Second Rate Choice

Over the last few days, Barack Obama’s running mate Joe Biden appears to have been buried by the media. Since the Democratic National Convention, Biden hasn’t been quite the media darling and his appearances have been very limited. Of course John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential choice has thrown the entire political world into what can only be described as a media frenzy. The Republican ticket has dominated the news outlets whether it’s talk radio, newspaper, or television. News shows are dedicating programming to the McCain/Palin ticket as if THEY were the “rock stars” of the campaign. Odd considering less than 10 days ago, Obama was clearly the MTV Icon of current American political history. What a difference a risky choice can make amongst mainstream politics.

As I was thinking about Biden’s disappearance, I began to search out a few stories involving the 30 year Senate veteran. Well, my search didn’t go any farther than the front page of CNN as I found a story prominently displaying Biden’s name in the title. After digging into the article, I thought to myself that maybe he would have been better off if he had kept his name and celebrity buried. What I found was something I wouldn’t expect from a candidate on the ticket during one of the most important campaigns in our lifetimes. Remember though, there was a vast amount of Democrats who were pushing for Obama to choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate. Clinton ran a very tough primary race versus Obama and clearly distinguished that she had powerful voter segments pulling for her candidacy.

Biden, while speaking to a crowd in New Hampshire offered the following pearl of political wisdom: “Make no mistake about this, Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Let’s get that straight. She’s a truly close personal friend and she is qualified to be President of the United States of America, she’s easily qualified to be Vice President of the United States of America and quite frankly it might have been a better pick than me.” Now, he did say this in “defense” of Clinton as someone yelled from the crowd that they were “happy” Biden was chosen as Obama’s running mate and not her.

While I commend Biden’s rescue of Clinton’s character and ability to perform the duties of either office, stating to the public that she was likely the better choice as a running mate is not the most eloquent political maneuver ever chosen. Personally, I agree that Clinton would have been a better choice than Biden and it would likely have closed the election hands down for Obama. But, it would have also brought with it great ramifications. It’s pretty easy to see that Obama and Clinton do not necessarily get along on a personal level. They both defend the Democratic Party’s agenda, but they just do not “hit it off.” Knowing this, the choice of Clinton as a running mate would have showed weakness in Obama’s candidacy as he would be “relying” upon the Clinton supporters to win office. Who would really be in power if elected … Barack or the two-headed political monster of the Clinton family?

Obama wanted to make absolutely sure that everyone knew he was the one going to be in charge. Joe Biden was the safe choice, the choice of experience, and the foreign experience necessary to legitimize his ticket. However, Biden was not the vote bringer, the attack dog, or the astute politician that is currently necessary to compete against the newly invigorated Republican ticket. Obama sacrificed going for the political throat to keep his own celebrity intact. Leaving this door open, McCain instead did the unthinkable. He went for the throat with one of the most risky political maneuvers we have ever seen. He picked an unknown, green Washington outsider, up and coming party favorite to be his running mate. Oh, and it’s ok to mention that she is female.

At this point of the campaign, less than 2 months to Election Day, Biden has appeared to be the second rate choice. Not only has he not come through as the attack dog necessary to keep the opposite ticket at bay allowing Obama to stick to his guns on core policies, he allows bombshells such as his statements above overshadow his own ability. Obama has become the do-it-all politician when his focus should be squarely on McCain and the issues affecting our government and society. If Biden wishes to stand up and help bring the election home for his Democratic Party, he needs to start playing his part in this battle for the White House rather than sit idly by outside of the spotlight while everyone else runs roughshod over his party’s “rock star.”

Priority number one for Biden is to become noticed once again. He must become a factor BEFORE the Vice Presidential debates or it may be too late. Second, he must temper what he says so that he doesn’t diminish his own political credibility. Unless he does become relevant again, Obama’s quest to win the office of President could come to a screeching halt after leading the race until the last half of a lap. Will the Democratic Party let a sure win election fall to the wayside by lackluster showmanship and failure to show up in the 9^th inning? Who would have ever though it could happen? But, it is a real possibility at this point and it’s only the first week into the real season of political warfare.

Citation: http://www.cnn.com/