Obama Picks Joe Biden

Damn! I forgot to bring my cellphone to bed. But Sheril, why did it take you a whole minute to get this post up?

I'm very surprised! An interesting, somewhat 'traditional,' yet risky choice that certainly isn't going to please or appease Hillary supporters... I suspect there could be a floor fight at the Convention :-(

I think the ticket is tremendously balanced. Just look at the names, OBAMA and BIDEN, both with 5 letters. And notice that whenever there is a vowel located in one name, there is a consonant in the other. That means something. Maybe that I stayed up partying too late last night. :)

Is it just me or did they Photoshop Obama's teeth onto Biden? If not, was a matching smile part of the VP job requirement?

Somewhat disappointed -- mainly because Biden is so much "Establishment." Biden's experience may help Obama get elected, and that certainly would be a good outcome, but I was really hoping for Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

I think it completely kills Obama's change mantra. Biden brings huge amounts of negative baggage and nothing positive to the ticket at all. Since locking up the nomination, Obama has deserted the voters that he energized in the primaries. The thinking seems to be that he has locked in those voters, now he has to move to the center to avoid the right wing attacks that he is weak on national security, foreign policy, blah blah blah. The reality is he has gutted the foundation of his campaign, disappointed his most enthusiastic supporters, and given the right a huge club to beat him over the head with.

Damn! I forgot to bring my cellphone to bed. But Sheril, why did it take you a whole minute to get this post up?

I'm with those who think the Biden choice flies in the face of change and hope. There are several others who could have bought him some experience, especially a few women like Gov Sebelius.

Plus, we could have used a state like Virginia instead of Delaware.

Eyes on the prize, people. If Joe Biden makes you vote for McCain, you never meant it anyway.

I was, even though it was always an extreme long shot, hoping he would go with Hillary.

Down side would be a much more complicated dynamic with a near constant struggle to reign in Hillary and the need to keep Bill on a short lead. But I feel that some combination of SS and minders would work and having H at his back would keep him on his toes.

Up side would be that he would pretty much be guaranteed to get the Hillary vote within the Democratic party. That extra 5% could be critical and their energetic campaigning couldn't hurt.

The other big thing was having Hillary waiting in the wing would make Obama bulletproof. There are a lot of gun fondling nuts on the right and they have been whipped to a froth by the right-wing noise machine.

Read more about it:
http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/

Page down to:
Right-wing violence and mental illness
Saturday, August 16, 2008

A quick review of other articles on the same site highlight the agitation and incitement to violence, and outright eliminationism, that undergirds the right.

Let's hope the SS is extra vigilant.

As I just told the Obama campaign, I think that Senator Obama has made an intelligent and insightful choice for his running mate.
I, personally, have always admired and respected Senator Joe Biden on many fronts, and think that he will be a wonderful asset to a winning ticket in November.

Tony Crider asked:

...was a matching smile part of the VP job requirement?

So it would seem. At least it's better than John Kerry's puffy hair requirement, else how else could Edwards have been his VP choice?

kevin wrote:

I think it completely kills Obama's change mantra.

It does make one wonder, but real, effective, change will require the kind of knowledge Biden has about how the government works and it will still be a big change from Bush. You won't get that from McCain.

The thinking seems to be that he has locked in those voters, now he has to move to the center to avoid the right wing attacks that he is weak on national security, foreign policy, blah blah blah.

I think he's right, but it's not Obama who locked in those voters, it was McCain. None of those voters are going to switch to McCain. Are you?

It's like PZ complaining about some faith event at the convention that none of the seculars were invited to. Obama's free to pander to religious voters because McCain appeals to those secular far less than Obama.

Yep, the middle is where he needs to go. We don't get to find out who he really is until we see him in action as president.

It's about the economy, stupid!

Ironically enough, I think McCain will hold to this Clinton mantra, and will pick Romney. Meanwhile, Obama with his whole three years of Congressional experience (one of which has been spent campaigning), and Biden with his foreign policy experience, will be exposed to criticisms that they don't quite have the experience to protect US domestic interests in a time when we need to protect US domestic interests.