Biden for VP
This one’s for our many visitors from the left. Right-leaning folks, please don’t spam the poll.
On a scale of 1 to 5, how do you like the Biden pick for VP?
Comments explaining your vote are welcome.
UPDATE: Poll edited slightly to allow those of us on the right to view the results without voting.
Shoot. I took the survey before reading your post. Sorry. I chose “love it” for the record.
Posted by Owen on August 23, 2008 at 0843 hrs
I gave it a 3, but actually closer to 3.5-3.7 maybe. I liked Joe Biden a lot in 1988, but today he’s a little too “Washington-insider” for the campaign, in my opinion.
On the other hand, a “Smart and Competent” ticket ought to play real well this year, so Biden adds quite a bit there.
It’s really too bad Hillary Clinton ran such a scorched earth campaign.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 23, 2008 at 0903 hrs
O,
I moved your vote to the final option.
Posted by Jed on August 23, 2008 at 0914 hrs
What do you think of the Biden pick?
Looks like Bush Term #3 that the Democrats have been warning us about - you know, a “weak” President propped up by someone with experience or strenght. Maybe someday we will have a race between two candidates who can be President without back support.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 23, 2008 at 1036 hrs
My thought are much along the same lines as apc’s. Liked Biden back a while ago (88 sounds right). But man, I don’t think you can get more of a stuffed shirt than Joe Biden. Looks like the Dems will continue to fight off the charge of elitism with this selection.
Posted by Mike on August 23, 2008 at 1047 hrs
Will we hear the word “gravitas” from the lips of every MSM talking head…or was that just for Cheney?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 23, 2008 at 1113 hrs
mht, agreed. While I was a fan of McCain in ‘00, if he chooses Romney I’ll reluctantly vote Obama.
I would like an actual competent, experienced, balanced, nuanced, moderate and yes intellectual candidate one of these days. I started paying attention in ‘92 and have yet to really find one.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 23, 2008 at 1135 hrs
For Mike….if you can make Biden out to be elitist you can make George Bush out to a thinker. Clearly Mike has no idea who Biden is, or what his life has been.
I was one of those who wanted Biden as the VP, and predicted that in the end he would be the nominee. (I also have predicted Rob Portman as McCain’s VP though as I wrote on my blog I think John needs a more exciting pick….a woman.)
Why Biden one may ask, and here it is in a nutshell.
His career background makes him well suited to helping shore up perceived shortcomings in Barack Obama’s resume. His sometimes feisty style will make him the perfect V.P. nominee on the trail as he will tell it like it is, and leave the GOP wondering what hit them. Once in office he will know the ‘inside baseball’ required to help the Obama administration govern effectively.
A masterful pick by the Obama team.Posted by Gregory on August 23, 2008 at 1214 hrs
If Obama is trying to shore up those in the middle, picking Biden is the best thing for McCain. Biden’s anti-gun history is arguably worse than Obama’s, and if they’re gonna try to put that on the sidelines b/c of Heller, they’re going to fail, IMHO.
Posted by Mike Gallo on August 23, 2008 at 1309 hrs
Obama needed someone to shore up his lack of foreign experience, and lack of experience in general. Biden is a safe pick - and that’s what you want for the VP.
Can Hillary run any other type of campaign OTHER than scorched earth? That’s just who she is.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 23, 2008 at 1309 hrs
Biden’s a good pick, perhaps the best of Obama’s options.
As I discussed on my own blog, I think Clinton probably brought the most to the ticket. But then winning means having to govern with Bubba in the shadows, something I don’t think Obama wanted to do.
Biden and McCain have both said some nice things about each other. I’m sure both sides will drag those clips out.
More importantly for Obama, Biden is a total pit bull who will be all over the Republican ticket like a cheap suit. Biden sometimes talks too much, but if he can reign that in, McCain will struggle mightily to find someone who can hold his/her own with Biden. McCain’s only competitive option at this point is Mitt Romney, who is articulate and looks good on the teevee and can hold his own with Biden in the VP debate.
To Mike in #9, gun control isn’t a big issue for undecided voters. It’s like abortion and gay marriage that way. It only excites the fringe on both sides. I’d bet that 80% of Americans have no concept of Heller or what that ruling meant. They’re just not tuned in to that issue. Independent voters will be firmly focused on national security and the economy, not necessarily in that order. Nothing else will matter to them. What moderate voters will see in Biden is a safe pick that has a lot of experience and a boatload of foreign policy experience.
And to Mike in #4, anyone who calls Biden an elitist doesn’t have much of an idea of how Biden’s bio reads. You should thumb through it before you douse yourself in ignorance.
Biden’s not the most exciting pick, but he was the best pick Obama could make. It’ll be interesting to see how McCain tries to counter. In my mind, his only good option is Romney.
Posted by Recess Supervisor on August 23, 2008 at 1351 hrs
I vote for 3. Biden’s got some tenacity, and brings a good puncher to the ticket. But man, for the change candidate how Washington insider can you get? I would have liked to have seen a more inspired pick, maybe even double up with another midwest politician. At the same time, the election wasn’t decided here, so I kinda don’t care.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 23, 2008 at 1438 hrs
The vice presidential candidate cannot help the presidential candidate, he can only hurt them. The question is whether or not the pick hurts Obama. I don’t think so. He should be inoffensive to anyone already leaning towards Obama and as long as he keeps quiet he shouldn’t do any damage to his campaign. The only danger is if Biden starts talking too much, but I suspect his handlers will limit the opportunites for that to happen.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 23, 2008 at 1732 hrs
The only reason BO selected Biden is because he can’t figure out a way to bring Lennin back to life and put him on the ticket.
This is too good - the only VP candidate in history with hair plugs.
I only hope McCain has the good sense to pick a running mate that doesn’t piss-off everyone.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 23, 2008 at 1740 hrs
I gave him a 4, but only because I think Bill Richardson would have been a better choice. He has the foreign policy experience, would be a capable attack dog (although not as good as Biden), and he doen’t have a history of having a big mouth. Plus he’s from a state where he actually might do some good.
Clinton was never going to bring anything to the ticket except to provide something for the media to squawk about for the next two months. Oh, and she would be the ultimate pick for the Republicans, as she would do what McCain cannot: unite conservatives to vote for McCain.
I’m sorry, but anyone who seriously thinks that she would have been a better choice is as out of touch as the Clinton supporters who won’t vote for Obama.
Posted by scott on August 24, 2008 at 1101 hrs
While Richardson may have great qualifications to hold the VP clipboard, he also has an enormous skeleton in his closet named RC Gorman.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 24, 2008 at 1400 hrs
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