Garling Gauge

‘08 Ode to Biden & Dodd

Doyen elders keep their heads high

It’s been several days since the Iowa caucuses lead upstart senator Barack Obama to victory. Called a “Senator Killer” by Mitt Romney, Obama won decisive victories against Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Joe Biden, and Sen. Chris Dodd. Any one of these senators would make an excellent president. Obama? He’s got the passion and the voice, but predicting his actions in office remains a fool’s game.

That is partially why the quick drop out of Biden and Dodd was so painful to Democrats looking for experience this election cycle. Both Biden and Dodd would have easily defeated any Republican nominee and set the country back on the right track. Both Biden and Dodd would have responsibly ended the war in Iraq, supported important social programs, and worked well across the aisle. Both would have been excellent, electable presidents.

So with a touch of sadness I bid them farewell in ‘08, left with rolling the dice on the youngblood (Obama), a previously defeated candidate (Edwards), an uninspiring overweight governor (Richardson), or Republican anathema (Clinton). Whoever said the Democrats were satisfied with their field of candidates should consider taking another poll now that our doyen elders have dropped out.

Don’t get me wrong, voting for any of the Republican candidates would be insane, and any of the Democratic candidates as president would make make George Bush’s presidency look that much more pathetic. The issue is that now we’ve ventured into riskier waters. The failures of the Bush administration have left the White House ripe for Democratic picking. Choosing a moderate, experienced Democrat as the party nominee gave us an enormous chance of taking back the presidency. Any of the Democratic candidates would make an excellent president. And the Democrats are excited about their prospects in ‘08: Too excited it seems to vote for the safe win. And the enthusiasm of the Iowa Democrats just might have been our Achilles heel.

As a final ode to the senators who were shunned by Iowa Democrats and would would have easily won in ‘08, here are their thank-yous to their supporters after the Iowa caucuses.

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Sen. Joe Biden’s thank you to supporters

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Sen. Chris Dodd’s thank you to supporters

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