Guess I don’t know much about the VP selection process — because I thought that Obama would have to pick one of Dick Morris’s boring white guys (Evan Bayh) to bring some balance to the ticket. He still could pick Bayh or Tim “The Eyebrow” Kaine to keep this team from getting too much buzz around it — and to keep the attention of the press on the guy at the top of the ticket. Unless there’s a glaring weakness to fill and all this other stuff doesn’t matter…
Why else would Joe Biden be under serious consideration in the Democratic veepstakes?
I hope and pray that Senator Obama picks Joe Biden. On some levels, it makes a lot of sense. He has the most credibility of any Democrat on national security issues. He is much more experienced than Obama with the ways of Washington and he could help Obama make all those tough decisions a president has to make. There are plenty of good reasons why this pick would be smart for Senator Obama, although there would be the risk of looking like a Cheney-Bush scenario, where the VP is in charge of organizing foreign policy.
There are also good reasons to look in another direction. Wouldn’t a Washington lifer like Biden dilute the “change” message? After all, Senator Biden has been in D.C. a long time. If the system is broken, then Biden gets some of the blame for that. And then there’s the endless ad copy against Senator Obama that Senator Biden has helpfully provided for John McCain and the RNC.
Jim Geraghty gives us some of the highlights here:
Biden, on a post-debate appearance on MSNBC, October 30, 2007: The only guy on the other side whos qualified is John McCain.
Then there’s my personal favorite:
Biden said in a campaign ad, When this campaign is over, political slogans like experience and change will mean absolutely nothing. The next president has to act.
For all Senator Biden’s knowledge and experience, at times he can be a loose cannon, and he’s not that skilled at keeping his random opinions to himself. If he’s the pick, Obama’s staff also might want to consider writing Biden’s acceptance speech for the convention to keep him from stealing words from random British politicians. Imagine how much fun it could be for Republicans if Obama chooses him as VP. Biden could be a smart choice, but he’s hardly the safest choice. I would think that Obama might want someone who would be more comfortable being a supporting cast member rather than the star of the show. Can Joe Biden handle just being VP? We might soon find out.