Biden’s Anti-War Ad is Not Enough
Joshua Roberts / Getty Images
Sen. Joe Biden is flashing his anti-war credentials in his latest ad.
While steadfast against pulling war funding so long as American troops are in harm’s way, Biden uses his latest ad to display his compassion and acknowledge the war needs to end.
[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/bidenantiwar.flv[/flv]
With the most foreign policy experience of all the Democratic presidential candidates, Biden has offered a sensible plan for the future of Iraq. As described by his campaign website,
The idea is to maintain a unified Iraq by federalizing it and giving Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis breathing room in their own regions. The central government would be responsible for common interests, like border security and the distribution of oil revenues.
The subject of the ad is unusual and refreshing for Biden. As Black Dvorak of Time describes it, the new ad is “strange in that of all the Democratic candidates, Biden is the least anti-war”. In fact on August 7, 2006 Biden put out a Press Release citing his #1 status as Democratic foreign policy doyen:
Poll: Biden is Most Trusted Democrat on Foreign Policy
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Journal has released a poll which said U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), ranking member on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is the most trusted Democrat on foreign policy issues.
The poll, which samples key decision makers in Washington, DC, asked respondents: Who in your party do you trust most on foreign policy? Poll respondents overwhelmingly favored Senator Joe Biden, followed by former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT).
Poll respondents said Biden “is level-headed and avoids rhetoric,” and “understands politics on a global field, is not an ideologue, and is one of the few Democrats who can articulate a contrasting position from the [Bush] administration. Experience counts in foreign policy, and he has more than W. and Condi combined.” “Not only is he knowledgeable, but I learn something whenever I listen to him,” one of the poll participants added.
With a responsible outlook on foreign policy and now a purely anti-war ad, Biden should be bona fide for the Democratic primary electorate with Iraq as the biggest issue.
Why then is the Senator lagging behind Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Richardson and even Gore?
The National Journal wrote August 6, 2007 that “He’s not raising money, though, to run a serious campaign and unless something changes or unless the front-runners agree to debate weekly, he’s going to run out of oxygen.”
Like most elections, the candidates this time around are running on change. Sen Biden has clearly not illustrated the type of change he would bring to the presidency, in fact, his long years as a Senator could be his major drawback.
His 2008 presidential campaign had a rough beginning. Biden received scrutiny early on when he flubbed a compliment to Sen. Barack Obama calling him ‘clean’:
“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” Biden said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”
After that he never seemed to get his footing. With the media polarizing the election between old (Sen. Hillary Clinton & the Clinton years) and new (Sen. Barack Obama), Biden has slipped through the middle along with Gov. Bill Richardson. With Richardson’s shoddy debate performances, his lagging campaign seems to be buoyed by his resume’ alone.
Sen. Hillary Clinton & Sen. Barack Obama enjoy front runner status
For Biden to ascend in the polls and achieve front runner status he needs to accomplish four goals.
First, he needs to articulate the type of change he would bring as our nation’s leader. How would he specifically change the status quo?
Secondly, Biden needs to propose a change in American policy outside of the Iraq debate, something distinguishing him from the other candidates and something to rally behind. Repealing NCLB and creating a federal minimum wage for teachers, police, and firefighters would be a good start.
Third, Biden needs to demonstrate that he can unite the country and restore America’s standing in the world. He needs to spread his arms out wide at the debates talking in broad, welcoming terms; his penchant for detail is already well known.
Fourth, Biden needs to play on the front runners’ shared weakness and primary voters’ greatest fear: That neither Clinton or Obama are ultimately electable; Clinton being perceived as too polarizing (a concept created by Republicans and disseminated by the media) and Obama as too inexperienced (he is a bit green).
Biden needs to say concisely and often that he is the Democrat who is electable - At every debate, at every news conference, in every ad. After two terms of a historically inane Republican presidency, Democrats are yearning for an electable candidate.
Sen. Biden, please repeat after me:
“I am the most electable person on this stage.”
“I am the most electable person on this stage.”
“I am the most electable person on this stage.”
Also, consider other variations:
“If Democrats are looking for electability, I’m your guy”
“My foreign policy strength will appeal to all Americans in the general election.”
And don’t forget to use the words “victory”, “champion”, and “winner” as often as possible.
Democrats want an optimistic winner who will bring change and restore America’s greatness. So please Senator, lose the cheesy grin, speak in optimistic, sweeping terms like Obama, tout your credentials like Clinton, emphasize your experience like Richardson, speak to the middle class like Edwards, explain the change you’ll bring to the presidency with a “we can do this” attitude, and keep saying you’re the electable winner.
Repeat after me:
“I am the most electable person on this stage”
“I am the most electable person on this stage”
“I am the most electable person on this stage…
More grand gestures like that would help too
*
Update:
It seems that President Carter’s son, Jack Carter, agrees. From Mike Allen’s Politico Playbook:
Today, Sen. Biden announces that he has received the endorsement of Jack Carter, the 2006 candidate for U.S. Senate in Nevada and the son of former President Jimmy Carter. From Jack Carter’s text: ‘With Joe Biden, we don’t have to worry about the problems with a lack of experience or high negatives affecting our chances in November. I’m very comfortable that he can win.’
Stumble it!
I thoroughly enjoyed this post; it’s kind of rare to find a level-headed, fair but optimistic treatment of Biden’s campaign on the net these days.
I’ve been on three trips to South Carolina this year to work with the Biden campaign, and I gotta tell ya — in the small, intimate crowds I’ve watched him work there, he IS that symbol of optimism and hope you talk about. He gets going, in the way that only that wordy, theatrical SOB can, and everyone is just in rapt attention, and by the time he goes from loud to soft to loud to soft to funny to scary to serious to warm, you want to run up and hug the guy and just drag him to the White House. The challenge has just been marketing that en masse, and I’m no expert on how to accomplish that, not yet.
But when it comes to electability — well, I’ve pretty much convinced my parents, who quit speaking to me for several days when I registered as a Democrat — to vote for him, and they keep telling me all the nice things they hear about him on Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh…which really turns my stomach, but hey.
Thank you for the kind words.
I applaud your active role in the sometimes torturous role of political campaigning.
Thank you for your efforts.
If Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh are saying nice things about Sen. Biden, that is a good thing, especially if Biden becomes the Democratic nominee. I would speculate that the ‘nice things’ those two are saying about the Senator refer to his foreign policy experience or plan for Iraq. Either way, we need a leader that all of us can rally around.
If possible, please direct the Biden campaign to this post.
Cheers,
Tortuca
Nice share!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!