Biden His Time

Most people probably don't really know who Joe Biden is. In fact, you might be hard-pressed to find those who even remember that he was himself, a candidate for the 2008 Democratic nomination, much less that he previously sought the same nomination twenty years ago. In the lead-up to Obama's VP selection, much of the talk of course cenetered on Hillary Clinton. Picking Clinton, some suggested, would create a Democratic Dream Team. It would give Obama the experience some people were concerned that he lacked, while also uniting the party by getting the 18 million Clinton voters to turn out for Obama, rather than staying home or opting instead for John McCain. They argued that an Obama/Clinton ticket would seal the deal in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, while also helping him make a stronger play out West. Clinton would suddenly help Obama win older white men, older women, working class voters, Hispanics, African Americans who preferred Hillary to Barack, Bill Clinton fans, Democrats turned Republican turned Independent turned Democratic again, Mike Huckabee Republicans, Asians, Jewish voters, and just about everyone named Bob. I voted for Hillary, but she lost. I get it. I'm over it. Frankly, I really didn't want her for Vice President, because putting her on the ticket would have overstated any supposed advantages she would add while ignoring the serious disadvantages that her selection would bring with it.

First, those who are iffy on Barack, but also hate the Clintons would have had twice as many reasons not to vote for that ticket. Fans of Barack Obama who never liked Clinton might have lost some faith in him if they felt he had backed down and picked her. Older white men and working class voters who voted for Clinton in the primaries and threatened to stay home or vote for McCain if she were not the nominee may have still stayed home or voted for McCain with or without her on the ticket. For all the concern about Biden being gaffe prone, who knows what sorts of things would come out of Bill's mouth during the course of the campaign, given his penchant for not being able to shut up during the primaries. Hillary too, some believe, cost herself the nomination by making some ill-advised comments. If Hillary were to help in some states, this might be offset in other states where she could hurt. Putting Hillary Clinton on the ticket may have made for a brilliant show of unity as we have never seen before in Denver, but the realities on the ground would have been very different once the fall campaign started. Some say Obama should have at least vetted her, claiming she was completely snubbed. Reports are however, that Hillary did not want to be vetted unless she were going to be offered the job. That's your deal breaker right there.

Why not Bayh - who supported Clinton and who might have brought in Indiana? Why not Chet Edwards, the moderate Democratic congressman from Texas? Why not Governor Tim Kaine who could have helped win Virginia and emphasized Obama's message of change? Bayh is plain vanilla. He's handsome and has that Kevin Kline "Dave" sort of look going for him, but beyond that, he doesn't offer much. Winning Indiana with him on the ticket would have been as likely as Obama winning Alabama with Dennis Kucinich as his running-mate. Edwards would not have won Texas for Obama and he is not well-known enough. It has taken the country a long time to get to know who Obama is and for voters to also try to assess whether Edwards had the right stuff in the seventy days or so before the election may have proven too much. The same goes for Tim Kaine, who if picked, would have had McCain licking his chops by totally dressing down the ticket of youth and inexperience. Virginia might be winnable and Tim Kaine might do more to help Obama win it if he is not on the ticket.

That brings us back to Joe Biden. Hands down, Joe Biden is the single best choice Obama could have made - if not the only choice. In a way, he has taken a page right out of the George W. Bush playbook. With Cheney on his ticket in 2000, people on the fence about Bush were put more at ease with the presence of a steady-hand and elder statesman alongside him. Ironically, this steady-hand and elder statesman has played a dominant role in ensuring that George W. Bush's administration is the most incompetent in the history of our republic. That won't be the case with Joe Biden. Biden is not only intelligent and extremely competent, but unlike Cheney, his heart is in the right place. Biden has not simply eaten and breathed foreign policy by sitting on and chairing the powerful foreign relations committee, but he is well-read on history and he has not only met with countless foreign leaders, but also negotiated with them, took them to task, and worked out pragmatic solutions to some tough international crises. Not the least among these is the work he did with respect to the former Yugoslavia, which serves as a very strong model for what could ultimately be a final solution to the situation in Iraq.

Joe Biden's expertise does not stop with foreign policy, however. Biden is just as passionate about economic issues, which is critical in this election. He is not a man of wealth and he is not wealthy today, at least not by Senate standards. He is one of the poorest Senators in Washington, relatively speaking. He claims working class Irish Catholic roots in his native Scranton, Pennsylvania, which will help him connect to many of those like-minded voters not only in Pennsylvania, but in other crucial swing-states like Ohio and Michigan.

There are plenty of other older white men Barack Obama could have selected if he wanted to pick a solid, safe VP. However, nobody else could possibly bring all the advantages that Joe offers. If Sam Nunn brought the foreign policy cred, he might lack on the economic or social issues, which was a concern. If Ted Strickland, the Ohio governor brought some Clinton backers and a chance at a major swing-state, his lack of foreign policy experience would have been the source of continued reservations about Obama's readiness. Had Obama picked Bayh, he may have been too "nice" and not quite aggressive enough in going after McCain and the Republicans. Though he concerns some people due to his penchant for running off his mouth and sometimes inserting his foot, few politicians these days are as unabashedly unafraid of speaking their mind and telling it like it really is as Joe Biden. If anyone has any doubt about Biden's "happy warrior" mentality in ripping the GOP a new one, just wait.

It is too bad that the historic nature and celebrity status of both Hillary and Barack drowned out some other tremendous candidates in this year's Democratic nominating contests. One of those candidates was Joe Biden, who in my estimation is not only the best possible choice to be Obama's running-mate, but should have been anyone's first choice for President.