instead of Joe Biden to be the President. Biden has vast Senate experience, he has a working knowledge of foreign affairs (having sat on the committee for a hundred years), has a pretty liberal voting record, and on the big issues, he is an orthodox Democrat.
Sure, he has a big mouth. Sure, he voted for the war before he voted against it. Sure, he was wrong on the surge (but so were all the Democrats). Sure, he has had no other jobs in his whole adult life other than the United States Senate. Sure, he has publicly stated that he has never worked for anybody his entire life. Sure, there are some questions about financial hanky-panky related to a local bank and the purchase of his house.
But these are not the big questions that will be raised about Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
The big question raised by Joe Biden’s selection of running mate is: shouldn’t this be the other way around? Shouldn’t Biden be running for President and Obama be running for Vice President? Should Biden be the one calling the shots?
Biden’s only experience is in the Senate, but at least he has some experience. Obama has none. Biden’s has some accomplishments. I can’t name any of them but after spending most of his life in the Senate, he has to have some accomplishments. Obama has none. Biden has some experience cutting deals in the Senate. Obama has none.
Ron Fournier of The Associated Press put it this way: “In picking Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate, Barack Obama sought to shore up his weakness — inexperience in office and on foreign policy — rather than underscore his strength as a new-generation candidate defying political conventions.
“He picked a 35-year veteran of the Senate — the ultimate insider — rather than a candidate from outside Washington, such as Govs. Tim Kaine of Virginia or Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas; or from outside his party, such as Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska; or from outside the mostly white male club of vice presidential candidates. Hillary Rodham Clinton didn't even make his short list.
“The picks say something profound about Obama: For all his self-confidence, the 47-year-old Illinois senator worried that he couldn't beat Republican John McCain without help from a seasoned politician willing to attack. The Biden pick is the next logistical step in an Obama campaign that has become more negative — a strategic decision that may be necessary but threatens to run counter to his image.”
This reminds me of the Dukakis pick in 1988. Dukakis seemed to be sure winner in the summer of 1988, and when he picked Lloyd Bentsen, it seemed that the dream ticket was complete. But as the campaign went on, Bentsen started to outshine his running mate. He looked Presidential to Dukakis’s stiffness. He had the southern drawl, and seemed moderate on taxes, he looked reasonable. People started to wonder why he wasn’t on the top of the ticket. And then doubt about Dukakis became opportunity for Bush.
The same thing will happen to this “dream” ticket. People are going to wonder why Biden isn’t at the top. They are going to wonder why Biden isn’t debating McCain. Biden is going to look better and better, the call for change is going to grow fainter and fainter, and then people are going to decide that as long as I am going to vote for experience and know-how, I am going to vote for the ticket that has experience at the top.
Biden seems to be a smart tactical choice for Obama, but in the long run, it will be the wrong strategic choice. If the American people are going to vote for experience over change, they are going to vote for McCain, not for Obama-Biden.
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He says he has a higher IQ than you!
Comment by Allen Ginsberg — August 23, 2008 @ 4:37 pm
You seem to be deluded into thinking the "surge" has worked in Iraq. Hey, if that kinda stupidity is what it takes to keep the republicans from killing people for no reason, believe what you want. LOL
Comment by Jim — August 23, 2008 @ 5:22 pm
John McCain may not be able to tell you how many houses he owns, but at least he didn't get any houses through questionable real estate deals like Obama and Biden.
Comment by Robert Rosencrans — August 23, 2008 @ 6:03 pm
Nice try..
This places tremendous pressure on McBush, who will he pick?
Pawlenty?.LOL!!!!!!
Willard Romney? Mr. elitist himself? A Mormon, the lunatic wignuts don't approve.
LIE-berman?..too old cranky geezers..
Jindal "the exorcist" or Cantor? either one throws the experience attack out of the window.
Ridge? The pro-life wing would go ballistic!!
So he cannot pick Ridge, Pawlenty, Cantor, and definitely not the exorcist.
He is stuck with Romney or maybe LIE-berman..
Comment by Theard — August 23, 2008 @ 6:07 pm
I'm a Republican. I am going to vote for McCain. I told my wife today, I'm okay now if Obama wins". She looked at me in surprise and I told her , "Obama now has adult supervision. Our Nation will be okay".
Comment by OldSarg — August 23, 2008 @ 7:24 pm
Obama is highly qualified for POTUS, so take a deep breath, John The Neocon.
Obama reminds me so much of Reagan, the spontaneity, the charisma, and the sincerity.
But unlike Reagan (God rest his soul), Obama is highly intelligent, and knows what it is like to climb the poverty ladder.
So go ahead, John The neocon, and try and trash Obama. Neocons like you, John Feehery, are the reason so many republicans, like me, have fled to Obama.
John Feehery is sitting flush on the lunatic fringe, a pure-bread neocon. Wager all you want on McSame, John The Neocon, Obama will overcome your Dittohead rhetoric. Your political philosophy has been proven wrong, and ultra-crazed
Comment by Lester — August 23, 2008 @ 10:38 pm
As I said before, nothing but Hillary could save Obama. Now it's too late, the terrorist enabler is going to go down in flames. Greasy Joe with his big mouth and offbeat pronouncements will help Obama as much as a bicycle will help a fish in a bind.
Comment by Igor R. — August 23, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
Here you have two candidates without much in common with the vast majority of the American public. After the Messiah Obama has preached about change for over a year, he's now dropped the C bomb off his ticket. There will be no change, not that I ever believed it anyhow. Obama is now about monolithic Washington, and has pulled the ultimate dirty trick on his supporters by pulling the change rug out from under their feet. While his supporters are sitting on their backsides they will have time to ponder the Obama phoniness. Since the entire Obama campaign was based on a syllogistic premise, i.e., change is good for you, therefore my change is great for you, will his supporters become bitter and turn to other forms of religion or, perhaps, water guns, since liberals won't be caught dead around real guns. Stay tuned as Obama continues to plunder Stupid Land with one more deft and idiotic move following another.
Comment by Robert Rosencrans — August 24, 2008 @ 6:41 am
#6 Lester
"Obama is highly qualified for POTUS"
Lester, not sure what you think highly qualified is, but a community organizer, attorney, professor and one term Senator is not. Try again….
Comment by ObamaNOT — August 24, 2008 @ 9:40 am
Obamvoyage has pretty much sealed his fate with this pick for a VP. You usually pick someone who SHARES your views, not opposes them. Biden repeatedly said he shared the SAME view as McCain on troops in Iraq. How is he going to be Obama's foreign policy expert when his view on Iraq is diametrically opposed to his boss's?
Biden has been quoted on numerous occasions touting Obama's lack of experience to lead as President. How do you serve as number two when you think #1 is unqualified?
Biden has stated he'd be happy to serve in office with McCain: Biden appearing on The Daily Show, August 2, 2005: “John McCain is a personal friend, a great friend, and I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off, be well off no matter who…”
So Obama chose someone who would be happy to run WITH his opponent?
Wow…Obama's choices never cease to confound the public….
Comment by ObamaNOT — August 24, 2008 @ 9:46 am
Your wife has poor tastes.Myself I,m a little picky who I drink beer with.
Why must we be saddled with the same people who screwed everything up? A new broom sweeps best,let,s run all the crooks and morons out of Washington and start fresh.
Comment by Teerry Gee — August 24, 2008 @ 10:36 am
Do you mean like Bush/Cheney should have been the other way around?
Ron Fournier has been discredited as McCain's mole at the AP so his two cents doesn't buy as much as it used to.
Biden's speech was inspiring and seems to have certainly shaken up the right. There is nothing there that reminds me of Dukakis though, nice try.
Comment by M. Richard — August 24, 2008 @ 10:47 am
The republicans, including Mr Feehery, are whining and crying like a of bunch of babies. Do the neocons posting here read what you post? How do you neocons make it through a week living in such a fantasy world void of any factual basis?
Comment by Mattie — August 24, 2008 @ 5:16 pm
Mattie, your post seems to be whiny and devoid of facts. It's not clear what your nonsensical musings contribute to the topic. Why would anyone want to post on how neocons make it through the week?
Comment by Igor R. — August 25, 2008 @ 12:20 am
Spot on John.
It's about time someone tell us how bad Hussein Obama will be for our country. The liberal press is giving Obama a free pass.
Clinton cut off all access to drilling; now look how high gas is
Obama will take away your guns.
Obama will allow doctors to perform abortions in convenience store-fashion in all the strip malls near you.
Experts (Cato Inst) claim Obama will double everyone's taxes.
Obama will fail to balance the budget, subsequently putting at risk the value of the dollar.
John McCain can be trusted to continue the Bush legacy.
Comment by RealConservative — August 25, 2008 @ 1:04 am
Over and Over agian the talk was Sen Obama needed to do something to reach Hillarey's female voters.
Sen Biden appeals to women. I like him a lot.
The thing is Biden wont be in the lead position.
So, folks Sen McCain is still #1 in my book.
Comment by JFK-HRC — August 25, 2008 @ 11:24 am
RC #15;
As a concerned democrat, I must ask you to back away form teh kool-ade and slowly leave the this site. Your post is the most ill-informed, paranoid post that we get here. Even Igor doesn't post crazy crap like that. If McCain continues the Bush legacy, America will be no more. Let us look at Bush's legacy. Two wars that he didn't win. One of teh greatest domestic security failures of all time, 9/11. The drowning of an American city. 5 trillion dollars of new debt. The biggest budget deficit in American history. A stretched military that can't respond to world crisis and the undermining of our Constitution. Is that a legacy that McCain should follow, for Obama's campaign, I hope so.
Comment by Mike Coleman — August 25, 2008 @ 11:42 am
Post 15: Excellent. Only a fool would believe otherwise.
Comment by Robert Rosencrans — August 25, 2008 @ 1:09 pm
#17 Mikey
For once I agree with you. I sure hope we don't elect another democrat to office who again will have their head in the sand and allow the state of affairs to get that way. Makes for a lot of clean up for the rep presidents.
Maybe if slick Willy was worried more about what was going on overseas vice under his desk, we wouldn't be in this situation….
Comment by ObamaNOT — August 26, 2008 @ 7:23 am