I’m partial to Biden because Delaware is my birth state - I grew up seeing him around, my family knew him and there is definitely a sense that he’s a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of guy, and the gaffes go along with that. The only downside was that I was hoping he’d get a high ranking cabinet position (Secretary of State? Defense?) that would even better utilize his experience and intelligence.
I’m still not sure that Biden as VP would be enough to get my somewhat racist Catholic relatives to vote for Obama, though. It doesn’t matter much in DE because there aren’t significant electoral votes, but if that was Obama’s strategy overall, I don’t know if it’s going to cut it.
I think he picked Biden just to prove he can win even with a terrible VP pick. He’s showing off. Biden is the equivalent of going through the finish line doing a wheelie.
I’m not a big fan of Biden as Obama’s VP choice. He’s easy to attack, and Obama needs more than anything not to stumble down the stretch. It is widely held that he has a very strong chance of winning as long as he doesn’t stumble, and of all the possible VP candidates, Biden is the most likely to ruin Obama’s campaign in a single day.
Biden brings significant enough risk to outweigh any possible gains he may grant Obama. There are candidates out there that Obama could have chosen to grant similar benefits, without negotiating the same potential risks.
I personally like Biden as a VP choice, although I think Tim Kaine may have been a better choice for getting more votes. Biden is going to provide the foreign policy strengths that McCain has been knocking Obama about. Besides, I actually like Biden and voted for him in my very first election back in 1972. He really is a good guy.
I’m still seeing the occaisional letter to the editor of the local papers from Clinton supporters who were still claiming that they’d rather vote for McCain than for someone who’d dissed their candidate. The reasons involved were often claims of sexism sabotaging their candidate. Blaming Obama for the electorate’s choice as often as not, too.
Now, some of that may be simple sour grapes that won’t hold water come November. But I think that some of it is serious.
I have agreed with the many people here on the Dope who have said that Obama would have to be nuts to consider Hillary for his VP. But I still thought that his campaign would make a point of finding a woman to be his VP candidate, just to try to reach out to that segment of the Democratic party.
Having said that, I’ve got nothing in particular against Biden, and the VP isn’t going to affect how I choose to vote in November, anyways. Of course, at this point, it would take some version of monkeys flying out of someone’s ass to get me to change my prospective vote.
What if John McCain picked a black vice-presidential candidate? Someone who was a “real” black guy, meaning, has roots in this country, as opposed to being the son of an African?
Is there a single black Republican who might stand a chance at a VP nomination?
I like Biden. I disagree with most of his positions, but he doesn’t scare me.
I always kinda thought the the Kinnock-speech plagiarism thing was such a stupid thing to do that it must have been sparked by Biden’s brain ailment (tumor?).
Wait, wait, wait… I thought the reason some people didn’t consider Obama “black enough” was his white, all-American mother - and you say it’s his father?
Wouldn’t that be the case for “not American enough,” rather than “not black enough”? And wouldn’t that accusation bite the ass of whomever made it, so deeply it would circumcise him?
And, how many current voters are immigrants or children of immigrants?
I like Biden, whom many in Pennsylvania consider another one of “our” senators. He’s incredibly knowlegable about foreign policy, and has a long track record of being able to work effectively with both parties. He speaks without thinking sometimes, but what the hell, the Pubbies have picked a guy for the top of their ticket who does the same thing. Plus, as many have said, for most people who the #2 is won’t make a difference in their decision who to vote for (rabid, pissed-off Hillaryites to the contrary). I think he’s a solid choice.
That’s the big problem, right there. Obama is billing himself as a the agent of change, a Washington outsider who can reform the system. So who does he pick as his running mate? A guy who is the dictionary definition of a Washington insider, the kind of person that Obama says he’s going to fight against :dubious: .
I suspect that McCain is probably going to choose a governor. (My money is on Mitt Romney.) Then he’s going to plug into his reputation as a maverick and claim that he’s the “real agent of change.”
I’m returning to the conversation late, but I just got up.
Although I am disappointed he did not choose Hillary as his running mate, I can understand why he didn’t.
It would have been simply too much for some of the voters. Yes, yes, he’s all about change, but he’s got to appeal to those who are still into the old ways of Washington.
I’m sorely disappointed because I believe we need fresh ideas and younger mindset there.
… and what’s the difference between BIDEN and BInlaDEN? The answer is “nla.” What does “nla” stand for? National Lawyers Association. We are so fucked.
Taters - what makes you think that is not what we will be getting with an Obama Administration? Obama has not suddenly changed in 24 hours to an old school run of the mill Washingtonite. He’s made a decision to choose the VP who will help him walk into the oval office. He’s still just as much for change as he was 24 hours ago…Biden gives him the actual chance. Clinton would have given him a probable, but not likely chance at the WH.
