(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
The Obama-Biden ticket: An analysis
Barack Obama says he represents a new kind of post-partisan politics – but he’s made what appears to be a traditional choice for running mate.
By Peter Grier | August 23, 2008 edition
Washington - Barack Obama says he represents a new kind of post-partisan politics – but he’s made what appears to be a traditional choice for running mate.
Advisers often urge presidential candidates to plug holes in their own resumes with their vice-presidential picks, and that’s what Senator Obama may have done in opting for Sen. Joseph Biden (D) of Delaware. Senator Biden is many things Obama is not: experienced (35 years in the Senate), a foreign policy expert, and Catholic, for instance.
Perhaps most importantly, he’s nobody’s idea of effete. With a blue-collar background and tough campaign style, Biden could counter GOP efforts to frame Obama himself as an elitist.
“Biden fills gaps many people see in Obama’s credentials,” says Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
The reverse is also true: Obama’s strengths are Biden’s weaknesses. Biden has twice run for president himself, including this cycle, to widespread disinterest on the part of national voters. And where Obama’s rhetoric soars, Biden’s mouth can get him in trouble.
Gaffes, misstatements, and even plagiarism have dogged Biden’s presidential campaigns. His garrulity is such that in congressional hearings he’s been known to ask questions of committee witnesses that are longer than their answers.
Even now Republican opposition researchers surely are poring over videotape of Biden talking, and talking, and then talking some more, in hopes of finding potentially controversial snippets.
“That is his Achilles heel,” says Professor Jillson.
Biden is a native of Scranton, Pa. His father had been born into wealth but spent it, and young Joe’s childhood was one of straitened circumstances.
As a young attorney, he was a political prodigy, earning election to the US Senate at age 29. Tragedy struck before he could take office, as his wife and young daughter died in an automobile accident. The grieving Biden was sworn in after reaching the constitutionally-mandated age for Senate service of 30.
He is currently serving his sixth term in the Senate and is chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations. From 1987 until 1995 he was chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
In 2002 Biden voted to authorize the war in Iraq but has since become a vocal critic of the conflict. Previously he also backed a proposal to pacify Iraq by splitting it along ethnic lines.
In choosing Biden as his running mate, Barack Obama passed over a number of other serious candidates, none more prominent than Obama’s main rival in the Democratic primaries, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Senator Clinton’s aides said their boss had never undergone the vetting required of most vice-presidential candidates and it remained unclear whether she had even been under seious consideration. On Aug. 23, she said she was pleased with Obama’s choice, and called Biden “an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant”.
The campaign of Obama’s GOP rival, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, portrayed Biden as a Washington insider, saying the choice was the status-quo pick by a candidate who has insisted he represents change.
Before he dropped out of the presidential race, Biden was a harsh critic of Obama’s lack of experience, said McCain spokesman Ben Porritt.
“Biden has denounced Barack Obama’s poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing – that Barack Obama is not ready to be president,” said Mr. Porritt.
Republicans are sure to exploit such past statements. For example: In fall 2007, regarding Obama’s credentials, he said the presidency is “not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.”
In addition, the GOP is sure to remind voters that in 1988 Biden withdrew from his first presidential race amidst accusations that he had plagiarized passages in a campaign speech from former British Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock.
Given his running-mate options, Barack Obama made the second-best choice with Biden, says political historian Allan Lichtman of American University in Washington. Hillary Clinton would have been the best pick in Lichtman’s judgment.
Unlike Clinton, Biden has no national following and does not generate campaign electricity. But Lichtman says Biden’s years of Washington service mean he is qualified actually to serve as vice president – and to step into the presidency if required to do so.
“He is a meat and potatoes Democrat with appeal to white working-class voters,” says Lichtman.
Obama announced his vice presidential pick two days before the beginning of the Democratic convention in Denver. The official word came in a 3 a.m. EDT text message from the Obama campaign to the phones and computers of supporters.
Though word of the selection had leaked out several hours prior, Biden’s selection was successfully kept secret by the campaign for several days. Other vice-presidential finalists included Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.
Comments
4. Chris Stewart | 08.23.08
Biden to me is an excellent pick. I always thought he was the smartest and most regular candidate in the primaries. Combined with Obama, these are two regular guys that have a good vision.
Biden seems like a really good guy. Obama seems like a really good guy. Their policies are straight. What more is there?
Obama-Biden 2008
5. maz hess | 08.23.08
McCain is going on air with a video which shows Biden questioning Obamas readiness to be president, but what is much more striking about this video is Bidens readiness to be McCains vicepresidentduring during the primaries. Biden was one of several very good options for obama but he was for sure McCains best option: Obama was forced to take Bide as his vicepresident if he didn’t have wanted to face an opponent to strong for him.
6. ltk01 | 08.23.08
How can the “Tax & Spend Demos” think anyone will buy their “Change” bunkum when they pick Biden for VP…a man, who has been doing the same thing for “36 years in the Senate”, i.e.,feeding at the “taxpayers table” for 36 years as a Senator …TRUE CHANGE would be TERM LIMITS for Senate & Congress, say 3 terms max.= 12yrs max…then we would have real change in govt…further, we limit the President to 2 terms = 8 years…we must also get term limits for Congress & Senate…otherwise the word “change” will be just so much “political spin, and bunkum for the masses”.
7. Leon A Davis | 08.23.08
My question is, how many potential VP picks declined the honor, for one reason or the other? And more deliciously, how many of those candidates were disabused of the idea by the Clintons? Joe Biden is maybe of the last people I’d select. There is no way this guy will subordinate his ego to Obama. Biden has been in the Senate almost 36 years. Obama not even one term. I bet the Republicans go after Biden with all guns blazing and pretty much ignore Obama. Flip the Obama/Biden order. Print up some Biden/Obama stickers. That would be fun. Make it appear that Biden is running for president and Obama for VP. In Biden’s mind that’s probably the way he thinks it should be. Maybe he’ll blurt that one out like all the others he’s come up with.
8. Paul Stewart | 08.23.08
I think that the criticism that the GOP can level here is not very strong. All they can say is that Biden is establishment. Well, so are they - so what is the complaint. Biden can be the agent that helps Obama to change the way Washington and indeed American politics works. Or should I say, they can reform and change things to make them work.
9. Barbara C. Johnson | 08.23.08
Obama lost my vote last night. Biden has been a one-not Charlie in favor of VAWA, which has destroyed the American family, and in favor of funding for the U.N. By choosing Biden, Obama lost from 20 to 30 million votes, namely those votes of the men who have been targets of so-called protection or restraining orders and the votes of their relatives and friends, people who knew that the protection order was based on false allegations.
10. stan | 08.23.08
The Republicans are scared of this pick—the Dems now have both the smarter candidate and the bigger A-kicker candidate.
12. Eric | 08.23.08
We already have term limits ltk01, and this isn’t a bad pick for Obama. No candidate is perfect and of course Obama has to rely somewhat on conventional wisdom for this pick because he needs a mix of new and old ideas to get change for the country. The bottom line is that John McCain isn’t really offering anything different than what the current administration is offering and that could very well cost the GOP this election. I support Obama, but I’m not 100% sure he’ll win because the Democrats can often snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
13. Oregon4Obama | 08.23.08
no one is ever ready to be president……We hired george bush because he had “experience” and it had taken him 4 days to get help to katrina victims….Not to mention that we are in a recession, we bailed out the two biggest mortgage companies, we have a loan from china for our war, and our education system is the worst its been in decades……we voted for experience and what we got was a patriotic, highly emotional fool…..
Mccain is using the same sympathetic guise that got bush elected and re-elected…..
we need something different
14. Zog | 08.23.08
Very funny post above, #9 by “Barbara C. Johnson”.
VAWA is the ‘Violence Against Women Act’ - a bill which Biden sponsored, aimed at fighting domestic violence in the US, and violence against women overseas.
While some may have legitimate arguments against specifics of this bill (ACLU opposes some aspects on Constitutional grounds), only a nutcase would oppose the general idea of fighting domestic violence.
So “Barbara C. Johnson” thinks that Obama lost 20 million votes because he is against domestic violence? Hah.
Good choice, Barack. On to Denver! See you in DC on 1/20/2009!
15. Eddie Zalez | 08.23.08
McCain is a lucky phony who married into money. He is the real “celebrity” prentending to be a regular American while playing his P.O.W. experience to impose a code silence about his past. This time around we need someone with a vision for a change to benefit middle class working Americans. The time to waste our limited resources in wars by design, rather than by necesity, are gone. Are we better off than eight years ago? McCain and Bush think so.
16. jimmy stafford | 08.24.08
I am disappointed. I think I will still vote for Obama, but I am much less enthusiastic, and likely to not vote. Biden is just another dyed-in-the-wool self-righteous eastern liberal. And he comes across as slightly deranged. I have never met him but I have attended some of the judiciary committee hearings. All that said, I am convinced that a disappointing Democratic ticket is still superior to four more years of Republican rule.
17. Erik France | 08.24.08
Biden is a great choice. Always liked him over the years. Excellent VP for Obama! Now, let’s make history, folks!
18. Barbara C. Johnson | 08.24.08
To #14, Zog:
I am not opposed to stemming the tide of domestic violence.
I am opposed to doing it by denying constitutional due process and equal protection to those accused of it.
Unfortunately the restraining or so-called protection orders issued under VAWA or DV guidelines are issued ex parte, are for the most part (over 90 percent) false, and are used as WEAPONS by women’s divorce attorneys.
As the author of VAWA and now I-VAWA, Biden is the worst possible choice for Obama. Biden is America’s demon when it comes to due process and equal protection.
19. McCain/Quayle08 | 08.24.08
RE: Oregon4Obama’s comment | 08.23.08
****no one is ever ready to be president……we voted for experience and what we got was a patriotic, highly emotional fool…..
Mccain is using the same sympathetic guise that got bush elected and re-elected…..****
Very true words my friend.
Lets hope we have wisened up at least a a little bit as a country.
-cc
20. Deb | 08.24.08
What a foolish choice! As a Hillary supporter, of course I hoped Obama’s choice would be Hillary.
But Biden? The man plagiarized a paper in law school! I’m not saying that a wrong move should destroy Biden’s life, but there should be some consequences.
Hillary is attacked for any misrepresentation she makes, but Obama and Biden can say and do anything and get away with it.
21. jerry rubin | 08.24.08
I surely believe that the media is doing the typical blah, blah, blah analysis.
Sen. Obama probably chose Sen. Biden to fill in a portion of his resume, but his real reason is that he wanted someone with a different perspective and viewpoint. He, Sen. Obama has made many correct opinions already. He disagreed with the Iraq conflict, he said the serge is not what will change Iraq. We can argue that point for hours that the serge came after the Sunnis soldiers had already started dealing with al Quida in Anbar and the Shia had already paid off Sadr to stop the bleeding in Basra. That is the fact, not the serge. We can also agree that Sen. Obama was stating that we should talk with our enemies and that we should set a time table in Iraq. Well, if your candidate is Sen. McCain he was wrong, since both GWB and Al Maliki are now talking “TIME TABLE” (not time horizon) or anything else that would say “Victory” open ended. As stated before, Secretary Rice, is now starting discussions with Iran. Others are talking with the third Axis of Evil, North Korea. Lastly but not least, Sen. McCain and his consultants all said the economy is ok, yet Sen. Obama has talked clearly about the housing problem, healthcare problems, energy problems, etc.
So the media should get the issues straight rather then finding obscure quotes that are subtext statement to all the issues facing us all.
22. John Milbank | 08.24.08
@9, Barbara C. Johnson wrote:
“Obama lost my vote last night.”
I don’t believe you. I would bet a lot of money that you never intended to vote for Obama.
“Biden has been a one-not Charlie in favor of VAWA, which has destroyed the American family, and in favor of funding for the U.N.”
There ya go–right wingers who oppose funding the UN aren’t Obama voters, Barbara.
“By choosing Biden, Obama lost from 20 to 30 million votes,…”
Not according to the polls.
23. jerry rubin | 08.24.08
I love the comments about Democrats as tax & spend. Have you been gone these last 8+ years. We have a bigger government and 4 trillion dollar debt. 4000+ dead soldiers and decade cities and town without inhabited houses.
Why don’t you think for yourself rather then just put out words because your are so small brained.
24. HS | 08.25.08
The worst choice. By picking Biden, Obama is basically doing what Bush did, picking a Washington old hand to train himself to be President.
By picking Biden, Obama just put the foreign experience as the major issue and he is not going to win on this one.
Now, who is going to answer the 3:00 am phone call? Biden or Obama? Democrats have enjoyed in teasing Bush on this for so long and now Obama give them their own version of Cheney/Bush.
With a person who has the same job for 36 years (more than half of his life), is he willing to make change to the environment that he has been there so long?
Bill Clinton had the same lack of foreign experience issue in 1992 but he did not fall into the trap of picking a seasonal Washington insider. He picked Senator Al Gore who was young and was not totally lack of experience in Washington. With 2 40s people standing togather, their message of change is very convincing.
Obama is making the same mistake Dukakis did. 2008 is more like 1988 than 1992.
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1. Kevin Pierce | 08.23.08
POLITICAL HURDLES
NEWSWIRE–Barack Obama has selected U.S. Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware as his intended vice-presidential ticket-mate.
Using track as a guide,
Judge the running mate’s stride
As he sprints between north and deep south:
Can he dash down a phrase,
Trot it out where it pays,
Yet avoid running off at the mouth?
http://www.newsandverse.com
Light verse, ripped from the headlines