Hoping For Biden
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Biden, VeepSo says conservative columnist David Brooks in a column from yesterday, and I can’t say that I disagree. Because when you look at Biden’s resume, it may be just the thing to help Obama create the type of change in Washington he’s hoping for.
When Obama talks about postpartisanship, he talks about a grass-roots movement that will arise and sweep away the old ways of Washington. When John McCain talks about it, he describes a meeting of wise old heads who get together to craft compromises. Obama’s vision is more romantic, but McCain’s is more realistic.When Biden was a young senator, he was mentored by Hubert Humphrey, Mike Mansfield and the like. He was schooled in senatorial procedure in the days when the Senate was less gridlocked. If Obama hopes to pass energy and health care legislation, he’s going to need someone with that kind of legislative knowledge who can bring the battered old senators together, as in days of yore.
Reports say that Obama has taken a while to select his VP because he was really struggling with the “change vs. experience” thing. On one hand, if he picks somebody like Tim Kaine, it’ll send a clear signal to Washington that change is on the way. On the other hand, if he picks a Biden, he’ll be admitting that to change things, you may need a little bit more experience to back it up.
Personally, I think if Obama picked a Beltway insider like Biden, it would provide even more evidence that he’s as pragmatic as advertised.
And while it may seem like Obama is sacrificing his message of change for a more experienced voice, I can guarantee you that Biden wants to change the way things are done in Washington too, and he’ll make that case better than any other Veep candidate I can think of. Many weren’t necessarily paying attention to Biden during the primary season, but he came off as one of the more genuine voices on the stage at the debates. So I can’t think of anybody else who can speak with the kind of passion and honesty he brings to the table.
I agree with Brooks. I’m hoping for Biden.
Fingers crossed.
This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Barack, Biden, Veep. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:27 am
Biden would be the most badass veep since Spiro Agnew.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:52 am
I’m really hoping for Biden as well. He came to speak at my College in Iowa before the caucuses, and I was really impressed with him. He’s a very genuine guy, and he knows what he’s talking about. He’d complement Obama nicely.
August 23rd, 2008 at 6:20 am
The Biden VP selection is a disaster. Biden is not “genuine” in the least. He is the phoniest grandstander in the US Senate. His ridiculous gesturing, schoolmarmish lecturing, and outright plagiarism of other politicians’ speeches have torpedoed every of his repeated failed attempts at getting the Dem’s presidential nomination. I can’t think of anything he brings to the Democratic ticket. Well, Daddy Bush survived Dan Quayle, maybe if Biden handcuffs his hands behind his back and sews his mouth shut, Obama will survive this mistake. If Obama still wins, I think he will find Biden enjoys zero respect and zero clout in Congress, so Biden is not going to help Obama’s agenda.