For those of you that try and read my thoughts on the weekends, I failed to mention that I don't post anything during that time; my apologies. However, what I do in that short time span is mull over and meditate on certain issues, ideas, or topics that come up.
Over this weekend, I spent time examining Senator Obama's selection for his VP, Joe Biden. Having had the opportunity to meet and talk with Senator Biden as a DC intern gives me a little insight into the man, although I'm certainly no expert. So, I will start with what I think is favorable, and what I think is not with this selection.
The benefits I see with this choice are multifaceted. First, Biden brings much needed experience and clout. Over his 30+ years in the Senate, Biden has developed a foreign relations acumen second to none. In fact, I would argue his abilities and accomplishments in that field outweigh Senator McCain's. Those in the McCain camp might view Obama's selection as a sign of weakness and it goes against the idea of "change" that has been a central mantra for the Obama campagin. They say that by selecting Biden, the supposed ultimate Washington insider, that there will be no change. I can see their point, but at the same time, one could argue that in order to make any kind of real change, you need to know how to, which Biden certainly does.
Secondly, the selection of Biden shows seriousness to address the issues at-large. Critics might argue that Obama doesn't like people to go against his line of thinking and only wants to surround himself with people that agree with him, or "yes men". Biden is certainly far from a yes man, and has been one of the more vocal critics of Obama in the past (as the McCain camp has noted with recent ads). It's fairly well known that Biden will voice his opinion regardless of whether it's liked or not. Plus, you have to believe that at the age of 66, Biden is on his way out of politics. So, in essence, this is his swan song for the next four to eight years. With that said, I think he will be more comfortable defering final decisions to somebody like Senator Obama and advising, as opposed to being the number one guy on everything.
Third, if Senator Obama is elected and something were to incapacitate him, Biden would be ready to fill-in instantly. There would be no worry about experience or anything of the sort. He would continue whatever policies were in place, I believe, with flying colors. I'm sure there are plenty more positives to add, but I'm going to explore a few negatives as well.
First, Biden's talkative spirit. It is well known that the Senator loves to talk. Often times, this has come back to bite him when he talks too much. Having stuttered in his youth, I can relate to the Senator's desire to be verbose, but there are benefits to the economy of speech as well. Sometimes it is better to leave them guessing at what was mean't. If Obama can keep his VP's mouth on topic and not on tangents, then I think things will be fine. However, it should be noted that some of Biden's inarticulate talk is endearing to the middle-class and blue collar workers because it can relate to them. Having come from that kind of blue collar background, I'm sure Biden knows that lingo all too well.
Second, Biden is from the North. It has been difficult for Democrats to make significant inroads in the South in recent years without a southerner on the ticket. Will Biden change that with his straight talk? It might help some, but I don't know to what degree if any.
Third, how well known is Senator Biden? In a recent poll I saw on T.V., roughly 50% either didn't know him at all or had no opinion on him. That's quite a lot of people. Granted, polls are notoriously bad predictors of anything unless it is absolute, but that's still a tough number to look at.
With all of that said, is Biden a good choice? The more I think about it, I think he is. Certainly there are some draw backs to the selection, but I think he can do more good than harm unless he says something completely off base, which he has been known to do from time to time. He is a great orator, a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw from, a good person, and one that relates to the common people from which he came. I will examine the GOP selection in a similar fashion once it is made.
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