Joseph Biden - The best pick?

[Adri]

So what do you all think of Biden as Obama's VP pick?

[matapule]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

I think Biden brings needed strength to the ticket in the area of foreign relations and policy. Should Obama/Biden be elected, Obama will gain additional experience in foreign relations over the next 4 years.

Here is my theory. Since Biden will be 69 in 2012, he will drop off the ticket in 2012 and accept a senior diplomatic position such as Secretary of State or UN Ambassador. In 2012 Biden will be replaced by a much younger (than Biden) running mate for Obama, one that would become the Democrat standard bearer in the 2016 election. I have a hunch that the VP candidate in 2012 is going to be a woman. That woman will not be Hillary.

Anyway, that's my opinion. I'm probably wrong, I usually am.

[Vanguard]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

Wow. I didn't expect him to choose Biden. I felt he would choose a state governor like Sebelius or Richardson, or even someone with military/foreign policy experience such as Clark. Stuff like this may pose a problem, however. And this quick jab.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

One problem with Bill Richardson, and I think this is why he didn't make the list of finalists and no one was talking about him in the last month: While the man has executive experience as the governor of New Mexico and some international experience as the former UN ambassador, Richardson doesn't seem comfortable in being a hatchet man, which is what Obama needs from his running mate in what is shaping up to be a rough campaign. This is especially true since Obama himself doesn't relish going on the attack. Biden is much more suited to this role.

And besides, Biden appeals to the demographics that Obama is most weak in, like working class whites. Obama already has the support of the majority of Hispanics.

Kathleen Sebelius simply wouldn't have brought much to the ticket. She doesn't have much national recognition. She doesn't shore up Obama's perceived weaknesses when it comes to foreign policy and national security issues. She wouldn't have delivered her home state of Kansas to the Democratic side on the electoral map. And while her selection might have been seen as reaching out to women voters, there was also talk that many of Hillary's most loyal supporters would have seen a "Sebelius for VP" campaign as a slap at Clinton in picking another woman instead of her.

[Adri]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

And while her selection might have been seen as reaching out to women voters, there was also talk that many of Hillary's most loyal supporters would have seen a "Sebelius for VP" campaign as a slap at Clinton in picking another woman instead of her.

Apparently a fair number of Clinton supporters are seeing any pick other than Clinton as a slap in the face, regardless.

Watching Biden on CNN now. He does seem to be in good form today.

[matapule]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

Obama already has the support of the majority of Hispanics.

I hadn't heard that. I've read that McCain has the lead among Hispanics, but perhaps they don't vote. McCain speaks some Spanish and Hispanics perceive Obama as being "black." I think that Richardson, AZ Governor Napolitano, LA Mayor Villaregosa, and TX Representative Chet Edwards could really help Obama on the campaign trail with solidifying the Hispanic vote.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

I hadn't heard that. I've read that McCain has the lead among Hispanics,

According to which poll? I can't find a single one that agrees with this.

but perhaps they don't vote.

Ummm, we are talking about Hispanic-Americans voters. Obviously, Hispanics/Latinos who are not eligible to vote (or are illegals in this country) don't figure into this discussion.

McCain speaks some Spanish and Hispanics perceive Obama as being "black."

Well, that's an interesting observation.

McCain being able to "speak some Spanish" does not even begin to heal the rift that has occurred between the Hispanic community and the Republican Party due to the immigration refrom issue. As the Politico's David Paul Kuhn explains, McCain's campaign and his party has a serious problem with this demographic group.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/200...politico/12089

Whether it's fair or not, many Latino voters paint McCain and the GOP party with the same broad brush. And the poll numbers seem to attest to it.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/24/pew.latino.poll/

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A new poll released Thursday shows overwhelming support from Latinos for Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. John McCain.

Obama's approval rating with registered Latino voters, the nationwide Pew Hispanic Center poll found, is at 66 percent versus 23 percent favoring McCain.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/108532/Hi...ind-Obama.aspx

PRINCETON, NJ -- Hispanic registered voters' support for Barack Obama for president remained consistent and strong in June, with Obama leading John McCain by 59% to 29% among this group.

I think that Richardson, AZ Governor Napolitano, LA Mayor Villaregosa, and TX Representative Chet Edwards could really help Obama on the campaign trail with solidifying the Hispanic vote.

Based on the poll numbers, there was absolutely no need for Obama to use his veep pick to court Hispanics. Barring some major gaffe, Obama will have the support of Hispanic-Americans in his back pocket come November.

[Seeking Penance]

obama/biden

Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. called Senator Barack Obama a clear-eyed pragmatist who will get the job done. (N.Y.Times 08/23/08)

What job and what change?

*spits*

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

Apparently a fair number of Clinton supporters are seeing any pick other than Clinton as a slap in the face, regardless.

Exactly! Which is why Obama was smart not to pick a candidate like Sebelius with the hope of picking up all of Hillary's support,.... but didn't have much else to offer.

I'm with you. For some of Clinton's most diehard supporters, it was "Hillary or Bust." Since there was no way to make them happy short of picking her, there's nothing his campaign can do about it. Just as Obama can't do anything about bigoted voters who will never vote for a Black candidate, come hell or high water. Obama will simply have to forget about those groups and just go on.

[timkona]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

In as much as Edwards (pre-affair) was a better pick than Kerry last go round, Dems are suffering the same fate again. Biden would have been an excellent (imho) choice to lead the ticket.

Obama made the second best decision he could have made. I like Bill Richardson alot. Hillary supporters just do not see the polar aspect of her appeal.

I will spend another election cycle wondering how Dems think.

Imagine a Biden/Richardson ticket. Now that would be a winner, even to this moderately conservative RepubliCRAT.

[matapule]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

Frankie, I don't disagree with anything you have said, as far as it goes. But I think it is unwise to presume that Obama has the Hispanic vote in his pocket. Obama had trouble with the Hispanic vote in the primaries in contrast to Clinton. Read this interesting OP ED piece. I think the Republican campaign will really try to exploit this potential weakness. Yes, the polls look good right now, but the fight is still ahead.

Obama is opposed to NAFTA and that is an important issue to Hispanics, many of who still have close ties to Mexico and other Latin American countries. My point about Hispanic voting, is that they have traditionally not voted in great numbers. However, that trend appears to be reversing in the primaries.

The Latin/Cuban block in Florida has traditionally been very conservative regardless of their party affiliation. Obama is evidently supporting some reconcilliation with Cuba. This is not going over well with Cuban Americans.

It is an interesting and growing demographic. It is up to Obama to win or lose. It is not a done deal in my opinion.

[Menehune Man]

Re: obama/biden

1)What job and what change?

2)*spits*

1) We will see won't we?

2) That's unsanitary... and uncool.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

Biden is a loose cannon and it's only a matter of time before he starts blabbing stupidities and damaging the ship.
Rove and his vultures are licking their beaks.

If he could stay on script, he'd be fine, but I still am not happy with the perspective of a President Biden.

[Adri]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

Biden is a loose cannon and it's only a matter of time before he starts blabbing stupidities and damaging the ship.
Rove and his vultures are licking their beaks.

If he could stay on script, he'd be fine, but I still am not happy with the perspective of a President Biden.

I'm a little concerned about that too. Of course, all of us would be dinged with saying things that sound horrible if we were under the same level of scrutiny that these candidates are. But still. Especially since Biden has had trouble with saying things that appeared racist.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Biden ~ the best pick?

Frankie, I don't disagree with anything you have said, as far as it goes. But I think it is unwise to presume that Obama has the Hispanic vote in his pocket. Obama had trouble with the Hispanic vote in the primaries in contrast to Clinton.

Well, Hillary Clinton is no longer running for President now, is she?

And I think it is unwise to presume that the Hispanic preference for Clinton over Obama during the Democratic Primary cycle is due to an innate dislike of Obama. If you do some research on Hillary's life, you'll find that she very much earned that support. In 1972, she spent several weeks in Texas registering Latino voters. As a result, many Latino politicians never forget that and in return, came out as early supporters for her Presidential campaign more than 35 years later.

The Latin/Cuban block in Florida has traditionally been very conservative regardless of their party affiliation. Obama is evidently supporting some reconcilliation with Cuba. This is not going over well with Cuban Americans.

I thought we were talking about the overall Latino demographic appeal of folks like Bill Richardson and Janet Napolitano?

Now if you're going to get into a discussion about the hard-line stance of the Cuban exiles living in Florida, I don't think Obama putting Richardson (or any of the other people you mentioned) on the ticket would have swayed their vote to the Democratic side.

But while we're on the topic of Cuban-Americans, it should be noted that even in that community, many of the Cuban exiles are getting up way up there in age and are dying. The generations that have succeeded them have become more moderate and pragmatic in their views towards the Castro regime and can no longer be taken for granted by the Florida GOP.