Biden unelectable?

[Mr. Accident]

In post #7 of this thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=576655), Baboonanza says that Biden is unelectable. Is there a factual reason for this, or is it just one person's opinion?

[Xema]

Opinion, though probably more than one person's.

[Mr. Accident]

Ah, alrighty. Thought it might have been an interesting legal reason.

Thank you very much.

[Munch]

Yup - just a really bad case of mouthfootitis. Take that out, and he's a great candidate (if Dems are your kind of bag). Tons of experience, great presence, smart on his feet (when they're not in his mouth...), Clintonesque backstory. I love him on the Sunday morning shows, but he doesn't have the political endurance to be in the spotlight every day.

[TruCelt]

Good Lord, I hope so. What a terrible thought! And a major reason for my objection to him as VP candidate. What a waste!

[smiling bandit]

Good Lord, I hope so. What a terrible thought! And a major reason for my objection to him as VP candidate. What a waste!

He also has a bad habit of not only saying really stupid (and sometimes painfully nasty or rude) things, but doing it on camera, in public.

[Tranquilis]

He's a goofball, but he's OUR goofball. :p He's very experienced and knowlegeable, but he does have a bad problem with speaking exactly what's on his mind without stopping to consider it. He's got a bit of temper, and that's a particular chink in his armor.

His son Beau is much better about that sort of thing, and though he also has a temper, he owns it, rather than the other way round. He also seems (to me at least) to be both less ambitious and has a higher level of integrity.

I know them both, a little (Beau a bit better). Joe's a good guy - decent and kind, but even *I* don't think he's electable outside Delaware.

[Diceman]

He also has a bad habit of not only saying really stupid (and sometimes painfully nasty or rude) things, but doing it on camera, in public.
Exactly. There are waaay too many stupid comments that can be used against him, and most of them are on tape.

[Xema]

There are waaay too many stupid comments that can be used against him
Here's a classic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnKcRo8DNYY&feature=related):
When the stock market crashed Franklin Roosevelt got on television and didn't just talk about the - you know - the princes of greed, he said "Look, here's what happened."

[md2000]

I'm surprised nobdy mentions his age. He'll be what, in his 80's in 2016? That's even older than Reagan.

He's good, but he doen't have that extra "oomph" that would make him leader of the free world - there's probably two dozen other senators equally qualified and a whole bunch of (ex)governors. I saw his recent "smart ass" comment, and it did look like he was having a chuckle with some guy who was comfortable rather than awestruck around a VIP. Still, yes, he seems to do that sort of thing too often.

If Obama's legacy is that things are great, then he might coast in on that. If the economy is in the toilet and he's constantly defending messes from the previous administration, no chance. That's the danger of being a VP - just ask Al Gore. Even a booming economy did not help.

[The Great Sun Jester]

That's the danger of being a VP - just ask Al Gore. Even a booming economy did not help.
Well, being a buffoon didn't help him at all.
Here's a classic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnKcRo8DNYY&feature=related):
When the stock market crashed Franklin Roosevelt got on television and didn't just talk about the - you know - the princes of greed, he said "Look, here's what happened."
That took me a minute. That's almost endearing though, you know? There's a dumbness about it that parallels Palin but somehow it's more benign.

Windu and Sidious both said "He is/was too dangerous to let live." yet the intent behind the thought process was totally different. Shit. Now I'm going to be musing about "Darth Caribou" all day. And giggling like a loon. Again.

[Elendil's Heir]

I'm an Obama supporter, but I think he made a serious mistake in picking Biden. Your VP, like your doctor, should "do no harm," but Biden only gets in the news when he says something stoopid, which then has to be explained away or laughed off through gritted teeth by the West Wing staff. He's a distraction and a liability for a White House that cannot afford them (not that any ever can). I find it hard to believe that Biden's experience and supposed good counsel behind closed doors with the President offsets his all-too-frequent public gaffes.

[qpw3141]

He also has a bad habit of not only saying really stupid (and sometimes painfully nasty or rude) things, but doing it on camera, in public.
Exactly. There are waaay too many stupid comments that can be used against him, and most of them are on tape.

Didn't seem to do GWB any harm when he was after his second term. ;)

[Tranquilis]

I'm an Obama supporter, but I think he made a serious mistake in picking Biden...

...I find it hard to believe that Biden's experience and supposed good counsel behind closed doors with the President offsets his all-too-frequent public gaffes.Oh, no. He was added to 1) give the ticket some teeth - He's an attack dog when pissed, and Obama a) couldn't do that convincingly and b) didn't want to do that (bad for the ol' cuddly image) and 2) to add some foriegn policy and experiential weight to the ticket. People could believe Biden taking the 3am call that Hilary so famously asked about. Do recall that Obama's #1 deficit in the election was the whole 'experience' thing. With Biden at his back that went away pretty quickly.

Now, if Obama wished to ditch Biden in 2012, he could (probably) get away with it. But I seriously doubt he will. Biden is a potty-mouth with a quick trigger, but frankly, almost no one seriously gives a damn. It's more of a "oooh, look what the bad boy's said this time" thing, than any real election issue. Now, if Biden were running at the head of the ticket, it'd be differnt, but he not, and its pretty much a non-issue for Obama.

[md2000]

And of course, with the guy being over 80 by then and not too electable anyway, the Hillary-Bill camp and followers probably prefer this scenario to Obama picking someone else who would then be a serious opponent for Hillary in 2016.

[Little Nemo]

I don't think the verbal gaffes are as big a deal as people make them out to be. Biden has said some dumb things. But nothing outlandishly dumb. And most politicians have said some normally dumb things.

I think it's the plagiarism issue that would hurt him more.I'm surprised nobdy mentions his age. He'll be what, in his 80's in 2016? That's even older than Reagan. He's 68. He'll be 74 in 2016. Which is older than Reagan, who was 69 when he was first elected President and 73 when he was relected.

[Xema]

Biden has said some dumb things. But nothing outlandishly dumb.
You don't feel the one above is at least flirting with outlandish?

[Nametag]

My feelings about Biden's electability are summed up in these two pre-election posts from 2008:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10125483&postcount=602

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10125579&postcount=613

The crux of the argument is in the second post, which included this dialog:
Two words: Dan Quayle.

A mediocre or even bad* pick for VP isn't likely to doom a nominee's chances. (snip)
Two words back atcha: Walter Mondale.

He's relevant, because Bush 41 ran against him, and won handily. Handily, because Mondale carried not only the loser stench of Carter, but of the same Old Democrat, old-pol, Hubert Humphrey lineage that has torpedoed Democratic candidacies time and again. The same stench that Biden carries.

In a single gesture, Obama has cast aside the mantle of "a new kind of politician," and what should have been a close win will go down as yet another defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

Biden! He might as well have picked John Kerry.

Fortunately, McCain picked an even worse (almost unimaginably worse) running mate, and handed the election right back.

[Little Nemo]

Biden has said some dumb things. But nothing outlandishly dumb.
You don't feel the one above is at least flirting with outlandish?No I see that as just a meaningless flub. Like when Bush said he had sex with Reagan.

What I would consider outlandishly dumb would be something like Reagan claiming trees cause pollution or Clinton arguing about the meaning of the word is.

[BigT]

The difference between Biden and Palin was that nobody seriously thought that Obama was in danger of dying or becoming mentally incapacitated. Like I mentioned earlier today in another thread--McCain's age really did make some people worry that Palin might become president--heck, some framed the campaign as Palin vs. Obama. If it were framed Palin vs. Biden, it would have been a lot closer. It's only Biden's experience, not his knowledge, that I think won out.

[Tranquilis]

The difference between Biden and Palin was that nobody seriously thought that Obama was in danger of dying or becoming mentally incapacitated.
Certainly not the only difference, I should think!

[GiantRat]

I'd suggest that Biden's "stupid" comments (as mentioned up-thread, often caught on tape) don't indicate that he's stupid. He's is, IMHO, a very intelligent person. Like many Dopers, his intellect drives him to distraction (and verbalization) when he sees absolutely asinine bullshit around him.

I, for one, hate bullshit discourse. But if I'm at work and there's someone in the room who will throw their pen in the air and say "this is fucking ridiculous," the meeting becomes productive. I can definitely see Biden in a closed-door meeting with the Pres and asking "do you have the slightest fucking clue what you're doing?"

A good leader keeps blunt counsel to call his bullshit. "The Emperor's New Clothes" comes to mind.

Although, really - keep your damned mouth shut in public...