What a shock. Joe Biden is an absolute idiot who, on the same day he asked a wheelchair-bound state senator to stand up for a round of applause, is now admitting: “Make no mistake about this,” Biden responded. “Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Let’s get that straight. She’s a truly close personal friend, she is qualified to be president of the United States of America, she’s easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America and quite frankly it might have been a better pick than me. But she’s first rate, I mean that sincerely, she’s first rate, so let’s get that straight.”
The Obama camp has got to be in a panic ever since they were blindsided by Sarah Palin’s popularity, but is there a chance that they might be laying the groundwork for Biden to step aside to make way for Hillary? If so, this would be a rather clumsy way of going about it. I realize they only have 7 weeks or so, but wouldn’t “health reasons” really be the way to go here? Then Barack could “with sincere regret and reluctance” accept Biden’s resignation to allow Hillary to step in. At least that way there would always be some doubt as to whether it was intentional or not. To float a trial balloon like this (if that’s what this is) will only serve to make Obama appear to be an indecisive buffoon who royally screwed up his first major decision as a presidential candidate.
But would Hillary’s popularity be enough to counter that?
But isn’t he also effectively saying that Obama made the wrong pick? I mean, I guess there’s nothing “effectively” about it…that’s exactly what he’s saying!
Nope. He said she might have been a better pick, and that she is qualified for the job, and is as qualified or more qualified as him. Basically he’s calling her a peer and being humble. He’s not saying that he himself is unqualified for the job or that his own selection was a mistake.
No, he’s saying had Obama chosen Clinton it would have been as good of a choice, if not better. Not that the wrong choice was made, only that either would be a good choice. He’s being humble and gracious to Hillary.
I would say that Biden is a better pick in terms of experience, but Hillary would have been a better pick, politically. But both are good. The idea that you have to pick the absolute best person as your VP is ridiculous. There are plenty of people qualified, but you have to pick someone you can work with and who maybe, just maybe, will help you politically.
I get that he’s being gracious and humble and what-have-you. I guess it might be better to ask whether or not this was a particularly smart thing to say. I mean, when you’re being introduced everywhere you go as “the next vice-president of the United States,” is it really a wise move to say that “quite frankly” there might have been better picks out there?
Who cares? He’s got the postition now; he can afford to be magnanimous about it. And he actually can’t afford not to be magnanimous about it: attacking Clinton in any way would reduce his party’s chance to win the election, by making him look petty and alienating Clinton-fans against him and the man who picked him for the post.
I suspect that this is pure reaction to the surprisingly somewhat-positive reaction to Palin. I’d imagine that the Dems (like many of us) thought (still think) the Palin pick was a gamble, a reach, an obvious pander.
Even now, I don’t know if evidence is in that Palin is generating great pro-GOP buzz other than among the base, but to the extent they fear her popularity could propagate to the Dem or on-the-fence female HRC supporters (as obviously the pander was intended to do), of course Biden has to burnish his pro-woman credentials in this way. Oh, also probably not coincidental that this coincides with the “lipstick on pig” imbroglio – for the first time, people other than hardcore HRC fanatics may be looking at BHO and wondering if he’s a “sexist.”
My thought is that the Democrats have got to do a bit of fence-mending after the primary campaigns. Hillary has been making a point out of praising Obama – she’s kind of obliged to, to keep her party credibility alive – and Joe Biden has always seemed to me the sort of gracious, diplomatic, humble-for-a-politician sort of guy who would say and mean something like this, and do it gladly for the sake of party unity.
I don’t read it as a trial; balloon for a switch in running mates; I read it as a gesture aimed at closing ranks among Democrats for the War Against the Evil Elephant Demons. If Hillary and the V.P.-nominee are making nice-nice, Clintonites take their cue to back the party nominee and wait for her turn.
